U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office for Victims of Crime

“Putting Victims First”

Meeting the Needs of the Victims 

of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks:

Department of Defense

Appropriations Act of 2002

Report to Congress

April 2003
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street NW.

Washington, DC 20531

John Ashcroft

Attorney General

Deborah J. Daniels

Assistant Attorney General

John W. Gillis

Director, Office for Victims of Crime

Office of Justice Programs

World Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Office for Victims of Crime 

World Wide Web Home Page

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc

For grant and funding information, contact

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center

1–800–421–6770

OVC Resource Center

1–800–627–6872

(TTY 1–877–712–9279)

www.ncjrs.org

OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center

1–866–682–8822

(TTY 1–866–682–8880)

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/assist/welcome.html

The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which

also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National

Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
1

Executive Summary

On September 11, 2001, four passenger

airliners were hijacked by terrorists and

as a result 3,047 people were killed.

This number does not include the many injured,

their families and friends, nor does this figure

reflect the thousands of loved ones left behind

that fateful day by the deceased. For many, the

wounds caused by these acts of terrorism will

never truly heal, but with help and assistance,

victims may be able to rebuild their lives. Having

coordinated effective victim assistance services

for victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, other

incidents of mass violence, and several cases of

international terrorism, it was logical that the

Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) would be

expected to coordinate services and administer

federal funding for the victims of this tragedy.

Thanks to earlier congressional legislation and

the establishment of the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve, OVC had a mechanism in place

to respond to the victims of these terrorist attacks

in a timely manner, until further congressional

appropriations could be made available.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2002, OVC received $68.1

million in funding authorized in the Department

of Defense Appropriations Act of 2002 [Public

Law 107-117] to respond to the victims of the

September 11th terrorist attacks. To date, OVC

has committed more than $65.6 million of this

funding appropriation. The remaining $2.4 million plus will be used to assist victims of the terrorist attacks during the criminal trial of Zacarias

Moussaoui.

Congress specifically directed OVC to award

grants for counseling programs to assist victims,

family members of victims, and crisis responders.

Recognizing that several months had passed since

the terrorist attacks, that victims in need of psychological and emotional support were at different stages of coping and recovery, and that there

were a variety of avenues for delivering counseling services, OVC identified four types of victim

counseling services for which funds could be

used: crisis counseling, crisis intervention, mental

health counseling, and peer support. States with

affected victim populations were notified of the

types of counseling services for which funding

was available. OVC divided the grant funding

into three categories: victim compensation

grants, victim assistance grants, and nonprofit

organization grants. Because funds could be used

to support community-based victim service programs that provided crisis counseling, crisis intervention, and peer support, a total of $36,174,510

was awarded to five state victim assistance agencies that administer victim assistance formula

grants awarded annually by OVC. Likewise,

because many victims seek reimbursement from

state crime victim compensation programs for

mental health counseling services provided by a

private vendor, OVC awarded two grants totaling

$6,087,500 to two state crime victim compensation programs, also the recipients of annual formula grant awards. Grants were also awarded

directly from OVC to nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations that did not receive funding

from any other federal source. Nine grants,

totaling $437,940, were awarded to these

organizations.

Using moneys from the Antiterrorism Emergency

Reserve, nearly 22,000 victims, crisis responders,

and family members have been assisted by state

agencies and local programs; approximately

37,000 victims were assisted via OVC’s Call

Center; and 1,800 victims and family members

received travel support via OVC’s Victim and

Family Travel Assistance Center. The Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve includes moneys from

both the Crime Victims Fund and appropriated

dollars from the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. Six states and 55 nonprofit
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Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

This report covers OVC’s use of the $68.1 million authorized by Congress in the Defense

Appropriations Act of 2002 to assist the victims

of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The

efforts of Congress and OVC have significantly

helped victims and survivors of the September

11th acts of terrorism; however, there is still

much important work to do. We look forward to

working with you to further the cause of justice

for victims of acts of terrorism and all victims of

crime, and appreciate your continued support for

crime victims and the issues and programs administered by OVC.

organizations received funding from OVC to

assist victims of the terrorist attacks. Funding was

used to provide a wide variety of services and

assistance, develop informational materials, and

develop and expand state and local program

capacity to assist victims by creating victim databases, identifying and recruiting community

advocates to assist with intervention efforts, and

covering unreimbursed expenses incurred by victims. A breakdown of states and organizations

that received funding directly from OVC can be

found in Appendixes A and B.

Grant recipients report that the process of

responding to victims of the terrorist attacks

resulted in greater coordination, increased outreach efforts, and ongoing communication with

multiple government agencies and service organizations, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red

Cross, state mental health agencies, and the

United Way. Victim compensation programs

were able to assist victims by streamlining the

claim application and emergency payment procedures so that thousands of victims would receive

compensation benefits in a timely manner.

Although the recipients of the government funds

were appreciative of the funding, many expressed

concern that the eligible uses for the funds were

restricted to counseling. They indicated that victims had many other unmet needs for which this

funding could have been more effective in aiding

recovery. Responding to this concern, Congress

directed in the Conference Report to the FY

2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act [Public

Law 107-206] that “remaining unexpended balances of funding appropriated under this heading

in Public Law 107-117 be made available for

other authorized programs in addition to counseling programs.” Recipients of funds were informed

of this change and asked to notify OVC of their

unexpended balances and any plans to use funds

for purposes other than counseling. The amended

legislation allowed for more flexibility to provide

the full range of victim services allowable under

the guidelines for OVC’s Antiterrorism and

Emergency Assistance Program and victim

compensation and victim assistance

programs.
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Report to Congress

Introduction

The Office for Victims of Crime was created by the U.S. Department of Justicein 1983 and formally established by

Congress in 1988 through an amendment to the

Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984 [42

U.S.C. §10601]. OVC’s mission is to enhance the

Nation’s capacity to assist victims of crime and to

provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies,

and practices to promote justice and healing for

all victims of crime. VOCA also established the

Crime Victims Fund, the sole source of funding

for VOCA-authorized programs, comprising

fines, penalties, and special assessments imposed

on convicted federal defendants and gifts, bequests, and donations. The Antiterrorism and

Effective Death Penalty Act amended VOCA to

authorize OVC to establish an Antiterrorism

Emergency Reserve to assist victims of terrorism

and mass violence. The OVC Director is authorized to put up to $50 million in this reserve for

this purpose.

OVC accomplishes its mission in a variety of

ways: administering the Crime Victims Fund

and the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve, supporting direct services, providing training programs, sponsoring demonstration and evaluation

projects with national and international impact,

publishing and disseminating materials that highlight promising practices in the effective support

of crime victims that can be replicated throughout the country and worldwide, sponsoring

fellowships and clinical internships, and soon it

will be administering a compensation program for

victims of international terrorism. Implementation

plans for this program are under development.

OVC works with national, tribal, state, military,

international, and local victim assistance and

criminal justice agencies, as well as other professional organizations to promote fundamental

rights and comprehensive services for crime victims. OVC not only administers funding, but also

develops policy and provides training and technical assistance to states, localities, and other

federal agencies on effective responses to crime

victims, and supports public awareness and education on critical victim issues. The largest

amount of OVC funding is provided to state

agencies to administer programs for assisting

crime victims—victim compensation and victim

assistance formula grant programs.

OVC makes annual awards to each state, the

District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands,

Guam, and Puerto Rico to support crime victim

compensation programs. The VOCA crime victim compensation formula grant program reimburses victims for crime-related expenses, such as

medical costs, mental health counseling, funeral

and burial costs, lost wages, or loss of support.

Although each state compensation program is

administered independently, most programs have

similar eligibility requirements and offer comparable benefits. Maximum awards generally range

from $10,000 to $25,000. Compensation is paid

only when other financial resources, such as private insurance and offender restitution, do not

cover the loss. Some expenses are not covered by

most compensation programs, including theft,

damage, and property loss.

Each compensation program operates under state

statutes and rules which generally require victims

to cooperate with the reasonable requests of law

enforcement and to submit a timely application

to the compensation program. VOCA funds supplement state efforts to compensate crime victims. The formula for VOCA compensation is
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Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

1

OVC’s Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve was reimbursed these amounts once funding was received under the

Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

OVC has statutory authority and experience

in working with communities responding to incidents of terrorism and mass violence, and was

identified to administer funds and programs to

assist the victims of the terrorist attacks. Before

September 11th, OVC had funded and coordinated victim assistance services for five separate

terrorist attacks: the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing

over Lockerbie, Scotland (1988); the Alfred P.

Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma

City (1995); the Khobar Towers bombing in

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (1996); the U.S. Embassy

bombings in East Africa (1998); and the U.S.S.

Cole bombing in the port of Aden, Yemen

(2000). The September 11th terrorist attacks in

New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania (2001)

was the sixth and largest terrorist attack for which

OVC provided assistance.

In anticipation of congressional action to provide

what would amount to the largest allocation of

resources to respond to a case of terrorism on

American soil, immediately following the terrorist attacks OVC allocated funds from its Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve to assist victims in the

three states where the crimes occurred. On September 30, 2001, OVC awarded $3.1 million in

victim assistance funding and $13.5 million in

victim compensation funding to the State of New

York and the Commonwealths of Virginia and

Pennsylvania.1 These funds were used by the

grantees (states) to coordinate and provide emergency assistance to the victims in the form of crisis counseling and other direct services, and to

offset out-of-pocket expenses incurred by victims

and their family members for medical, mental

health, funeral, and lost wages—services and

compensation for victims of crime traditionally

supported by state agencies. At the same time,

OVC staff were working quickly to identify the

short- and long-term needs of these victims and

related costs as well as to coordinate its efforts

with other federal agencies such as FEMA. To

date, OVC has committed more than $65.6 million of the Department of Defense Appropriations funding and an additional $3,223,041 from

based on 60 percent of the state payments to

crime victims in a previous year.

VOCA victim assistance grants are also awarded

each year to states to support community-based

organizations that serve crime victims. More than

6,000 grants are made to domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, child abuse programs, and

victim service units in law enforcement agencies,

prosecutors’ offices, hospitals, and social service

agencies. These programs provide services including crisis intervention, counseling, emergency

shelter, criminal justice advocacy, and emergency

transportation. States are required to give priority

to programs serving victims of domestic violence,

sexual assault, and child abuse. Additional funds

must be set aside for underserved victims, such as

survivors of homicide victims and victims of

drunk driving crashes.

All states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico receive a base victim

assistance amount of $500,000 each. The territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam,

and American Samoa receive a base amount of

$200,000 each. Additional funds are distributed

based on population.

Background and Overview

On September 11, 2001, four passenger jets

departed within 42 minutes of one another from

three East Coast airports. Terrorists hijacked these

planes. Two pierced the World Trade Center

Twin Towers in New York City, causing them

to collapse. Another rammed into the Pentagon

building in Virginia, just outside Washington,

D.C. The fourth crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Estimates of the number of

deceased victims reached a total of 3,047, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, “Crime in the

United States 2001.” These victims do not

include the many injured and survivors of the

deceased.
Using Antiterrorism Emergency

Reserve funding ($751,572), OVC also

established a Victim and Family Travel

Assistance Center which handled all logistical arrangements and paid travel and lodging

costs for 1,800 family members traveling to

funerals and memorial services. OVC has

provided funds from the Antiterrorism Emergency

Reserve to offer travel and emergency assistance

to September 11th victims and future victims of

terrorism.

To facilitate the timely exchange of information,

a special Hope and Remembrance Web site was

established, using Antiterrorism Emergency

Reserve funding, for victims and families of the

terrorist attacks. This Web site provided victims

with answers to frequently asked questions, official messages from U.S. Government sources,

news releases, publications, and external links to

other resources. OVC provided funds ($200,000)

from the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve to

maintain this site as a resource for victims of terrorism in the event another attack occurs. OVC

also published a Handbook for Coping After Terrorism: A Guide to Healing and Recovery in English

and Spanish using Antiterrorism Emergency

Reserve funds ($17,480) as an additional resource

for the victims. Finally, OVC provided funding

($82,456) to cover travel expenses for United

Flight 93 family members to attend a meeting to

hear the plane’s black box recording. Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve dollars were also used to

cover mental health counseling services for the

victims who opted to attend this meeting.

Authority

OVC’s programs and activities are authorized by

the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) as

amended [42 U.S.C. §10601]. The Department of

Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act of 2002

(Public Law 107-117) authorized $68.1 million

for emergency expenses (counseling) for the

Crime Victims Fund to remain available until

expended; and Congress in the Conference

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Report to

Congress

the FY 2001 Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve to

address some immediate and long-term needs of

the September 11th victims and future victims

of terrorism and mass violence. Of the amounts

appropriated under the Department of Defense

Appropriations Act, the remaining $2.4 million

plus will be used to assist victims of the terrorist

attacks during the criminal trial of Zacarias

Moussaoui. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Department of Defense

Appropriations

Revenue $68,100,000 

(FY 2002)

Obligations $65,691,224

120-Day Crisis Response Grants $16,626,075

Counseling Grants $42,262,010

Counseling (Nonprofits) $437,940

Supplemental Grants $6,350,000

Publication & Printing $15,199

Balance $2,408,776

At the behest of the Attorney General, using its

existing authority and resources to assist victims

of terrorism and mass violence, OVC provided

additional services, assistance, and support to the

victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. A

comprehensive database of the affected victims

was one of the needs apparent from past responses

to victims of terrorism and mass violence. Hours

after the terrorist attacks, OVC set up a Call

Center which offered a 24-hour, toll-free telephone line for collecting information in a database on victims from family members and

providing referrals for financial, housing, and/or

counseling assistance. Approximately 37,000 victims and family members received assistance and

referrals through the Call Center. In FY 01, OVC

provided funding ($2,171,533) from its Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve to support Call Center

operations for the September 11th victims and in

the event of future terrorist attacks. With this

additional funding, OVC now has the capacity to

operate the Call Center at 25 percent within the

first 30 minutes of a terrorist attack and at 100

percent within 4 hours of an incident.
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Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

Report to the Supplemental Act (Public Law

107-206) directed that any remaining unexpended balances of funding appropriated under Public

Law 107-117 be made available for other authorized programs in addition to counseling programs.

Funding Strategy

Funds appropriated for victim assistance efforts

under the Department of Defense Appropriations

Act of 2002 were placed in OVC’s Antiterrorism

Emergency Reserve and awarded in accordance

with VOCA’s general requirements. Hence, OVC

awarded funds to agencies and organizations that

met VOCA’s eligibility criteria—recipients were

public agencies and private nonprofit organizations that provide direct services to victims of

crime and use volunteers in their operations.

Funding made available within the first 120 days

of the terrorist attacks was distributed according

to the program requirements set forth in the

guidelines established for the Crime Victim Compensation Program, the Crime Victim Assistance

Program, and the Antiterrorism and Emergency

Assistance Program for Victims of Terrorism and

Mass Violence. Under guidelines for these three

programs, funding recipients were able to use

grants to assist victims as follows:

Crisis Response—To provide resources to help

victims rebuild adaptive capacities, decrease stressors, and reduce symptoms of trauma immediately

following the terrorism or mass violence event.

Consequence Management—To provide supplemental resources to help victims adapt to the

trauma event and restore victims’ sense of

equilibrium.

Crime Victim Compensation—To provide supplemental funding to a state crime victim compensation program that reimburses victims for

out-of-pocket expenses related to their victimization in cases of terrorism or mass violence

occurring within the United States. Grant funds

may be used to pay claims to victims for costs

that include, but are not limited to, medical and

mental health counseling, funeral and burial

costs, and lost wages.

Criminal Justice Support—To facilitate victim

participation in an investigation or prosecution

directly related to the terrorism or mass violence

event.

Although supplemental awards to states and nonprofit organizations that came from moneys made

available under the Department of Defense

Appropriations Act were governed by VOCA’s

general requirements, the scope of assistance was

limited to “counseling.” OVC identified four

types of “counseling” for which funds could be

used:

Crisis Counseling—The application of individual and group treatment procedures which are

designed to ease the mental and emotional crisis

and their subsequent psychological and behavioral conditions resulting from a major disaster or

its aftermath.

Crisis Intervention—Counseling a victim to

examine the impact of the terrorism incident on

the victim, identifying needs resulting from the

crime, developing a plan of services and resources

required to respond to the victim’s needs, and

assisting the victim in implementing the plan.

Mental Health Counseling and Care—The

assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of an individual’s mental and emotional functioning by a

person or under the supervision of a person who

meets state standards to provide these services.

Peer Support—Creating opportunities for victims to meet other crime victims to provide selfhelp, information, and peer and social support.

The expansion in use of funds authorized by

Congress in the Supplemental Act allowed OVC

“Since my husband is self-employed, we have been

struggling since 9/11. I just wanted to thank you for

researching available sources of financial assistance.The

grant we received recently was very much appreciated.”

—wife of rescue worker
Recipient Agencies

and Organizations

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in

New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the

Governor-appointed victim assistance agency in

each jurisdiction received funding from OVC to

coordinate with state and federal agencies to

assess the immediate needs of their respective

jurisdictions and provide services and other assistance to victims. A list of all state agencies that

received funds can be found in Appendix A. In

New York, the New York State Crime Victims

Board (CVB) used an existing network of nearly

80 VOCA-funded victim assistance programs in

New York City and 9 surrounding counties. In

all, New York funded 19 agencies. The CVB

reported that agencies such as Safe Horizons,

Rockland Family Shelter, East Harlem Neighborhood Based Alliance Corporation, Westchester

Community Opportunity, and the Urban Justice

Center provided a swift and efficient response to

the needs of the victims and family members in

crisis. These agencies used their experience in

delivering comprehensive services to victims of

domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault,

and homicide as a foundation for providing crisis

intervention, grief counseling, hotline services,

outreach, and compensation assistance to thousands affected by this terrorist event.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded

funds received from OVC to one agency, the

Network of Victim Assistance of Bucks County

(NOVA), a program originally designed to provide services to victims of child abuse and adults

victimized as children. NOVA received funds to

establish a program of outreach and case management for victims and families directly affected

by the terrorist attacks. NOVA was specifically

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Report to

Congress

to permit current and new recipients of funds to

use the remaining unexpended fund balances for

other types of victim assistance services and support, including assistance to victims during criminal justice proceedings. To date, OVC has

received three requests to use funding for other

authorized purposes. Two states have asked to use

one-time funds to offset administrative costs

incurred from providing victim services. In general, this includes the cost of additional personnel

to process compensation claims and costs incurred from setting up victim databases and case

management systems to track requests and services to victims. Another state has asked to reprogram funding targeted for counseling to the

state’s crime victim compensation program to

assist victims with out-of-pocket medical expenses, lost wages, funeral and burial costs, and related expenses. Given the availability of charitable

resources for victim assistance and the nature of

the long-term needs of victims and survivors,

funding recipients continue to seriously consider

the best use of limited government funds.

Recognizing the urgent need for funds to meet

the immediate needs of the affected victims,

OVC attempted to minimize application requirements. OVC staff worked closely with the potential funding recipients in completing their

application, allowed applicants to fax their application to OVC, and arranged expedited internal

review procedures for approving and processing

incoming applications. On average, OVC was

able to review and approve the first awards within 72 hours.

OVC developed two separate reporting instruments to gather information on the uses of funds

for the September 11th terrorist attack victims.

One form was used to report information on

activities related to services and resources immediately following the event (120-Day Crisis Response Grants). The second form was used to

report activities related to the Department of

Defense Counseling Grants. Grantees submitted

their first reports on December 15, 2002. Data

from these reports covered the period October 1,

2001, through September 30, 2002, and are the

basis for information contained in this report.

“I needed to be with other people who understand. I needed

to hear how to cope before, during, and after 9/11. I needed

the support other people gave me at today’s meeting.”

—a California victim
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Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

Organization Development; and the University

Behavioral HealthCare/University of Medicine

and Dentistry received funds to provide crisis

counseling, crisis intervention, mental health

counseling, and peer support groups for victims,

family members, and first responders.

The State of California awarded funds to the

California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, its Governor-appointed state

victim compensation agency. This agency established a new peer support program designed to

build relationships among the victims, provide

regional information, and support a series of

debriefings for California victims.

In addition to state victim assistance and compensation programs, OVC awarded funding

directly to nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations that provided timely mental health support

to victims, crisis responders, and their families

in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. OVC

selected organizations that had not received

funding from any other Federal Government

source for their efforts. To identify such organizations, OVC staff coordinated with FEMA and

victim assistance and compensation programs in

the affected states to conduct outreach to organizations that fit this criteria.

The nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations

that received direct funding from OVC provided

various services to respond to the mental health

needs of victims, crisis responders, and their families. Many agencies that received funding were

onsite at Pier 94 in New York City and provided

direct crisis intervention in various forms to

thousands of distraught residents and victims’

family members searching for help and support.

Some were onsite at Ground Zero providing spiritual care to rescue workers without regard to faith

tradition, while others were staffing toll-free hotlines for victims and families to call and receive

counseling support over the telephone. Many

agencies coordinated and facilitated peer support

groups as well as developed informational materials for victims and families to read to help them

cope with the trauma. In all, nine grants were

awarded totaling $437,940. See Appendix B for

a list of grant recipients.

selected based on its proximity to the largest concentration of identified victims and its organizational skills.

The Commonwealth of Virginia awarded funds

from OVC to the Department of Criminal Justice

Services (DCJS), its Governor-appointed state

victim assistance agency, and the Arlington

Employee Assistance Program. The DCJS was

responsible for providing coordination services

for victims and families of the attack at the Pentagon, and the Arlington Employee Assistance

Program provided first responders (county firefighters) in the Northern Virginia area with crisis

intervention and crisis counseling.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts used OVC

funds to provide grants to 13 agencies throughout

the Boston metropolitan and surrounding areas.

Agencies funded included: Boston University

Medical School; Mental Health Association of

Greater Lowell; Merrimack Valley Hospice; the

Children’s Room/A Rainbow of Healing; Cambridge Health Alliance; the Brockton Family

and Community Resources; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Funds were used to develop an information packet detailing services of all

funded programs, organize and implement the

Massachusetts Careline that ran during the week

of September 11th, and create a listserv for agencies funded by this grant to share information.

All agencies funded offered individual and/or

group counseling, crisis intervention services,

and/or peer support. Many grief groups were coordinated that focused on issues such as identifying

natural support networks, developing coping

strategies, and learning relaxation techniques.

Groups have also focused on subsets of the victim

population such as children who lost a parent and

caregivers.

The State of New Jersey awarded funds from

OVC to 10 agencies and organizations with experience in providing mental health services to

various populations. Agencies such as the Department of Human Services/Division of Mental

Health Services; Jewish Family and Vocational

Service; Family and Community Services of

Somerset County; Department of Law and

Public Safety/Office of Employee and
could create additional trauma for the

victims. When Congress passed Public

Law 107-206, directing that any remaining

unexpended balances of funding appropriated

under Public Law 107-117 be made available

for other authorized programs in addition to

counseling programs, this authorized OVC to

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Report to

Congress

Among the organizations that provided these

services were the Lutheran Disaster Response of

New York, Free Arts for Abused Children of New

York City, Parents of Murdered Children, and

Spirit in Flight. Each organization reached out

to victims and families, often focusing on first

responders, others specifically on children, and

one on members of the airline community who

seemed to be often overlooked as victims in this

tragedy.

Lutheran Disaster Response of New York offered

mental health support, chaplaincy, and spiritual

care without regard to faith tradition to all New

York residents affected by September 11th and

its ripple effects. They provided immediate and

ongoing support for victims, rescue workers, and

their families throughout the recovery effort. Free

Arts for Abused Children provided art therapists

to children at the Pier 94 Family Assistance Center, workshops for children at the elementary

school closest to the World Trade Center, and

support for children and families on the 1-year

anniversary. Parents of Murdered Children, a

nationally recognized victim advocacy group,

provided crisis intervention, informational materials on grief, and peer support to victims, first

responders, and their families.

OVC was also pleased to support Spirit in Flight,

a nonprofit organization for flight attendants that

provided peer support and assistance to their

colleagues who suffered significant trauma as a result of the attacks. Many flight attendants from

American Airlines and United Airlines lost

friends and colleagues and continue to seek assistance and support. OVC funds were awarded to

support a retreat in early 2003 for 30 to 50 flight

attendants affected by the attacks. The retreat

will provide an opportunity for flight attendants

to meet others who have had similar experiences

and to promote information exchange and peer

support to allow them to continue helping each

other.

Victim Assistance During

Criminal Justice Proceedings

It is expected that victim focus may shift to trialrelated activities when the trial occurs, which

“At the initial phases there was much attention and 

assistance from the media and public enabling them

[victims] to feel optimistic about their future. However,

the later phases have begun to surface where many of

the clients feel a sense of disillusionment and despair in

the realization that nothing will ever be the same.”

—Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency

fund other services and assistance for victims of

the terrorist attacks. As in past terrorism trials,

such as Oklahoma City, Pan Am 103, and the

East Africa Embassy bombings, OVC made funds

available to facilitate victim participation in

criminal justice proceedings. OVC has received

several inquiries regarding potential funding support for victim assistance services during the

upcoming trial relating to the September 11th

terrorist attacks.

As a result, the remaining $2.4 million plus has

been set aside to provide support for the victims

who will be participating in the trial. Most of the

affected jurisdictions have begun planning for the

type of assistance they hope to provide victims

during the criminal justice proceedings. Coalitions of state and federal officials, victim advocates, and criminal justice and mental health

personnel have been meeting to discuss roles and

responsibilities for supporting victims during the

trial. Among the types of services envisioned are

the provision of onsite, daily mental health support services; on-call services available 24-hours

a day to respond to mental health emergencies,

including following up with victims who have

returned home; and counseling and emotional

support during the estimated 60-day trial. Once a

determination is made regarding the location of

the closed-circuit television sites, OVC will begin
10

Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

Funds awarded to states and nonprofit organizations were critical to ensuring that victims had

access to services without incurring additional

expenses. In addition to supporting the establishment of successful working relationships, funds

were instrumental in helping families develop

positive methods of coping with the psychological and emotional effects of the terrorist acts;

facilitating victim attendance at vigils, memorials, and debriefings; and providing ongoing

counseling for both family members of victims

killed in the terrorist attacks and first responders

who spent countless days in the rescue and recovery efforts. For many victims, the availability of

counseling services 6 months to 2 years later will

prove beneficial as many victims did not seek

counseling assistance until after the first anniversary. One funding recipient indicated “families

have continued to access services from providers

for issues as varied as support for day-to-day functioning to managing the identification of body

parts and arranging funerals.” Many counselors

and psychotherapists suggest that support is

needed to assist victims in managing prolonged

bereavement, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, substance abuse, and child-rearing difficulties. Victims have relied on the peer support

groups for a place where they can talk openly

about their feelings and grieve without shame or

pressure.

One of the benefits of the funding is that jurisdictions were able to hire staff to facilitate counseling services and peer support groups and provide

victims with consistency during the grief process.

Funds awarded to programs provided ongoing

and continuous contact with the victims to

ensure consistent availability of support and services which many victims identified as critical to

rebuilding their lives. The California Victim

Compensation and Government Claims Board

confirm this: “The comfort given by the chaplains who are at each meeting site is very important. Therefore, we continue to ensure that the

chaplains are at each meeting to be available for

spiritual guidance as needed. Because we continued to utilize the services of the same chaplains,

accepting applications from jurisdictions to create

safe havens designed to provide secure, private

places for victims and family members to seek

respite throughout the trial.

Impact/Statistics

Efforts to give a full report on the impact of these

funds have been somewhat hampered because

many of the funded agencies and programs are

providing ongoing services and assistance to victims. Preliminary data indicate that nearly 22,000

victims, crisis responders, and family members

have been assisted with funding from OVC’s

Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve which includes

moneys from both the Crime Victims Fund and

appropriated dollars authorized by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. See

Appendix C for a breakdown of victims served

and amounts expended. However, these victim

statistics may reflect duplication in counting

because many victims sought services from more

than one program receiving OVC funding. During this reporting period, state compensation

programs report that they paid 1,742 claims for

out-of-pocket expenses, such as lost wages, funeral expenses, mental health counseling, and medical costs. These claims totaled $11,041,283. They

also report receiving 166 new claims for compensation benefits.

In addition, fund recipients report that the terrorist attacks generated greater cooperation between

public and private partners, increased outreach

efforts, and increased ongoing coordination and

communication with multiple state and federal

government agencies and service organizations.

The impact of these funds reached not only the

victims, but also the service providers, as

reflected in numerous letters OVC received

from these organizations.

“It became increasingly frustrating for the families to 

develop a rapport with emergency service providers, only to

have that support disappear after a short period of time.”

—Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
some level of counseling to victims

through 2005. The Virginia Department

of Criminal Justice Services plans to help

address the counseling needs of victims

beyond 2005 by training crime victim advocates in crisis intervention and response to mass

tragedies and by fostering greater connections

across disciplines, such as public safety, victim

advocacy, mental health, and spiritual and faith

communities, to allow greater support and

resource sharing.

Summary

OVC’s ability to provide assistance to the victims

following the terrorist attacks and direct funding

resources to the affected jurisdictions contributed

greatly to efforts to quickly assist victims. In less

than 2 weeks, OVC awarded grants to New York,

Pennsylvania, and Virginia to address the immediate crisis needs of the victims and survivors.

Within 24 hours, OVC set up a Call Center and

a Travel Assistance Center to help victims with

the most basic needs for information and transportation to reach deceased and injured victims.

Shortly thereafter, OVC’s Hope and Remembrance

Web site provided much-needed information and

updates to the victims and survivors in the aftermath and through the first anniversary. OVC’s

outreach to the nonprofit organizations that

provided assistance to the victims and survivors

without funding support from other sources

helped restore these programs so they could use

existing program resources to serve other crime

victims. OVC applied lessons learned about precrisis planning and coordination from past experience with acts of terrorism to orchestrate a

timely response to the September 11th victims

and survivors. As a result of the September 11th

terrorist attacks, OVC has the ability to operate a

victim Call Center at 25 percent capacity within

11

Report to

Congress

the participants have developed relationships

with them that are especially important during

the peer support meetings which can be emotionally draining.”

Many victims affected had substantial third-party

insurance benefits available to them for reimbursement of expenses. Many also were eligible

for workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits greatly impacted the level of need for state

compensation services and benefits. Recognizing

that not all victims would meet state eligibility

requirements to receive compensation benefits,

the CVB took the extra step to ensure that victims received support and assistance from other

sources. CVB trained all the coordinators and

case managers of other agencies on the compensation application and eligibility requirements to

ensure that all eligible individuals or family members receive counseling benefits their program

covers.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and

Delinquency reported that group counseling sessions were initiated to promote emotional processing, sharing, and social support. Strong bonds

developed among the individuals in the group,

which fostered feelings of gaining control.

Many people did not necessarily realize they

needed assistance until they got to the nonfunctional point, the commission said. They noted

that several survivors suddenly appeared with

months of unopened mail, including unpaid bills,

suddenly aware that their home and motor vehicle were in jeopardy of repossession.

Funding available from OVC’s Antiterrorism

Emergency Reserve provided resources to support

expanded program operations in an already overtaxed victim assistance environment. Follow-on

funding made available under the Department of

Defense Appropriations Act provided another

avenue of assistance to deal with the long-term

psychological and emotional needs of the victims

and their family members.

The Virginia Department of Mental Health,

Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services, a funding recipient, anticipates providing

“I don’t believe in counseling but having someone listen to

what I’m going through has helped.”

—an employee/survivor who lost many friends

and colleagues on September 11th
12

Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

30 minutes of a terrorist attack, to make travel

and emergency assistance available to victims on

the same day of an attack, and to provide victims

with up-to-date information about resources and

services via an Internet Web site within hours of

an attack. Meanwhile, lessons learned from previous terrorist incidents will guide OVC’s efforts to

provide needed victim assistance during the

upcoming trial.
13

Appendix A

120-Day Grants to VOCA Victim Assistance and Victim 

Compensation Programs 

Grantee Type of Grant Grant Amount Award Date

New York State Crime Victims Board Victim Assistance $1,819,200 9/30/01

New York State Crime Victims Board Victim Compensation $11,220,400 9/30/01

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime Victim Assistance $314,475 9/30/01

and Delinquency

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime Victim Compensation $785,000 9/30/01

and Delinquency

Virginia Department of Criminal Victim Assistance $987,000 9/30/01

Justice Services

Virginia Criminal Injuries Victim Compensation $1,500,000 9/30/01

Compensation Fund

Total $16,626,075

Department of Defense Counseling Grants to Victim Assistance 

and Victim Compensation Programs

Grantee Type of Grant Grant Amount Award Date

Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance $2,000,000 2/26/02

Victim Assistance

California Victim Compensation and Victim Compensation $200,000 4/23/02

Government Claims Board

New York State Crime Victims Board Victim Assistance $9,408,800 4/23/02

New York State Crime Victims Board Victim Compensation $5,887,500 4/23/02

New Jersey Department of Law and Victim Assistance $8,529,710 4/23/02

Public Safety

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime Victim Assistance $750,000 4/23/02

and Delinquency

Virginia Department of Criminal Victim Assistance $15,486,000 4/30/02

Justice Services

Total $42,262,010
14

Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks 120-Day Grants to VOCA Victim Assistance and Victim 

Compensation Programs 

Grantee Type of Grant Grant Amount Award Date

New Jersey Violent Crimes Victim Compensation $4,000,000 11/4/02

Compensation Board

California Victim Compensation Victim Compensation $2,350,000 12/27/02

and Government Claims Board

Total $6,350,000
15

Appendix B

Department of Defense Counseling Grants to Nonprofit Organizations 

Grantee Type of Counseling Grant Amount Award Date

Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) Crisis Intervention & $22,288 8/27/02

Cincinnati, Ohio Peer Support

Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Crisis Counseling $27,508 9/3/02

Sacramento (LECS)

Sacramento, California

Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) Crisis Intervention & $37,021 9/5/02

Camdenton, Missouri Peer Support

TUDAY Ministries (Hope’s Nest) Crisis Counseling $59,490 9/17/02

New York, New York

Lutheran Disaster Response of Mental Health $85,616 9/24/02

New York Counseling & Care

New York, New York

Free Arts for Abused Children of Crisis Counseling & $40,924 9/24/02

New York City Peer Support 

New York, New York

Spirit in Flight/LECS Peer Support $24,519 9/24/02

Sacramento, California

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Crisis Counseling & $20,574 9/27/02

(MADD) Peer Support

Irving,Texas

St.Vincent Catholic Medical Center Mental Health $120,000 9/30/02

New York, New York Counseling & Care

Total $437,940
16

Meeting the

Needs of the

Victims of the

September 11th

Terrorist Attacks

Appendix C

Victim Statistics for 120-Day VOCA Victim Assistance and Victim

Compensation Grants

Category Totals for this Report To Congress

Victims Served by VOCA Victim Assistance Programs 12,169

(Family Members, First Responders, First Responder 

Family Members)

Funds Expended for Victim Assistance $1,040,534

Funds Expended for Victim Compensation $11,041,283

Number of Programs Funded With 120-Day VOCA Victim 

Assistance Grants

Number of Programs Funded Total Awarded to Programs for this Report To Congress

21 $1,071,197

Victim Statistics for Department of Defense Appropriations Act

Counseling Grants

Category Totals for this Report To Congress

Victims Served by VOCA Victim Assistance Programs 1,490

Funds Expended for Victim Assistance $403,081

Funds Expended for Victim Compensation $77,552

Number of Programs Funded With Department of Defense 

Appropriations Act Counseling Grants

Number of Programs Funded Total Awarded to Programs for this Report To Congress

26 $4,968,148