U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office for Victims of Crime

OCTOBER 2005

Victims of Crime Act Crime Victims Fund

T

he Crime Victims Fund (the Fund),

established by the Victims of Crime

Act of 1984 (VOCA), is a major funding

source for victim services throughout

the Nation. Millions of dollars have

been deposited into the Fund annually

from criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds,

penalties, and special assessments collected by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal

U.S. courts, and the Federal Bureau of

Prisons. To date, Fund dollars have

always come from offenders convicted of

federal crimes, not from taxpayers. Previous legislation expanded the sources

from which Fund deposits may come.

Passed in October 2001, the Uniting

and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to

Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act

(USA PATRIOT Act) provided authority for the deposit of gifts, bequests, or

donations from private entities into the

Fund beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2002. 

When the Fund was authorized in

1984, a cap was placed on how much

could be deposited into it for the first 8

years. The amount of money deposited

into the Fund has fluctuated from year

to year. The figure on page 2 depicts the

amount of money deposited into the

Fund each fiscal year from 1985 through

2005.1 Lifting of the cap in 1993

allowed for the deposit of all criminal

fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties, and

special assessments authorized by

VOCA to support crime victim program

activities. In FY 2000, Congress reinstated the cap on the Fund. Under this

scheme, the actual amount of funding

available for programs authorized by

VOCA is determined each year during

the appropriations process.

How Are Fund

Deposits Disbursed? 

❋ Child Abuse. Up to $20 million is

used annually to improve the investigation and prosecution of child

abuse cases. The money is divided

between the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services (up to

$17 million) and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) (up to $3 million). OVC uses the portion it

administers exclusively to help

American Indian populations and

their governing organizations

improve the skills necessary to

investigate and prosecute child

abuse cases, particularly in regard to

identifying and handling cases of

child sexual abuse. 

❋ Federal Criminal Justice System.

Since FY 2000, an unspecified

amount of the Fund has been allocated each year to the federal 

criminal justice system to improve

services to victims of federal crimes

by supporting the federal victim

notification system and federal 

victim coordinator and specialist

positions in the 94 U.S. Attorneys’

Offices and 56 Federal Bureau of

Investigation field offices. 

❋ Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve.

The OVC Director is authorized to set

aside up to $50 million from the Crime

Victims Fund for three purposes:2

■ To support compensation and

assistance services for victims of

domestic terrorism and mass violence in the United States.

■ To support assistance services 

to victims of terrorism outside 

the United States.

1Money deposited in the Fund in one year is used to support programs authorized by VOCA in the next year.

2Legislation passed in October 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) authorized the transfer of emergency supplemental appropriation funding into the Emergency Reserve

account to assist victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. 

Office of Justice Programs • Partnerships for Safer Communities • www.ojp.usdoj.gov 
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 7 0 8 0 9 0 1, 01,1 0 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,5

Tota und Collected

Cap on Fund

Tota und Available

2004–2005

2003–2004

2002–2003

2001–2002

2000–2001

1999–2000

1998–1999

97–1998

1996–1997

1995–1996

1994–1995

1993–1994

1992–1993

1991–1992

1990–1991

1989–1990

1988–1989

1987–1988

1986–1987

1985–1986

Millions of Dollars

Fiscal Year

,305.1

68.3

100

68.3

62.5110

62.5

77.4

110

77.4

93.6

110

93.6

 133.5

25

25

146.2

25

25

28

150

28

221.6

50

50

144.7

144.7

185.1

185.1

233.9

233.9

28.9

28.9

62.9

62.9

24

24

85.2

1,023.6

777 37.5 321.2

4.4

550 34.6

519.5

31.8

61.3 21.3* 093.3

833.7 20*

* Denotes that fiscal year cap was reduced by congressional rescission.

Crime Victims Fund Deposits

2
■ To fund directly the International

Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program, a direct

reimbursement to victims of international terrorism for specific

crime­related expenses. 

❋ Distributions. The remaining Fund

deposits are distributed as follows: 

■ 47.5 percent to state compensation programs. 

■ 47.5 percent to state assistance

programs. 

■ 5 percent for discretionary activities such as demonstration projects, training, technical assistance,

program evaluation and compliance, fellowships, clinical internships, and other assistance

to improve and expand the delivery of services to federal crime

victims. 

Victim Compensation 

What Is Crime Victim 

Compensation? 

Crime victim compensation is a

direct reimbursement to or on behalf of

a crime victim for the following statutorily identified crime­related expenses: 

❋ Medical costs. 

❋ Funeral and burial costs. 

❋ Mental health counseling. 

❋ Lost wages or loss of support. 

Other compensable expenses may

include the replacement or repair of

eyeglasses or other corrective lenses,

dental services and devices, prosthetic

devices, and crime scene cleanup. However, property damage and loss are not

covered.

What Is a Crime Victim 

Compensation Program? 

Every state administers a crime victim compensation program that provides financial assistance to victims of

both federal and state crimes. VOCA

allows states to use up to 5 percent of

crime victim compensation grant funds

for administering the crime victim compensation grant program. Any portion

of the allowable 5 percent that is not

used for administrative purposes must be

used for awards of compensation to

crime victims. Although each state

compensation program is administered

independently, most programs have similar eligibility requirements and offer a

comparable range of benefits. Maximum

awards generally range from $10,000 to

$25,000, although a few states have

higher or lower maximums. 

The typical compensation program

requires victims to report crimes to law

enforcement within 3 days of the

offense and to file claims within a fixed

period of time (usually 2 years). Most

states can extend these time limits for

good cause. If other financial resources

such as private health and property

insurance are available to the victim,

the program pays only to the extent that

those resources do not cover the loss. 

Which States Receive VOCA

Compensation Grants? 

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories receive

VOCA compensation grants. A state is

eligible for a VOCA compensation

grant if it meets the criteria set forth in

VOCA and OVC program rules. Examples of these criteria include that states

must provide services for victims of federal crimes and compensation to people

who are victimized in the state (even

when the victim resides in another

state). The amount of VOCA compensation grant funding a state receives is

based on a percentage of the payments

to crime victims from state funding

sources in the previous year. 

Victim Assistance 

What Is Victim Assistance? 

Victim assistance includes, but is not

limited to, the following services: 

❋ Crisis intervention. 

❋ Emergency shelter. 

❋ Emergency transportation. 

❋ Counseling. 

❋ Criminal justice advocacy. 

Nearly 6,100 VOCA awards are

made by states annually to public and

private nonprofit organizations to provide these and other essential services

to victims of crime. 

Which States and Territories

Receive VOCA Victim 

Assistance Grants? 

All states and most territories receive

an annual VOCA victim assistance

grant. The 50 states, the District of

Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and

Puerto Rico each receive a base amount

of $500,000. The territories of the

Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and

American Samoa each receive a base

amount of $200,000. Additional funds

are distributed to states and territories

based on population. States and territories competitively award VOCA assistance funds to local community­based

organizations that provide services

directly to victims of crime. 

How Do States and Territories

Determine Which Organizations Will Receive VOCA 

Victim Assistance Grants? 

Each state and territory determines

which organizations will receive funding based on the eligibility requirements for subrecipient programs

contained in VOCA, the victim assistance rules promulgated by OVC, and

the needs of crime victims in that state

or territory. Funding is awarded on a

competitive basis; however, funds are

also used to support continuation activities and requirements of the state funding agency. 

VOCA assistance funds may be used

only for direct services to crime victims.

VOCA allows state grantees to obtain

3
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OVC

PERMIT NO. G–91

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office for Victims of Crime *FS~000310* 

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

up to, but no more than, 5 percent of

each year’s grant for administering the

VOCA victim assistance grant at the

state grantee level with the remaining

portion being used exclusively for direct

service providers. Services such as

offender rehabilitation, criminal justice

improvements, and crime prevention

activities cannot be supported with

VOCA victim assistance funds. With

the exception of costs incurred by victims for forensic medical examinations,

VOCA assistance funds cannot be used

to reimburse victims for out­of­pocket

expenses.

Discretionary Funds 

What Is the Purpose of 

Discretionary Funds? 

VOCA authorizes OVC to use discretionary funds to improve and enhance

the skills, knowledge, and abilities of

victim service providers and allied professionals who work with crime victims.

Each year, OVC identifies program priorities that identify the training and

technical assistance and demonstration

initiatives that should be funded in the

coming year with discretionary funds

available from the Fund. 

How Are Discretionary 

Funds Used? 

Discretionary funds are used for two

types of activities: 

❋ National­scope training and technical

assistance to include the following: 

■ Performing program evaluations. 

■ Funding and evaluating demonstration programs. 

■ Conducting special workshops. 

■ Supporting victims’ rights compliance efforts. 

■ Developing training curricula. 

■ Establishing fellowships and clinical internships. 

■ Identifying and disseminating

promising practices in victim

services. 

■ Supporting efforts to raise national

awareness of victims’ rights and

needs. 

■ Training professionals who work in

victim services and allied fields. 

■ Delivering technical assistance. 

❋ Services and support for federal crime

victims to include the following: 

■ Developing materials that inform

federal crime victims of their

rights and the services available to

them. 

■ Supporting programs that establish

new and expand existing services

for federal crime victims, including

programs that address the needs of

American Indian crime victims. 

■ Training federal, criminal, and

tribal justice system personnel on

victims’ issues. 

For More Information 

F or more information on this topic,contact 

Office for Victims of Crime 

U.S. Department of Justice

810 Seventh Street NW., Eighth Floor 

Washington, DC 20531 

202–307–5983 

Fax: 202–514–6383 

Web site: www.ovc.gov

For copies of this fact sheet and other

OVC publications or information on 

additional victim­related resources, 

please contact

OVC Resource Center

P.O. Box 6000

Rockville, MD 20849–6000 

1–800–851–3420 or 301–519–5500 

(TTY 1–877–712–9279)

Ask OVC: http://ovc.ncjrs.org/askovc

Web site: www.ncjrs.gov

Or order OVC publications online at 

http://ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/

AlphaList.aspx.

For information on training and technical

assistance available from OVC, contact

OVC Training and Technical 

Assistance Center

10530 Rosehaven Street, Suite 400 

Fairfax, VA 22030

1–866–OVC–TTAC (1–866–682–8822) 

(TTY: 1–866–682–8880) 

Fax: 703–279–4673 

E­mail: TTAC@ovcttac.org

Web site: www.ovcttac.org 

FS 000310