U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

Bureau of Justice Assistance 

FS 000317 • SEPTEMBER 2009 

Public Safety Officers’ 

Benefits Program 

By Hope D. Janke, PSOB Director 

Enacted in 1976, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program: 

•	 Assists in the recruitment and retention of qualified public safety officers. 

•	 Establishes the value communities place on contributions from those who are willing 

to serve their communities in dangerous circumstances. 

•	 Offers peace of mind to men and women who are seeking careers in public safety. 

A unique partnership effort of the U.S. Department of Justice; local, state, and federal 

public safety agencies; and national organizations, the PSOB Program provides death 

and education benefits to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and 

other first responders, as well as disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in 

the line of duty. 

The PSOB Office is responsible for reviewing nearly 700 death, disability, and 

education claims submitted annually. The PSOB Office also collaborates with national 

firefighter, law enforcement, and first responder groups to provide a wide range of 

PSOB training and technical assistance resources, through conferences, seminars, and 

printed materials such as the PSOB Information Kit, to offer vital information and support 

to survivors and agencies of America’s fallen public safety officers. 

PSOB Benefits 

Death 

PSOB provides a one-time benefit to eligible survivors of public safety officers whose 

deaths were the direct and proximate result of an injury sustained in the line of duty on 

or after September 29, 1976. For the current death benefit amount, visit the PSOB web 

site at www.psob.gov. 

Disability 

PSOB provides a one-time benefit to eligible public safety officers who were permanently 

and totally disabled as a result of a catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty on or 

after November 29, 1990. Injuries must permanently prevent officers from performing any 

gainful work in the future. For the current disability benefit amount, visit www.psob.gov. 

Education 

PSOB provides support for higher education to eligible spouses and children of public 

safety officers who died in the line of duty on or after January 1, 1978, or were 

catastrophically disabled in the line of duty on or after October 3, 1996. For the current 

maximum educational assistance amount per month, visit www.psob.gov. 

Across the country, dedicated public safety 

officers watch over our neighborhoods 

and work to make our communities 

safer. As Director, I respect these officers’ 

devotion and their willingness to place 

themselves in danger to protect our 

nation’s citizens. We owe officers—and 

their families—a tremendous debt of 

gratitude. And when tragedy strikes, our 

focus must be on helping the survivors and 

the public safety agencies. 

To that end, the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Justice 

Programs (OJP) are moving forward 

with enhancements to the Public Safety 

Officers’ Benefits Office and Program to 

better serve our public safety officers, their 

families, and their agencies. In just the 

past several months, key steps have been 

taken to ensure that the PSOB Program 

has sufficient resources so that survivors 

will receive the highest quality service 

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MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 

KEY POINTS 

•	 The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits 

(PSOB) Program serves the broader 

public safety community—law 

enforcement, firefighter, and other 

first responder survivors and disabled 

public safety officers. 

•	 PSOB provides no-cost support to 

public safety agencies including 

training and technical assistance in 

responding to line-of-duty deaths. 

1 • Fact Sheet 
 

 

Hometown Heroes 

On December 15, 2003, the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act expanded the 

circumstances under which public safety officer deaths resulting from heart attacks and

MESSAGE (cont.) 

available and the PSOB Office staff can 

work efficiently and effectively to provide 

grieving families with the benefits they so 

greatly deserve and coworkers with caring 

and helpful assistance when filing claims 

on behalf of their fallen colleagues. 

Without question, “PSOB Cares,” and 

BJA and OJP remain committed to providing 

survivors and law enforcement, firefighter, 

and other first responder agencies with the 

information and support needed throughout 

the claim process. 

KEY POINTS (cont.) 

•	 PSOB is implemented by the U.S. 

Department of Justice’s Bureau 

of Justice Assistance, an agency 

dedicated to supporting state and 

local public safety agency needs and 

committed to serving these agencies 

and their families, while respecting 

and honoring their sacrifices. 

•	 Tools and checklists are available to 

assist agencies and survivors with 

submitting claims and ensuring a 

timely claim review and decision. 

•	 The Hometown Heroes Survivors 

Benefits Act expanded program 

coverage to include certain heart 

attack and stroke circumstances. 

For more information, visit www.psob.gov. 

CONTACT US 

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Office 

Bureau of Justice Assistance 

Office of Justice Programs 

810 Seventh Street NW. 

Fourth Floor 

Washington, DC 20531 

Phone: 202–307–0635 

Toll-free: 1–888–744–6513 

E-mail: AskPSOB@usdoj.gov 

PSOB web site: www.psob.gov 

strokes may be covered by the program. 

l	 The Hometown Heroes Act establishes a statutory presumption that public safety 

officers who die from a heart attack or stroke following a nonroutine stressful or 

strenuous physical public safety activity or training, died in the line of duty for benefit 

purposes. 

l	 The Hometown Heroes presumption may be overcome by “competent medical 

evidence to the contrary.” 

l	 The Hometown Heroes Act excludes actions of a “clerical, administrative, or 

nonmanual nature” from consideration. 

l	 The regulations governing the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act, as well as 

the entire PSOB Program, were finalized September 11, 2006. 

CHECKLIST FOR FILING A PSOB DEATH CLAIM 

The following checklist is provided to streamline the PSOB filing process for you and 

the fallen officer’s survivors. Please do not hesitate to call the PSOB Office toll free at 

1–888–744–6513 for assistance with any part of the PSOB claim. 

Step 1: Collect the following information regarding the officer’s line-ofduty death from your agency records. 

l PSOB Report of Public Safety Officer’s Death form completed and signed by the 

head of the public safety agency or designee. 

l Detailed Statement of Circumstances from the initiation of the incident to the 

pronouncement of the officer’s death. 

l Investigation, Incident, and Accident Reports, if any. 

l Death Certificate. 

l Autopsy, Toxicology Report, or a statement signed by the head of the public safety 

agency or designee explaining that none were performed. 

l For claims involving heart attacks and strokes, please refer to the Hometown Heroes 

Checklist, available at www.psob.gov. 

Step 2: Collect the following information regarding the officer’s 

survivors/beneficiaries. 

l PSOB Claim for Death Benefits form completed and signed by the survivor/ 

claimant. 

l Officer’s current Marriage Certificate, if applicable. 

l Divorce Decrees for the officer’s and current spouse’s previous marriages, including 

references to physical custody of any children, if applicable. 

l Death Certificates for the officer’s and current spouse’s previous marriages, if any of 

the marriages ended in death, if applicable. 

l Birth Certificates for all the officer’s surviving children and step-children, regardless 

of age or dependency, identifying the children’s parents, if applicable. For further 

details on this requirement, please go to www.psob.gov. 

Please e-mail (preferred), fax, or mail the above information to the PSOB Office, keeping a 

complete copy for your records. 

2 • Fact Sheet