Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 7639 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (g)(4)—PART REPLACEMENT COMPLIANCE TIMES—Continued 

Part Table S/N is listed in Previously operated in highthrust model engine 

Cycle limit from 

the effective 

date of this AD 

Table 2 of IAE AG NMSB V2500–ENG–72–0720 ................. No .......................................... 3,800 FCs. 

(5) For engines with an installed part that 

has a P/N and S/N listed in Table 3 to 

paragraph (g)(5) of this AD, at the next HPT 

module removal after the effective date of 

this AD, but before exceeding the applicable 

cycle limit specified in Table 3 to paragraph 

(g)(5) of this AD, remove the affected part 

from service and replace with a part eligible 

for installation. 

TABLE 3 TO PARAGRAPH (g)(5)—PART REPLACEMENT COMPLIANCE TIMES

Part Table S/N is listed in Previously operated in highthrust model engine 

Cycle limit from 

the effective 

date of this AD 

HPT 1st-stage hub P/N 

2A5001.

Table 3 of IAE AG NMSB V2500–ENG–72–0720 .................

Table 3 of IAE AG NMSB V2500–ENG–72–0720 .................

Yes .........................................

No ..........................................

1,800 FCs. 

2,800 FCs. 

HPT 2nd-stage hub P/N 

2A4802.

Table 4 of IAE AG NMSB V2500–ENG–72–0720 .................

Table 4 of IAE AG NMSB V2500–ENG–72–0720 .................

Yes .........................................

No ..........................................

3,400 FCs. 

3,800 FCs. 

(h) Definitions 

(1) For the purposes of this AD, a ‘‘part 

eligible for installation’’ is an HPT 1st-stage 

disk or HPT 2nd-stage disk having an S/N 

that is not listed in IAE AG NMSB V2500– 

ENG–72–0720 or PW SI 189F–23. 

(2) For the purposes of this AD, an ‘‘HPT 

module removal’’ is when the HPT rotor and 

stator assembly are removed from the engine. 

(3) For the purposes of this AD, 

‘‘Previously operated in high-thrust model 

engine’’ refers to HPT 1st-stage hubs or HPT 

2nd-stage hubs that have previously operated 

in an IAE AG Model V2527E–A5, V2527M– 

A5, V2528–D5, V2530–A5, V2531–E5, or 

V2533–A5 engine for any duration. 

(4) For the purposes of this AD, an ‘‘engine 

shop visit’’ is the induction of an engine into 

the shop for maintenance involving the 

separation of pairs of major mating engine 

flanges, H–P, except for the following 

situations, which do not constitute an engine 

shop visit: 

(i) Separation of engine flanges solely for 

the purposes of transportation without 

subsequent engine maintenance. 

(ii) Engine removal for the purpose of 

performing field maintenance activities at a 

maintenance facility in lieu of performing 

them on-wing. 

(5) For the purposes of this AD, the date 

that an AUSI inspected part was installed is 

the date of the authorized release 

certification for the shop visit at which the 

part was first installed after the AUSI was 

performed. 

(i) Terminating Action to AD 2022–02–09 

Compliance with paragraph (g)(1) of this 

AD satisfies the requirements of AD 2022– 

02–09. 

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, AIR–520 Continued 

Operational Safety Branch, FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 

send your request to your principal inspector 

or local Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the AIR–520 Continued 

Operational Safety Branch, send it to the 

attention of the person identified in 

paragraph (k) of this AD. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

(k) Additional Information 

For more information about this AD, 

contact Carol Nguyen, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des 

Moines, WA 98198; phone: (781) 238–7655; 

email: carol.nguyen@faa.gov. 

(l) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) International Aero Engines AG (IAE AG) 

Non-Modification Service Bulletin V2500– 

ENG–72–0720, dated November 20, 2023. 

(ii) Pratt & Whitney (PW) Special 

Instruction NO. 189F–23, dated November 

20, 2023. 

(3) For PW and IAE AG service information 

identified in this AD, contact International 

Aero Engines, AG, 400 Main Street, East 

Hartford, CT 06118; phone: (860) 565–0140; 

email: help24@pw.utc.com; website: 

connect.prattwhitney.com. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, 1200 District 

Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call (817) 222–5110. 

(5) You may view this material at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, 

visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ 

ibr-locations or email fr.inspection@nara.gov. 

Issued on January 24, 2024. 

Victor Wicklund, 

Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02205 Filed 1–31–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Office of Justice Programs 

28 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No.: OJP (OVC) 1808] 

RIN 1121–AA89 

Subject: Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) 

Victim Compensation Grant Program 

AGENCY: Office for Victims of Crime, 

Office of Justice Programs, Justice. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Justice Programs 

(‘‘OJP’’), a bureau of the Department of 

Justice, Office for Victims of Crime 

(‘‘OVC’’) proposes adding a subpart to 

its regulations to replace the existing 

Victims of Crime Act (‘‘VOCA’’) Victim 

Compensation Program Guidelines 

(‘‘Guidelines’’), and update and codify 

program requirements for the VOCA 

Victim Compensation Formula Grant 

Program (‘‘Victim Compensation 

Program’’). 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

no later than 11:59 p.m., E.T., on April 

5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: 

Electronic comments: OVC 

encourages commenters to submit all 

comments electronically through the 


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7640 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

1For purposes of this notice, the term ‘‘State’’ 

includes the District of Columbia, the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

Virgin Islands, and any other possession or territory 

of the United States. 34 U.S.C. 20102(d)(4) (defining 

‘‘State’’ for VOCA Compensation). 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, which 

provides the ability to type comments 

directly into the comment field on the 

web page or attach a file. Please go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. Upon completion 

of your submission, you will receive a 

Comment Tracking Number. Submitted 

comments are not instantaneously 

available for public view on 

regulations.gov. If you have received a 

Comment Tracking Number, you have 

submitted your comment successfully 

and there is no need to resubmit the 

same comment. Commenters should be 

aware that the system will not accept 

comments after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time 

on the last day of the comment period. 

Paper comments: OVC prefers to 

receive comments via 

www.regulations.gov where possible. 

Paper comments that duplicate 

electronic submissions are not necessary 

and are discouraged. Should you wish 

to mail a paper comment in lieu of an 

electronic comment, it should be sent 

via regular or express mail to: VOCA 

Compensation Rule Comments, Office 

for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice 

Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 

810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 

20531. 

To ensure proper handling of 

comments, please reference ‘‘RIN 1121– 

AA89’’ on all electronic and written 

correspondence, including any 

attachments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathrina Peterson, Division Director, 

Office for Victims of Crime, Office of 

Justice Programs, U.S. Department of 

Justice, 810 Seventh Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20531; (202) 616–3579 

(please note that this is not a toll-free 

number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Posting of Public Comments 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and made available for 

public inspection online at 

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personal identifying 

information (such as your name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter. The Freedom of 

Information Act applies to all comments 

received. 

If you wish to submit personal 

identifying information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not wish for it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONAL IDENTIFYING 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also place 

all of the personal identifying 

information that you do not want posted 

online in the first paragraph of your 

comment and identify with specificity 

what information you want the agency 

to redact. 

If you wish to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment, but do not wish it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify all confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment has 

so much confidential business 

information that it cannot be effectively 

redacted, the agency may choose not to 

post all or part of that comment. 

Personal identifying information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will be placed in the agency’s public 

docket file, but not posted online. 

Confidential business information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will not be placed in the public docket 

file. If you wish to inspect the agency’s 

public docket file in person by 

appointment, please see the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph. 

II. Executive Summary 

OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime 

(‘‘OVC’’) administers the VOCA Victim 

Compensation Grant Program (‘‘Victim 

Compensation Program’’). The Victims 

of Crime Act of 1984 (‘‘VOCA’’), Public 

Law 98–473, sec. 1403, 34 U.S.C. 20102, 

authorizes the Victim Compensation 

Program, through which OVC provides 

an annual grant to State 1 victim 

compensation programs in amounts 

determined by statutory formula based 

on prior year expenditures of those 

programs, provided that the programs 

meet the VOCA criteria. State 

compensation programs make payments 

to reimburse victims of crime (or, in 

some cases, third-party providers on 

behalf of victims) for certain expenses 

incurred as a result of crime. 

The proposed rule proposes to replace 

the existing Victim Compensation 

Program Guidelines (‘‘Guidelines’’), 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 16, 2001, at 66 FR 95, and update 

and codify program requirements. The 

proposed rule retains most of the 

substance of the current Guidelines, 

with various modest technical and 

substantive updates, primarily to 

account for statutory or procedural 

changes since 2001, and to clarify or 

streamline existing provisions. Of note, 

the proposed rule would clarify and 

streamline the policies and definitions 

regarding who may be considered a 

survivor of a victim; medical and dental 

expenses; property damage expenses; 

sexual assault forensic exam expenses; 

the requirement that States promote 

victim cooperation with the reasonable 

requests of law enforcement; 

consideration of a victim’s or survivor’s 

immigration status, criminal history, or 

alleged contributory conduct in claim 

determinations; and crowdfunded 

resources. It would make it easier for 

States to seek reimbursement for costs 

associated with recovery efforts 

(recovering payment amounts via 

restitution and subrogation). It would 

address extensions of grant performance 

periods and better describe OVC’s 

discretion in remedying erroneous State 

certification of payments. 

The benefits of this proposed rule 

outweigh the potential costs. A full 

analysis of costs and benefits is 

provided below in the regulatory 

certifications section. 

III. Background 

A. Overview of the VOCA Compensation 

Program 

OVC’s Victim Compensation Program 

provides an annual grant to eligible 

State-operated crime victim 

compensation programs, which 

reimburse victims of crime (or, in some 

cases, third-party providers on behalf of 

victims) for certain expenses incurred as 

a result of crime. 

The Victim Compensation Program is 

funded from the Crime Victims Fund. 

The Fund receives Federal criminal 

fines, penalties, and assessments, as 

well as certain gifts and bequests, but 

does not receive any general tax 

revenue. The Crime Victims Fund is 

administered by OVC, and amounts that 

may be obligated therefrom are allocated 

each year according to the VOCA 

formula at 34 U.S.C. 20101. The amount 

annually available for obligation 

through the VOCA formula allocations 

typically (since Federal fiscal year 2000) 

has been set by statute, through limits 

specified in the annual Commerce, 

Justice, and Science appropriations act, 

at less than the total amount available 

in the Fund. The VOCA formula 

specifies that (in most years) the first 

$20M available in the Fund for that year 

is to go toward child abuse prevention 

and treatment programs (via grants 

made by the Department of Health and 

Human Services), with a certain amount 

to be set-aside for OVC grants to address 


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child abuse in Indian Country. After 

that, such sums as may be necessary are 

available to the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s 

Offices to improve services to victims of 

Federal crime, and to operate a victim 

notification system. The remaining 

balance is allocated as follows: 47.5% 

for OVC’s Victim Compensation 

Program, 47.5% for OVC’s Victim 

Assistance Program, and 5% for the 

OVC Director to distribute in 

competitive-discretionary awards in 

certain statutorily defined categories. 

Generally, under the distribution rules 

for the Victim Compensation Program, if 

a portion of the 47.5% available for 

Compensation is not needed for that 

purpose (i.e., it is greater than the sum 

of the statutorily allocated grant 

amounts for the eligible State victim 

compensation programs for that year), it 

is (per the statutory formula) made 

available to augment the Victim 

Assistance Program. The Victim 

Assistance Program distributes funds to 

States as mandated by VOCA, at 34 

U.S.C. 20103(a) and (b). 

Under 34 U.S.C. 20102, the Director of 

OVC is required to make an annual 

grant to eligible crime victim 

compensation programs that is equal to 

75 percent of the amount awarded by 

the State program to victims of crime 

from State funds during the fiscal year 

preceding the year of deposits in the 

Fund (two fiscal years prior to the grant 

year). If the amount in the Fund is 

insufficient to award each State its 

percentage of the prior year’s 

compensation payout from State 

revenues, all States will be awarded the 

same reduced percentage of their prior 

year’s payout from the available Federal 

funds. (The allocation percentage was 

changed, by statute, from 60 to 75 

percent in 2021.) 

To determine the amount of the grant, 

each State must annually submit to OVC 

a certification of the amount expended 

by the State compensation program in a 

prior Federal fiscal year. State crime 

victim compensation programs may use 

state or VOCA compensation grant 

funds to pay for eligible expenses 

allowed by State compensation statute, 

rule, or other established policy. The 

VOCA compensation formula matches 

state-certified payments at the 

statutorily defined rate after certain 

deductions, which include payments 

made with VOCA compensation 

funding and most property damage and 

loss payments, among other things. OVC 

does not require States to submit 

budgets with their formula award 

applications, as the allocation and use 

of funds under this formula program are 

prescribed by VOCA. OVC does require 

basic information about State use of the 

administrative and training allowance. 

Each VOCA Compensation grant is 

available for the entire fiscal year in 

which the award is made (typically, 

OVC makes awards toward the end of 

the Federal fiscal year, in August and 

September), and the following three 

fiscal years. 34 U.S.C. 20101(e). 

Pursuant to the implementation of the 

VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims 

Fund Act (‘‘VOCA Fix’’), Public Law 

117–27 (July 22, 2021), OJP has 

authority to grant extensions of VOCA 

awards, including those under the 

VOCA Compensation Program. 

State compensation programs must 

comply with applicable reporting 

requirements, are monitored by OVC for 

compliance with VOCA and other 

applicable requirements and are subject 

to audit. 

B. Legal Changes Affecting the VOCA 

Compensation Program 

Since the Guidelines were 

promulgated in 2001, there have been 

changes to VOCA, section 1403, which 

governs the VOCA Victim 

Compensation Program, to other parts of 

VOCA, and to various government-wide 

and OJP-specific rules and processes 

relevant to the program. These changes 

are discussed below, along with the 

relevant corresponding proposed 

changes to the program rules; but some 

of the more significant changes are 

highlighted below for context: 

On October 26, 2001, a few months 

after issuance of the May 2001 

Guidelines, the Uniting and 

Strengthening America by Providing 

Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept 

and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the 

USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107– 

56, title VI, sec. 622(a)–(e)(1), raised the 

percentage used for calculating a State’s 

VOCA grant from 40 percent of prior 

year certified payouts to 60 percent 

starting in Federal fiscal year 2003. 

(This was further increased by Pub L. 

117–27, sec. 2(b)(1)(A) (July 22, 2021), 

to the current level of 75 percent 

starting in Federal fiscal year 2021.) The 

same 2001 law also removed the 

eligibility requirement that State 

compensation programs compensate 

victim of terrorism occurring outside of 

the United States. (It should be noted 

that the law did not, and does not, 

prevent States from compensating 

victims of such crimes, should they 

choose to do so.) The October 2001 

amendment also changed the meanstesting- and collateral-source exceptions 

applicable to State victim compensation 

payments: It added an exception that 

allowed the 9/11 Victim Compensation 

Fund to count State victim 

compensation payments for purposes of 

means testing and collateral-source 

review. It expanded the concept of 

means testing to include not only 

income eligibility but also resource or 

asset eligibility. It also expanded the 

exclusion to prevent most programs 

from counting payments from State 

victim compensation programs as a 

collateral source until the victim is fully 

compensated from the losses suffered as 

a result of the crime. It removed the role 

of the Director of OVC in determining 

that assistance or payment provided 

became necessary in full or part because 

of the commission of a crime, and 

instead simply exempted payments of 

‘‘any amount of crime victim 

compensation the applicant receives 

through a crime victim compensation 

program under this section [presumably 

meaning a State compensation program 

that receives a VOCA grant]’’. It added 

the U.S. Virgin Islands to the list of U.S. 

territories treated as ‘‘States’’ for 

purposes of program eligibility. It 

clarified, with regard to the payor-of-last 

resort provision, that the 9/11 Victim 

Compensation Fund (as other Federal or 

federally financed programs) was to pay 

before the State victim compensation 

programs. 

In 2006, Public Law 109–162, sec 

(a)(3), amended the VOCA provision 

allowing an administrative cost 

allowance of up to five percent of the 

annual VOCA Compensation grant, to 

allow grant funds also to be used for 

‘‘training purposes.’’ 

On December 19, 2014, the White 

House Office of Management and 

Budget issued a major revision and 

consolidation of government-wide grant 

rules, for codification as 2 CFR part 200. 

These rules promulgated as a result 

provide the primary legal structure for 

most Federal grant activity, including 

VOCA Victim Compensation Program 

grants. The Department of Justice 

adopted these rules (with very minor 

exceptions) on September 9, 2016, in its 

rule at 28 CFR part 2800. 

On September 1, 2017, the Office of 

the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. 

House of Representatives reclassified 

the U.S. Code provisions where VOCA 

had been codified to a different title of 

the Code—moving them from 42 U.S.C. 

10601, et seq., to 34 U.S.C. 20101, et 

seq. (42 U.S.C. 10602 in the Guidelines 

was reclassified to 34 U.S.C. 20102.) 

In 2021, the VOCA Fix increased the 

statutory formula percentage used for 

calculating a State’s annual VOCA grant 

from 60 percent to 75 percent. It added 

exceptions (centered around victim 

wellbeing) to the existing eligibility 

provision that requires State 

compensation programs to promote 


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7642 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

victim cooperation with the reasonable 

requests of law enforcement. It 

expressly prohibited OVC from 

deducting (from a State’s compensation 

payments reported in the Victim 

Compensation Certification form) 

recovery costs or collections from 

restitution or from subrogation for 

payment under a civil lawsuit. The 

VOCA Fix also (in 34 U.S.C. 20101(e)) 

gave authority to the U.S. Attorney 

General (who has delegated this 

authority to the Assistant Attorney 

General for the Office of Justice 

Programs) to allow extensions of the 

VOCA-award time limit, which 

ordinarily makes victim compensation 

grants available for expenditure only in 

the Federal fiscal year (FY) of the award 

plus the next three fiscal years. 

In 2022, Public Law 117–103, div. W, 

title XIII, sec. 1311, 1316(b), March 15, 

2022, added a provision (that is to be 

implemented no later than March 2025) 

requiring State victim compensation 

programs to waive the application 

deadline for certain victims whose delay 

in filing ‘‘was a result of a delay in the 

testing of, or a delay in the DNA profile 

matching from, a sexual assault forensic 

examination kit or biological material 

collected as evidence related to a sexual 

offense[.]’’ 

C. Discussion of Proposed Changes to 

Program Requirements 

1. Summary of Primary Substantive 

Changes to the Current Guidelines 

The primary substantive changes that 

OVC proposes to make to the current 

Guidelines are highlighted as follows 

(with full discussion below): 

1. OVC proposes to allow States to 

adopt policies that victim expenses for 

dental services and devices under a 

State-defined threshold are presumed to 

be attributable to a physical injury 

resulting from a compensable crime. 

This would allow States to facilitate 

processing of claims for these expenses 

in a more efficient and victim-centered 

manner, at a lower administrative 

burden to the State. 

2. OVC proposes to clarify the 

definition of ‘‘medical expenses’’ and 

‘‘mental health counseling and care’’ to 

emphasize that a limited definition 

applies for purposes of costs that a State 

must cover (to be an eligible program), 

but that States may apply a broader 

understanding of such expenses, in the 

exercise of their discretion. This would 

clarify that States have flexibility to 

address victim expenses more 

comprehensively where reasonable and 

appropriate; for example, in connection 

with services accessed in another 

jurisdiction, areas with limited access to 

licensed providers, or Native American 

healing practices. 

3. OVC proposes to lower the 

threshold for States to seek 

reimbursement for the costs of their 

personnel who work on recovery efforts 

(e.g., recovering restitution, subrogation 

for civil lawsuit recovery). The 

Guidelines currently require personnel 

to dedicate at least 75 percent of their 

time to such efforts, to be included in 

the State certification of payments that 

forms the basis for a subsequent VOCA 

Compensation grant. OVC proposes to 

lower this threshold to 50 percent. 

4. OVC proposes a new definition of 

‘‘survivor of a victim’’ to make patent 

OVC’s longstanding view that States 

have discretion to consider a broad 

variety of relationships to the victim in 

determining who is eligible for 

compensation. 

5. OVC proposes to add language 

reflecting the statutory change in 2021 

that now allows OJP (via delegation 

from the United States Attorney 

General) to extend the performance 

period for VOCA Compensation grants 

under certain circumstances. 

6. OVC proposes various clarifications 

of previously ambiguous or incorrect 

descriptions of statutory requirements, 

and removal of text that unnecessarily 

paraphrases or repeats the VOCA 

statute. 

7. OVC proposes to clarify State 

discretion to pay for, and certify, 

expenses of damaged property 

reasonably necessary for victim safety 

and how this interacts with the 

prohibition on certifying property 

damage expenses. This proposal would 

allow State compensation programs to 

address victim safety needs better, and 

in a timely manner. 

8. OVC proposes to omit in the 

Compensation rule some language in the 

current Guidelines (and make a 

conforming change to the VOCA Victim 

Assistance Program rule) that creates 

some confusion regarding which 

program (Victim Compensation or other 

programs, such as Victim Assistance) 

may pay for sexual assault forensic 

exams. This proposal would allow 

States to structure their coverage of the 

costs for these exams more flexibly, to 

enable them better to meet the 

requirement in Federal law that such 

exams be covered without charge to a 

victim. OVC also proposes to allow 

States to certify payments by the State 

compensation program for sexual 

assault forensic exams regardless of 

whether those funds derive from general 

state funding or are specifically 

appropriated for sexual assault forensic 

exam expenses. This would allow 

treatment of sexual assault forensic 

exam payments to be like that of other 

victim compensation expenses (for 

which the state funding source is largely 

irrelevant) and would encourage States 

to designate funding for sexual assault 

forensic exams by including those 

payments from designated state funding 

sources in the calculation for the 

Federal VOCA compensation award. 

9. OVC proposes to clarify the VOCA 

eligibility requirement that States 

promote victim cooperation with the 

reasonable requests of law enforcement, 

to emphasize that the requirement 

applies—by statute—to States, not 

victims. Although States have discretion 

in addressing the requirement, the 

proposal would clarify that they are not 

required to impose an evidentiary 

burden on victims to do so and 

expressly encourages States to avoid 

doing so. 

10. OVC proposes to make patent that 

nothing in the rule shall be understood 

to require or authorize a State to 

consider a victim’s or survivor’s Federal 

immigration status in determining 

eligibility for crime victim 

compensation. 

11. OVC proposes to add a provision 

prohibiting States from denying claims 

based on criminal history. Certain 

populations may be more likely to have 

criminal history due to unjustified 

disparate treatment in the criminal 

justice system or due to criminal 

conduct induced through force, fraud, 

or coercion, such as unlawful acts that 

traffickers compelled their victims to 

commit, and this can result in 

unjustifiably disproportionate denial of 

claims for those populations. 

12. OVC proposes to add a provision 

generally prohibiting States from 

considering a victim’s alleged 

contributory conduct in determining 

compensation claims, except in specific 

exceptional claims and where a State 

has a publicly available written policy 

regarding consideration of this factor. 

This change is intended to increase 

objectiveness and consistency in 

contributory conduct reviews and to 

address inconsistent attribution of 

‘‘contributory conduct’’ to victims, 

which attribution may later preclude 

these victims from receiving 

compensation. 

13. OVC proposes to prohibit (with 

exceptions) States from requiring 

notarized signatures on claim 

applications. This is intended to lower 

the administrative barriers for victims 

seeking compensation. 

14. OVC proposes a provision to 

clarify that crowdfunded resources are 

not considered a collateral source and to 

clarify that the VOCA payor-of-lastresort provision does not apply to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 24 / Monday, February 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 7643 

private insurance or crowdfunded 

resources. 

15. OVC proposes minor changes to 

the provisions regarding incorrect State 

certification of compensation payments, 

to make patent OVC’s discretion in 

remedying over- and under-payments 

resulting from erroneous certifications. 

2. Section-by-Section Discussion of 

Changes to Current Guidelines 

What follows is a section-by-section 

discussion of proposed changes to the 

Guidelines. It is organized below in the 

section order of the current Guidelines, 

with new proposed rule sections with 

no corresponding Guideline provision 

marked ‘‘NEW.’’. 

Guideline Proposed rule 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.201 to 94.205. Sets forth administrative provisions describing the purpose of the rule and 

program, the scope of the rule, and OVC’s authority regarding issuing guidance on the application 

of the rule; providing a savings clause; and describing when and to which grants the rule applies. 

Preamble ................................................. Preamble. Consolidates and updates the information from the Guideline’s two preamble sections. 

Sec. I Definitions ..................................... 94.206 Definitions. Retains some definitions from the Guidelines and adds (as denoted by asterisk) 

some definitions. The proposed rule defines— 

• * Administrative costs (defines the statutory term by providing examples consistent with those in the 

Guidelines); 

• * Certified compensation payment and Certify payment (defines these terms for clarity because they 

are used frequently in the Guidelines and proposed rule, and relate to determination of the annual 

award amount); 

• * Certifiable property damage expenses (defines certain property damage expenses for victim safety and physical necessities); 

• * Collateral source (defines this term in a general way for clarity, because it is a key concept applied by States in determining compensation payments); 

• * Crime victim or victim of crime (defines this generally as context for other eligibility concepts, such 

as victim of a ‘‘compensable crime’’; without the core broad definition of victim, the other definitions 

may be more difficult to understand); 

• * Crowdfunding (defines this generally as context for the proposed rules regarding consideration of 

collateral sources); 

• * Dental services or devices (defines the statutory term to make patent OVC’s longstanding understanding that the term encompasses a range of compensable expenses); 

• * Director (defined for context); 

• Driving while intoxicated (retains the Guideline’s longstanding definition, which reconciles the statutory term with a similar statutory term ‘‘drunk driving’’ by treating the offense of drunk driving to be 

a subset of driving while intoxicated, and provides some clarifying examples of how such offenses 

may be described in a State’s law); 

• Federal crime (retains but condenses the definition); 

• * Federal fiscal year (defines the time period to reflect that used in the Guidelines and most Federal 

programs); 

• * Funeral expenses (defines the statutory term to make patent that the term encompasses a range 

of expenses attributable to a death from compensable crime, but that States may impose reasonable cost and scope limitations); 

• Mandatorily compensable crime (defines in one place the crimes for which a State must, by statute, 

offer compensation); 

• Medical expenses (refers to statutory definition, which is quoted for ease of reference); 

• Mental health counseling and care (retains but updates definition to clarify that the term includes a 

variety of treatment methods, and refers to the professional treatment standards in the jurisdiction 

in which care is administered to address situations where care occurs outside of the State); 

• Method of healing recognized by the law of the State (clarifies that the applicable professional 

standards are those of the jurisdiction where the medical healing practice is provided, and that a 

State may recognize other healing practices); 

• Optionally compensable crime (defines crimes for which a State may provide compensation; examples are consistent with those in the Guidelines); 

• Optionally compensable expenses (provides examples, consistent with Guidelines, of expenses for 

which a State may provide compensation); 

• *Personnel directly involved in recovery efforts (defines the statutory phrase added to VOCA by the 

VOCA Fix Act relating to reimbursement of personnel and other costs associated with recovering 

compensation payments via restitution, subrogation, or other means; see discussion of Recovery 

Costs in proposed section 94.234 for additional information); 

• *Preceding fiscal year (defines the ambiguous statutory phrase to refer to the year preceding the 

year of deposits into the Crime Victims Fund, which is presumed to occur in the fiscal year before 

the grants are awarded; this is in accordance with OVC’s longstanding practice of using reporting 

from two years prior to the Federal fiscal year of the grant award to calculate the grant amounts 

and also has the prudential advantage of allowing States to complete their accounting for the relevant time period); 

• Property damage (retains Guideline definition of ‘‘Property Damage and Loss’’ but uses the statutory term; definition continues to include both tangible and intangible property, but adds clarification 

regarding exclusions for otherwise compensable medical expenses or items excluded by the statutory definition of property damage); 

• * Recovery costs (references statutory definition, which is quoted for ease of reference); 

• *Services rendered in accordance with a method of healing (defines the statutory phrase used in 

the definition of ‘‘medical expenses’’ to include examples of medical services); 

• State (refers to the statutory definition, which is quoted for ease of reference); 

• *Supplant (defines the statutory term in a way consistent with the Guidelines and the DOJ Grants 

Financial Guide); 


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Guideline Proposed rule 

• *Survivor of a victim (defines the statutory phrase to encompass a variety of relationship to clarify 

that States may consider not just traditional family relationships in determining survivor eligibility for 

compensation). 

• Training costs (provides examples of training costs, which are limited by an amendment to VOCA 

that occurred after the Guidelines were promulgated). 

* New 

OVC omits the definitions of— 

• Federal Program, or a federally financed State or local program (the term is self-explanatory, and 

examples of such programs are likely to be outdated quickly); 

• Mass violence (it is unnecessary to define the term in the rule—other crimes are not specifically 

defined—though victims of mass violence would be victims of violent crime, and thus States must 

compensate victims of such crimes); 

• Terrorism occurring within the United States (it is unnecessary to define the term in the rule—other 

crimes are not specifically defined—though victims of terrorism occurring within the United States 

would be victims of violent crime, and thus States must compensate victims of such crimes); 

• Terrorism occurring outside the United States (it is unnecessary to define the term in the rule because the statutory requirement that States compensate victims of such crimes was removed by 

Public Law 107–56, tit. VI, subtit. B, § 624I, 115 Stat. 272, 373, thus, States may, but are not required to, compensate victims of such crimes; these victims may apply for compensation under 

OVC’s International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program). 

Sec. II. Background ................................. Preamble. General updates. 

Sec. III.A. Funding Allocations ................ Preamble. General updates. 

Sec. III.B. Grant Period ........................... 94.241 Grant Award Period of Performance. Updates to reflect the VOCA Fix (allows extensions). 

Sec. III.C. VOCA Victim Compensation 

Grant Formula.

Omitted because it merely repeats statutory language. 

Sec. IV. A. Grantee ................................. 94.211 Eligibility of the Compensation Program. Updated to condense, but no substantive changes. 

Sec. IV.B. Program Requirements .......... Program Requirements heading. 94.211–94.215. 

Sec. IV.B.1. Compensable Crimes .......... Definitions of mandatorily compensable crime and optionally compensable crime. Updates to omit 

statutory repetition. 

Sec. IV.B.1.(a) VOCA Mandated Crime .. Definition of mandatorily compensable crime. Updates to omit statutory repetition; removes reference 

to coverage of terrorism to conform to current law. 

Sec. IV.B.1.(b) Coverage of Other 

Crimes.

Definition of optionally compensable crime. Updates to omit statutory repetition and to clarify. 

Sec. IV.B.2. Compensable Expenses ..... Definitions of mandatorily compensable expenses and optionally compensable expenses; 94.212 

Payments and Certification of Payments. Updates to omit statutory repetition and to clarify and 

streamline; moves definitions to definition section. 

Sec. IV.B.2.(a) VOCA Mandated Expenses.Definition of mandatorily compensable expenses. Updates to omit statutory repetition and to clarify 

and streamline; moves definitions to definition section. 

Sec. IV.B.2.(b) Other Allowable Expenses.Definition of optionally compensable expenses; 94.212 Payments and Certification of Payments. 

Clarifies ambiguity in Guideline between use of VOCA Compensation funds for compensation payments and certification to OVC of State-funded payments. Also moves list of optionally compensable expenses to the definition, and clarifies that the list items are examples, not restrictions. Regarding specific items: 

• Clarifies in a more conceptual way the exceptions for compensation of property necessary for victim safety in a new definition, certifiable property damage expenses. 

• Clarifies that compensation for building modifications and equipment may address any disability, 

not just physical. 

• Removes limitations on certifying forensic sexual assault examination expenses, so that these are 

treated like any other expense and to allow States flexibility to meet victim needs (and adds a conforming change to 94.119(g)). 

• Adds language, in section 94.212(c), addressing considerations for dental services and devices. 

This language allows States to use streamlined process—via a presumption of causation—for payment of these expenses. A presumption is justified because dental injuries often are not covered by 

collateral sources, such as health insurance, delays in service may exacerbate injury and increase 

costs, and treating dentists typically are not asked, and may not be trained, to opine on causation 

of specific dental injuries when providing services. 

• Adds definition of method of healing recognized by the law of the State to clarify that States may 

compensate for expenses meeting the professional standards of the jurisdiction in which care is 

provided, and that they also have discretion to compensate for other healing practices. 

Sec. IV.B.3. Victim Cooperation With 

Law Enforcement.

94.213 Promotion of Victim Cooperation with Reasonable Requests of Law Enforcement. OVC corrects the Guideline’s misdescription of a statutory requirement: VOCA requires that States promote 

reasonable cooperation with the reasonable requests of law enforcement, not that States ensure or 

document such cooperation. It also updates the requirements to reflect the statutory exceptions to 

such promotion added by the VOCA Fix, gives examples of promotion, and requires that States 

have a policy regarding exceptions if the State requires the victim to bear an evidentiary burden to 

show cooperation. 

Sec. IV.B.4. Nonsupplantation ................ 94.214 Nonsupplantation of State Funds. Updates to omit statutory repetition, clarify that broad (in 

addition to ‘‘across the board’’, the phrase in the Guidelines) budget restrictions at the State level 

typically are not supplanting and that a return to a prior baseline level of funding after a temporary 

increase is not supplanting, either; it also would eliminate requirement to notify OVC of funding decreases. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.113 Engagement with American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes. Requires certain States 

to have a tribal engagement policy. 


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Guideline Proposed rule 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: Victim Eligibility Considerations heading. This groups all requirements for State criteria for victim eligibility. 

Sec. IV.B.5. Compensation for Residents 

Victimized Outside Their Own State.

94.221 Residency and Place of Crime. Updates to omit statutory repetition, and remove provisions no 

longer supported by law. 

Sec. IV.B.6. Compensation for Nonresidents of a State.94.221. Updates to omit statutory repetition. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.221(c). Makes patent that nothing in the rule shall be understood to require or authorize a 

State to consider the victim’s or survivor’s Federal immigration status in determining eligibility for 

crime victim compensation. 

Sec. IV.B.7. Victims of Federal Crime .... Definition of Mandatorily compensable crime. Moves the requirement to the definition and updates it 

to omit statutory repetition. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.222 Criminal History and Delinquent Payments. Prohibits claim denials based on criminal 

history, with certain exceptions. Makes patent in the rule (where the Guidelines did not address the 

matter) that there is a longstanding statutory stay of the effective date of the VOCA eligibility requirement regarding the prohibition of payments to persons delinquent in paying Federal criminal 

fines, penalties, or restitution. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.223 Contributory Conduct. Adds a requirement that States may not consider a victim’s alleged contributory conduct, except in specific exceptional cases and only where the State has a 

written policy regarding consideration of this factor that is publicly available. 

Sec. IV.B.8. Unjust Enrichment ............... 94.224. Familial Relationship or Shared Residence with Offender (Unjust Enrichment). Updates to 

omit statutory repetition, eliminates vague examples, and limits denial of claims for de minimis benefit to the offender and expressly allows exceptions for victim well-being. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.225 Victim Application Provisions. Addresses the VOCA statutory requirement added by the 

VOCA Fix that requires (starting on March 15, 2025) that States waive the claim filing deadline for 

claims related to sexual assault where forensic evidence testing, or matching, is delayed. Also prohibits States from requiring a notarized signature for an initial application, because this is an unnecessary barrier to accessing the compensation program. 

Sec. IV.B.9. Discrimination Prohibited .... 94.249 Discrimination Prohibited. Updates to omit statutory repetition, and to refer to applicable DOJ 

regulation and OJP Office for Civil Rights mandates, and to emphasize language access requirements. 

Sec. IV.B.10. Additional Information Requested by the OVC Director.Omitted because it simply repeats statutory language. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: Relationship to Collateral Sources of Payment heading. Groups together provisions addressing 

collateral sources. 

Sec. IV.C. VOCA Funds and Collateral 

Federal Programs.

94.231 Coordination. Updated, but retains language regarding State coordination with other programs 

to facilitate victim access to resources. 

Sec. IV.C.1. Means Testing .................... 94.232 Means Testing. Omits repetition of statutory language and deletes a provision regarding the 

OVC Director’s authority that has been incorrect since an October 2001 statutory change. Clarifies 

that the restriction on using victim compensation payments for means testing or payment offset in 

other programs applies to both State and federally funded payments. 

Sec. IV.C.2. Payor of Last Resort ........... 94.233 Payor of Last Resort. Omits repetition of statutory language but retains Guideline exceptions. 

Addresses an ambiguity in the Guidelines by clarifying that OVC interprets the statutory provision 

to apply to victim compensation payments from State or VOCA Compensation grant funds, not 

merely the latter. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.234 Private Donations and Crowdfunding. Adds a provision generally prohibiting the consideration of private donations and crowdfunding as collateral sources. VOCA does not require means 

testing of victims as a condition of compensation. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: Program Administration heading. Groups technical administrative requirements. 

Sec. V. State Certification ....................... 94.243 Process for State Certification of Compensation Payments. Updates the provision: Refers to 

Victim Compensation Certification form, which has detailed reporting instructions, instead of setting 

forth those instructions in the rule. Adds a requirement that States have a written policy regarding 

submission of the VCC form, to address a frequent recommendation in Office of the Inspector General audits. 

Sec. V.A. Program Revenue ................... Omits the requirement that States report revenue, as this information is not used. 

Sec. V.B. Program Expenditures ............ Omits this provision in favor of relying on the VCC form instructions, which reflect the Guideline provision. 

Sec. V.C. Amounts to be Excluded ......... Omits this provision in favor of relying on the VCC form instructions, which reflect the Guideline provision. 

Sec. V.D. Deductions .............................. Omits this provision in favor of relying on the VCC form instructions, which have been updated to reflect the VOCA Fix, which prohibits OVC from deducting recovery costs or collections from restitution or subrogation. 

Sec. V.E. [Omitted erroneously in Guidelines].N/A. 

Sec. V.F. Recovery Costs ....................... 94.244 Recoupment of Compensation Payments and Recovery Costs, and definition of Personnel directly involved in recovery efforts. Updates the provision to reflect the VOCA Fix, which essentially 

codifies OVC’s longstanding practice of subsidizing State costs (including personnel costs) of recovering—typically via seeking restitution from the offender or subrogation from civil lawsuit recoveries—victim compensation payments. Decreases time threshold at which personnel are considered ‘‘personnel directly involved in recovery efforts’’ from 75% to 50% of the staff member’s work 

time. 

Sec. V.G. Sources of Payments to Crime 

Victims.

94.246 Sources of Payments to Crime Victims. Retains the Guideline provision, which facilitates State 

program administration by not requiring accounting at the payment level. (States are allowed to, 

and some do, use more detailed accounting.) Clarifies that aggregate payment amounts must be 

allocated in the accounting to Federal or State funding for reporting purposes. 


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Guideline Proposed rule 

Sec. V.H. Incorrect Certifications ............ 94.245 Incorrect Certifications. Retains the Guidelines provision regarding default remedies for incorrect certifications (e.g., recovery of excess funds for over-certifications, no supplemental funding for 

under-certifications) but makes patent OVC’s discretion to use alternative remedies (e.g., offset of 

over-certifications against under-certifications) as appropriate. 

Sec. VI. Application Process and Performance Reporting.94.241 Application, 94.247 Reporting. Retains the substance of Guideline provision with some updates. 

Sec. VI.A. Application for Federal Assistance.94.241 Application. Retains the provision with minor updates. 

Sec. VI.B. Annual Performance Report .. 94.247 Reporting. Omits this language about annual performance report in favor of a more general 

requirement that States comply with OVC reporting requirements and deadlines (set forth in the solicitation and award document). 

Sec. VII. Administrative Costs ................. Administrative and Training Costs heading (94.251 and 94.252). 

Sec. VII.A. Administrative Costs Allowance.94.251 Administrative and Training Cost Allowance. Updates to omit repetition of statute; to reflect a 

2006 amendment to VOCA that added an express allowance of training costs to the administrativecost-allowance provision, which now caps both administrative and training costs (in the aggregate) 

at 5 percent of the annual grant; and to use terminology from government-wide grant guidance. 

Moves non-supplantation language to 94.214. 

Sec. VII.B. Allowable Costs ..................... 94.252 Allowable Administrative and Training Costs. Updates to reflect VOCA amendment allowing 

training, in addition to administrative, costs; to use terminology from government-wide grant guidance; and to condense. In response to confusion in various audits, adds clarification that the State 

crime victim compensation program, for purposes of allocating VOCA Compensation administrative 

and training funds, encompasses both State and federally funded payments and activities of the 

compensation program. 

Sec. VII.C. Requirements to Notify OVC 

of Use of Administrative Funds.

94.251(a). Retains the provision with minor updates. 

Sec. VII.D. Confidentiality of Research 

Information.

Omits this provision because VOCA Compensation grants generally do not fund research or statistical collections, and because the provision repeats and mischaracterizes the statutory provision at 

34 U.S.C. 20110(d). The provision’s interpretation of 20110(d), as not superseding mandatory reporting laws, is outside the scope of the rule and thus also is omitted. 

N/A ........................................................... NEW: 94.250 Non-disclosure of Confidential or Private Information. Incorporates VOCA Assistance 

confidentiality requirements by reference, mutatis mutandis (i.e., as adjusted for the VOCA Compensation context). Added in response to various States’ requests for confidentiality protections. 

Sec. VIII. Financial Requirements ........... 94.202 Scope. Retained in substance, makes minor updates to refer to current document names 

(e.g., Circulars are now 2 CFR part 200). 

Sec. IX. Monitoring .................................. 94.248 Access to Records. Condenses and folds this provision into 94.248, which addresses access 

to records. OJP has monitoring policies that are updated from time-to-time, and details regarding 

monitoring typically are communicated with award documents or in other communications, thus the 

(now inaccurate) description of monitoring procedures is omitted. 

Sec. X. Suspension and Termination of 

Funding.

Omitted because remedies are addressed in VOCA at 34 U.S.C. 20110, DOJ regulations in 28 

C.F.R. part 18, and in 2 C.F.R. part 200, as well as in annual award documents. 

VI. Regulatory Certifications 

A. Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1995 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(‘‘RFA’’, 5 U.S.C. 601–612) applies to 

rules that are subject to notice and 

comment under section 553(b) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (‘‘APA’’). 

As noted in the discussion, below, 

however, regarding the applicability of 

the APA, this proposed rule is exempt 

from the 553(b) notice and comment 

requirements. Consequently, the RFA 

does not apply. 

Nevertheless, consistent with the 

analysis typically required by the RFA 

(5 U.S.C. 605(b)), OVC has reviewed this 

proposed regulation and, by approving 

it, certifies that it will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The Victim Compensation Program 

provides grant funding to States to 

supplement their crime victim 

compensation programs, thus this 

proposed rule will have no direct effect 

on any particular local governments or 

entities, nor will it have any cost to 

State, local, or tribal governments, or to 

the private sector. The program is 

funded by fines, fees, penalty 

assessments, and bond forfeitures paid 

by Federal offenders, as well as gifts 

from private individuals, that are 

deposited into the Crime Victims Fund 

of the U.S. Treasury. Therefore, an 

analysis of the impact of this proposed 

rule on such entities is not required 

under the RFA. 

B. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 

14094—Regulatory Review 

This regulation has been drafted and 

reviewed in accordance with Executive 

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review’’; Executive Order 13563 

‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review’’; and Executive Order 14094, 

‘‘Modernizing Regulatory Review’’. The 

Department has determined that this 

rule is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review. Accordingly, this rule has not 

been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

Consistent with the principles of 

Executive Order 14094, OVC engaged in 

substantial outreach and knowledge 

gathering related to this effort. This 

NPRM was informed by input from a 

wide variety of interested and affected 

communities, including formal 

stakeholder discussion sessions that 

included State compensation and 

assistance administrators, tribal 

organizations, victims of crime, and 

organizations that represent and serve 

victims of crime. 

This proposed rule would impose no 

cost on State, local, or tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

The Crime Victim Compensation Grant 

Program is funded by fines, fees, penalty 

assessments, and forfeitures paid by 

Federal offenders, as well as gifts from 

private individuals, that are deposited 

into the Crime Victims Fund of the U.S. 

Treasury. The cost to the Federal 

Government is largely administrative 

and is clearly outweighed by the 

government’s interest in seeing that 

crime victims are compensated for the 

expenses associated with their 


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victimization. Annual grant amounts are 

determined by statutory formula. 

Consequently, none of the changes in 

this rule is expected to alter the overall 

budgetary impact of this program or 

annual grant amounts materially. 

OVC estimates that the proposed 

changes highlighted in the Executive 

Summary may marginally increase the 

amount of victim compensation 

payments by reducing barriers for 

victims and allowing States some 

additional flexibility. OVC does not 

anticipate that such changes would 

materially alter the outlays for victim 

compensation at the State level because 

the changes primarily would afford 

States additional flexibility to address 

marginal situations arising in the 

context of compensation that they 

already generally provide (e.g., 

flexibility to cover unique but justifiable 

costs incurred by a victim for mental 

health needs, prohibiting denials based 

on criminal history). The benefits of 

these changes for individual victims, 

however, would be likely to be 

significant, as would be the benefit of 

advancing equity in claim 

determinations and reducing 

unnecessary barriers to compensation. 

OVC anticipates that the proposal to 

lower the threshold at which States may 

seek reimbursement for personnel 

involved in recovery efforts would 

result in a marginal, but non-material, 

increase in the amount of recovery costs 

that States are eligible to recover via the 

annual grant. In FY 2022, States 

recovered approximately $5.9 million in 

recovery costs. If the proposed provision 

increases eligible State recovery costs by 

25 percent, the overall effect on the 

program outlays would be 

approximately $1.5 million annually, or 

less than 1 percent of the annual grant 

amounts (which totaled $177,813,000 in 

FY 2022). This de minimis cost increase 

in the Federal outlays are outweighed 

by the benefit to victims and State 

programs of incentivizing States to fund 

recovery efforts that result in money 

(including money for expenses not 

compensated) returning to victims and 

to the State programs. OVC does not 

expect that the revision to the provision 

regarding sexual assault forensic exam 

payments necessarily would cause 

changes to State payment regimes 

immediately and expects that most 

States would continue to cover sexual 

assault forensic exam costs from the 

State victim compensation program. 

OVC is not able to estimate the costs of 

State changes that would take advantage 

of additional flexibility regarding 

covering such exams from either 

program, because such changes would 

in large part depend on future State 

legislative action. OVC does expect, 

however, that State-level changes taking 

advantage of additional flexibility 

would inure to the end benefit to 

victims. The proposed prohibition on 

notarized signature requirements for 

applications would not impose a cost 

(nearly all States have eliminated this 

already without additional costs) but 

would reduce this cost- and time barrier 

for victims seeking compensation in the 

few (approx. 2) States that retain notary 

requirements. The proposed rule 

regarding crowdfunded resources may 

marginally increase State payments 

where such resources may have 

previously been counted as a collateral 

source. The provision, however, is also 

expected to reduce State administrative 

burdens regarding inquiring into the 

nature of crowdsourced resources, 

which, in many cases, would not be 

information readily available to State 

administrators. The provision regarding 

OVC’s discretion to remedy over- and 

under certifications would not impose 

any new costs, because it merely would 

codify OVC’s current approach, which 

considers a range of remedies (typically 

aimed at maximizing recovery of 

overpayments while minimizing the 

burden on State compensation 

resources). 

C. Administrative Procedure Act 

This proposed rule concerns matters 

relating to ‘‘grants, benefits, or 

contracts,’’ 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), and is 

therefore exempt from the requirement 

of notice and comment and a 30-day 

delay in the effective date. Nevertheless, 

in its discretion, OVC has decided to 

solicit comments on this proposed rule. 

D. Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

The VOCA Compensation Program 

does not impose any mandates on 

States; nor does it interfere with States’ 

sovereignty, authorities, or rights. 

States, rather, participate in the Program 

voluntarily and, as a condition of 

receipt of funding, agree to comply with 

the Program’s requirements, which are 

predicated on the authorizing statute. 

Thus, this proposed rule would not 

have substantial direct effects on the 

States, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and the States, or 

on distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. The proposed rule 

would not impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on State and local 

governments or preempt any State laws. 

Therefore, in accordance with Executive 

Order No. 13132, it is determined that 

this proposed rule would not have 

sufficient federalism implications to 

warrant the preparation of a Federalism 

Assessment. 

E. Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform (Plain Language) 

This proposed rule meets the 

applicable standards set forth in section 

3(a) and (b)(2) of Executive Order No. 

12988 to specify provisions in clear 

language. Pursuant to section 3(b)(1)(I) 

of the Executive order, nothing in this 

proposed or any previous rule (or in any 

administrative policy, directive, ruling, 

notice, guideline, guidance, or writing) 

directly relating to the Program that is 

the subject of this proposed rule is 

intended to create any legal or 

procedural rights enforceable against the 

United States. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This proposed rule, when finalized, 

would not result in the expenditure by 

State, local and Tribal Governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100,000,000 or more in any one year, 

and it would not significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. The 

Victim Compensation Program provides 

funds to States to supplement their 

victim compensation programs. As a 

condition of funding, States agree to 

comply with the Program requirements. 

Therefore, no actions are necessary 

under the provisions of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 

G. Congressional Review Act 

This proposed rule is not a major rule 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804. This 

proposed rule would not result in an 

annual effect on the economy of 

$100,000,000 or more; a major increase 

in costs or prices; or significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

on the ability of United States-based 

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and 

export markets. 

H. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule would not propose 

any new, or changes to existing, 

‘‘collection[s] of information’’ as defined 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and its 

implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 

1320. 

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 94 

Crime Victims, Formula Grants, 

Victim Compensation. 

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

in the preamble, the Office of Justice 

Programs proposes to amend Title 28, 

Part 94, of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as follows: 


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PART 94—CRIME VICTIM SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 94 is 

revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 34 U.S.C. 20102, 20103, 20106, 

20110(a), 20111. 

Subpart B—VOCA Victim Assistance 

Program 

§ 94.119 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 94.119, in paragraph (g), 

by removing ‘‘to the extent that other 

funding sources such as State 

appropriations are insufficient’’. 

■ 3. Add a new subpart C to read as 

follows: 

Subpart C—Victim Compensation 

Grant Program 

Sec. 

General Provisions 

94.201 Purpose. 

94.202 Scope. 

94.203 Construction and severability. 

94.204 Compliance date. 

94.205 Definitions. 

94.206 [RESERVED] 

94.207 [RESERVED] 

94.208 [RESERVED] 

94.209 [RESERVED] 

94.210 [RESERVED] 

Program Requirements 

94.211 Eligibility of the Compensation 

Program. 

94.212 Payments and Certification of 

Payments. 

94.213 Promotion of Victim Cooperation 

With Reasonable Requests of Law 

Enforcement. 

94.214 Nonsupplantation of State Funds. 

94.215 Engagement With American Indian 

and Alaskan Native Tribes. 

94.216 [RESERVED] 

94.217 [RESERVED] 

94.218 [RESERVED] 

94.219 [RESERVED] 

94.220 [RESERVED] 

Victim Eligibility Considerations 

94.221 Residency and Place of Crime. 

94.222 Criminal History and Delinquent 

Payments. 

94.223 Contributory Conduct. 

94.224 Familial Relationship or Shared 

Residence With Offender (Unjust 

Enrichment). 

94.225 Victim Application Provisions. 

94.226 [RESERVED] 

94.227 [RESERVED] 

94.228 [RESERVED] 

94.229 [RESERVED] 

94.230 [RESERVED] 

Relationship to Collateral Sources of 

Payment 

94.231 Coordination. 

94.232 Means Testing. 

94.233 Payor of Last Resort. 

94.234 Private Donations and 

Crowdfunding. 

94.235 [RESERVED] 

94.236 [RESERVED] 

94.237 [RESERVED] 

94.238 [RESERVED] 

94.239 [RESERVED] 

94.240 [RESERVED] 

Program Administration 

94.241 Grant Award Period of Performance. 

94.242 Application for Annual Grant. 

94.243 Process for State Certification of 

Compensation Payments. 

94.244 Recoupment of Compensation 

Payment Recovery Costs. 

94.245 Incorrect Certifications. 

94.246 Sources of Payments to Crime 

Victims. 

94.247 Reporting. 

94.248 Access to Records. 

94.249 Discrimination Prohibited. 

94.250 Non-disclosure of Confidential or 

Private Information. 

Administrative and Training Costs 

94.251 Administrative and Training Cost 

Allowance. 

94.252 Allowable Administrative and 

Training Costs. 

Authority: 34 U.S.C. 20102. 

General Provisions 

§ 94.201 Purpose. 

This subpart implements the 

provisions of the Victims of Crime Act 

of 1984 ‘‘VOCA’’, at 34 U.S.C. 20102, 

which, as of [INSERT DATE OF 

PUBLICATION OF FINAL RULE IN 

THE FEDERAL REGISTER], authorize 

the Director to make an annual grant 

award, of an amount determined by 

statutory formula, to each eligible crime 

victim compensation program, to be 

used by such program for awards of 

compensation and, in statutorily limited 

amounts, for training purposes and the 

administration of the crime victim 

compensation program. 

§ 94.202 Scope. 

This subpart applies to both VOCA 

Victim Compensation Program formula 

grant award applicants and recipients. 

VOCA sets out the statutory 

requirements governing these grant 

awards, and this subpart should be read 

in conjunction with it. Grant awards 

under this program also are subject to 

various government-wide grant rules, 

including those in 2 CFR part 200, as 

implemented by the Department of 

Justice at 2 CFR part 2800, and the DOJ 

Grants Financial Guide. 

§ 94.203 Construction and severability. 

(a) Any provision of this subpart held 

to be invalid or unenforceable by its 

terms, or as applied to any person or 

circumstance, shall be construed so as 

to give it the maximum effect permitted 

by law, unless such holding shall be one 

of utter invalidity or unenforceability, in 

which event such provision shall be 

deemed severable from this subpart and 

shall not affect the remainder thereof or 

the application of such provision to 

other persons not similarly situated or 

to other, dissimilar circumstances. 

(b) Unless otherwise expressly 

indicated, references herein— 

(1) to statutory provisions are to be 

understood as references to such 

provisions as in effect on [INSERT 

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE 

FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER]; 

(2) to provisions of 2 CFR part 200 are 

to be understood as references to such 

provisions as implemented by the 

Department of Justice at 2 CFR part 

2800, all as in effect at the time of the 

pertinent grant award; and 

(3) to provisions of the DOJ Grants 

Financial Guide are to be understood as 

references to such provisions as in effect 

at the time of the pertinent grant award. 

§ 94.204 Compliance date. 

This subpart applies to all Federal 

grant awards under this program made 

after the effective date of this rule. 

§ 94.205 Definitions. 

As used in this subpart— 

Administrative costs include, but are 

not limited to, personnel costs (salaries, 

fringe benefits, consultants, contractors), 

travel costs, equipment and supplies, 

facilities, audits (see 2 CFR 200.425), 

indirect costs, coordination efforts, 

informational resources, memberships 

in crime victim organizations (see 2 CFR 

200.454), strategic planning, surveys, 

needs assessments, policy and 

procedure development. 

Certified compensation payment 

means a compensation payment that the 

appropriate State official has certified. 

Certifiable property-damage expenses 

means optionally compensable expenses 

arising from property damage that are 

incurred for— 

(1) purchase or acquisition of property 

reasonably necessary for victim safety 

(such as cell phones; security items 

such as doorbell cameras, movement 

lights, and locks; and window and door 

repair or replacement); or 

(2) replacement of clothing or bedding 

or other physical property held as 

evidence. 

Certify payment means to certify (via 

the Victim Compensation Certification 

form) that a payment meets the criteria 

in VOCA (as implemented by this rule) 

to be counted for the statutory partialmatching formula (see 34 U.S.C. 

20102(a)) that determines the amount of 

the State’s VOCA Compensation grant 

award, unless context should indicate 

otherwise. 

Collateral source means a source of 

funding outside of the crime victim 

compensation program to pay for an 


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expense covered by the compensation 

program. 

Contributory conduct means conduct 

(e.g., engaging in the commission of a 

crime) that a State has determined to 

have contributed to a person’s own 

victimization. 

Crime victim or victim of crime means 

a person who has suffered physical, 

sexual, financial, or emotional harm as 

a result of the commission of a crime, 

or as otherwise defined under pertinent 

State law. 

Crowdfunding means a method of 

raising funds by soliciting contributions 

widely, often through internet 

platforms. 

Dental services and devices include 

those reasonably necessary for dental 

care, including, but not limited to, 

assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of 

underlying conditions affecting the 

treatment of the victimization injury, 

medication, prosthetics, and 

orthodontic appliances. 

Director means the Director of the 

Office for Victims of Crime. 

Driving while intoxicated means 

drunk driving and driving under the 

influence of alcohol or other drugs, as 

defined by the law or policy of the 

pertinent jurisdiction (e.g., drivingunder-the-influence- (‘‘DUI’’) or drivingwhile-impaired (‘‘DWI’’) offenses, such 

as DUI/DWI hit and run, DUI/DWI 

motor-vehicle crash, DUI/DWI resulting 

in death). 

Federal crime means any criminal 

violation of the United States Criminal 

Code or the Code of Military Justice. 

Federal fiscal year means (as used in 

this rule) the period beginning on 

October 1st and ending on September 

30th. 

Funeral expenses mean expenses of a 

funeral, burial, cremation, or other 

chosen method of interment or disposal 

of remains, and associated ceremonies, 

and other related expenses, all subject to 

reasonable State cost and scope 

limitations. 

Mandatorily compensable crime 

means the following crimes for which a 

State must offer compensation— 

(1) any crime indicated at 34 U.S.C. 

20102(d)(2) (‘‘crimes, whose victims 

suffer death or personal injury, that are 

described in section 247 of title 18 

[damage to religious property and 

obstruction of persons in the free 

exercise of religious beliefs], driving 

while intoxicated, and domestic 

violence’’); 

(2) any crime indicated at 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(1) (criminal violence, drunk 

driving, domestic violence); and 

(3) any Federal crime indicated at 34 

U.S.C. 20102(b)(5) (same basis for 

compensation of Federal crimes 

occurring within the State as for State 

crimes occurring there). 

Mandatorily compensable expenses 

means expenses indicated at 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(1) (medical expenses, lost 

wages, or funeral expenses attributable 

to a physical injury or death resulting 

from a mandatorily compensable crime). 

Medical expenses has the meaning set 

forth in 34 U.S.C. 20102(d)(2) 

(‘‘includes, to the extent provided under 

the eligible crime victim compensation 

program, expenses for eyeglasses or 

other corrective lenses, for dental 

services and devices and prosthetic 

devices, and for services rendered in 

accordance with a method of healing 

recognized by the law of the State.’’) 

Mental health counseling and care 

means the assessment, diagnosis, and 

treatment of an individual’s mental and 

emotional functioning, and includes inpatient- and out-patient treatment, 

psychiatric care, counseling, therapy, 

and medication management. Mental 

health counseling and care must be 

provided by a person who meets 

professional standards to provide them 

in the jurisdiction in which they are 

provided. 

Method of healing recognized by the 

law of the State means any medical 

healing practice that meets professional 

standards to provide it in the 

jurisdiction in which it is provided; 

such methods also may, in the 

discretion of the State, include other 

healing practices. 

Optionally compensable crime means 

a crime (other than a mandatorily 

compensable crime) the victims of 

which may, in the discretion of the 

State, be eligible to receive 

compensation for under its eligible 

crime victim compensation program 

(e.g., non-violent crimes, fraud, neglect, 

threats, economic crime, privacy crime). 

Optionally compensable expenses 

means any expenses (other than 

mandatorily compensable expenses) for 

which a State, in its discretion, may 

offer compensation when attributable to 

compensable crime; such expenses, in 

the discretion of the State, may include, 

but are not limited to, those arising 

from— 

(1) property damage (certifiable or 

non-certifiable); 

(2) travel and transportation; 

(3) temporary lodging and relocation; 

(4) building modification and 

equipment reasonably necessary to 

accommodate disabilities; 

(5) crime scene cleanup; 

(6) attorneys’ fees; 

(7) sexual assault forensic medical 

examinations; 

(8) dependent care; 

(9) financial counseling; and 

(10) pain and suffering. 

Personnel directly involved in the 

recovery efforts means personnel who 

allocate (under applicable allocation 

principles) at least half of their time and 

effort (during the Federal fiscal year for 

which recovery costs are certified) to 

recovery efforts or to other similar 

collection or reimbursement efforts. 

Preceding fiscal year means, for 

purposes of 34 U.S.C. 20102(a), the 

federal fiscal year two years prior to the 

Federal fiscal year in which the grant 

award is made. 

Property damage means property loss 

and damage to material goods, which 

includes destruction of material goods 

or loss of money, stocks, bonds, etc., 

but, pursuant to 34 U.S.C. 20102(d)(1) 

(which expressly provides that property 

damage ‘‘does not include damage to 

prosthetic devices, eyeglasses, other 

corrective lenses, or dental devices’’), 

does not include any loss or destruction 

of personal property whose acquisition 

or purchase would qualify as a ‘‘medical 

expense’’ under this subpart. 

Recovery costs has the meaning set 

forth in 34 U.S.C. 20102(d)(5), which 

defines such costs as ‘‘expenses for 

personnel directly involved in the 

recovery efforts to obtain collections 

from restitution or from subrogation for 

payment under a civil lawsuit.’’ 

Services rendered in accordance with 

a method of healing include, but are not 

limited to, assessment, diagnosis, 

comprehensive treatment, long-term 

care, treatment of underlying conditions 

that affect the treatment of the 

victimization injury, medication 

(prescription, non-prescription, 

prophylactic), and forensic sexual 

assault examinations and related 

expenses. 

State has the meaning set forth in 34 

U.S.C. 20102(d), which ‘‘includes the 

District of Columbia, the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

United States Virgin Islands, and any 

other possession or territory of the 

United States [e.g., Guam].’’ References 

to ‘‘States’’ generally should be 

understood to refer to States’ crime 

victim compensation program 

administering agencies (commonly 

referred to as ‘‘State administering 

agencies’’), unless the context should 

indicate otherwise. 

Supplant means to reduce State funds 

deliberately, because of the existence of 

Federal funds. See section 94.213 of this 

subpart for considerations specific to 

this program. 

Survivor of a victim means a person 

with a sufficiently close relationship (as 

determined by the State compensation 

program) to a victim to be considered 


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for compensation in circumstances 

where the victim has died. 

Training costs include, but are not 

limited to, training of program 

personnel on functions necessary for the 

crime victim compensation program; 

and training of persons and entities 

outside of the victim compensation 

program (e.g., victim services providers, 

criminal justice personnel, and health, 

mental health, and social services 

providers) about the crime victim 

compensation program. 

§ 94.206 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.207 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.208 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.209 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.210 [RESERVED] 

Program Requirements 

§ 94.211 Eligibility of the Compensation 

Program. 

The Federal grant-award recipient 

must meet the eligibility criteria in 34 

U.S.C. 20102(b), as implemented by this 

subpart. A compensation program is 

entitled to a grant award under this 

subpart only after it has awarded 

benefits that can be matched under 

VOCA. VOCA funding may not be used 

as start-up funds for a new State 

compensation program. If a State 

chooses to administer its compensation 

program in a decentralized fashion, the 

State remains accountable to the Federal 

awarding agency for expenditure of 

these funds. 

§ 94.212 Payments and Certification of 

Payments. 

(a) Use of award funds for payments. 

A State may use VOCA compensation 

grant funds to make compensation 

payments for mandatorily compensable 

expenses and optionally compensable 

expenses. 

(b) Certifiable payments. A State may 

certify compensation payments for— 

(1) mandatorily compensable 

expenses; and 

(2) optionally compensable expenses, 

except that property damage expenses 

may be certified only if they are 

certifiable property damage expenses. 

(c) Certification of payment for dental 

services and devices. A State may, 

pursuant to State policy, establish a 

presumption that the expenses of dental 

services and devices under a Statedefined threshold are attributable to a 

physical injury resulting from a 

compensable crime, and make payments 

from VOCA funds (and certify 

payments) for such expenses, pursuant 

to such presumption. 

§ 94.213 Promotion of Victim Cooperation 

with Reasonable Requests of Law 

Enforcement. 

(a) In general. As of the effective date 

of this rule, 34 U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)) 

requires crime victim compensation 

programs to ‘‘promote[ ] victim 

cooperation with the reasonable 

requests of law enforcement authorities, 

except if a program determines that 

such cooperation may be impacted due 

to a victim’s age, physical condition, 

psychological State, cultural or 

linguistic barriers, or any other health or 

safety concern that jeopardizes the 

victim’s wellbeing.’’ 

(b) Policy on exceptions required if 

victim bears evidentiary burden. For 

purposes of meeting the statutory 

eligibility threshold for promoting 

victim cooperation with the reasonable 

requests of law enforcement— 

(1) A State is not required to 

document, or require a victim to submit 

documentation of, a crime report, 

evidence of a medical evidentiary 

examination, or any other similar 

information. 

(2) A State may not require a victim 

to demonstrate cooperation with law 

enforcement unless it has a written 

policy in effect that addresses its 

application of the exceptions to 

promotion of victim cooperation that are 

set out in 34 U.S.C. 20102(b) (e.g., 

specifying when it will provide 

alternative methods for victims to 

demonstrate cooperation or will 

dispense with the requirement). 

(c) Demonstrating compliance. A 

State may show that it promotes 

cooperation with the reasonable 

requests of law enforcement authorities 

by using any reasonable means the State 

may determine to be appropriate to 

promote such cooperation, including 

any of the following: 

(1) Having a policy of encouraging 

victims to report the crime to law 

enforcement or other appropriate entity 

(e.g., protective services, university 

security), subject to the victimwellbeing exceptions set forth in 

paragraph (a) of this section; 

(2) Providing victims with 

information or services (or referring 

such victims to the same) to assist them 

in reporting to law enforcement or other 

appropriate entity; 

(3) Accepting a victim’s description of 

efforts to notify or cooperate with law 

enforcement or other appropriate entity 

(where evidence of victim’s cooperation 

with law enforcement is a State program 

requirement); or 

(4) Accepting a crime report to law 

enforcement or other appropriate entity, 

or documentation of an evidentiary or 

non-evidentiary medical examination 

indicating the occurrence of a crime 

(where evidence of victim cooperation 

with law enforcement is a State program 

requirement). 

§ 94.214 Nonsupplantation of State Funds. 

(a) In general. States must make the 

certifications under 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(3) (regarding not supplanting 

State funds for compensation) and 

20110(h) (regarding not supplanting 

State administrative funds for 

compensation), as a condition of 

accepting a VOCA Compensation grant. 

(b) Supplanting considerations. 

Expenditure of VOCA funds received 

based on State certified compensation 

payments from previous years does not 

constitute supplantation. A decrease in 

State commitment to the compensation 

program (e.g., a decrease in the number 

of State-supported staff positions) is not 

supplanting, where the decrease is part 

of broad or across-the-board budget 

restrictions at the State level or is a 

return to a prior baseline level after 

temporary increase. States must 

maintain documentation on the overall 

administrative commitment of the State 

prior to their use of VOCA 

administrative grant funds. 

§ 94.215 Engagement with American 

Indian and Alaskan Native Tribes. 

A State with one federally recognized 

American Indian and Alaskan Native 

tribe (or more) within its geographical 

boundaries must have a written policy 

in effect regarding how the State will 

engage with the same for purposes of 

compensation under this subpart. Such 

policy must (at a minimum) set forth a 

plan for conducting outreach efforts to 

inform tribal communities about the 

compensation program and for 

providing compensation for culturally 

appropriate expenses and services. 

§ 94.216 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.217 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.218 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.219 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.220 [RESERVED] 

Victim Eligibility Considerations 

§ 94.221 Residency and Place of Crime. 

(a) Nonresidents. A State must 

provide compensation to nonresidents 

of the State, as provided in 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(4). 

(b) Residents victimized outside of the 

State. A State must provide 

compensation to its residents who are 

victims of crimes occurring outside of 

the State, as provided in 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(6). A State may, but is not 

required to, compensate its residents 


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who are victims of international 

terrorism occurring outside of the 

United States (see 18 U.S.C. 2331(1)). 

(c) Federal immigration status. 

Nothing in this subpart shall be 

understood to require or authorize a 

State to consider the Federal 

immigration status of a victim (or of a 

survivor of a victim) in determining 

eligibility for crime victim 

compensation. 

§ 94.222 Criminal History and Delinquent 

Payments. 

(a) Criminal History. A State may not 

deny compensation because of a 

victim’s or survivor’s incarceration, 

probation, or parole status, prior 

criminal history, or sentence. 

(b) Delinquent Fines, Penalties, or 

Restitution. A State may deny 

compensation to the extent that a victim 

is delinquent in paying a criminal fine, 

penalty, or restitution. 

(c) Federal Delinquent Fines, 

Penalties, or Restitution. As of the 

effective date of this rule, States are not 

required to check whether a 

compensation recipient is delinquent in 

paying a Federal criminal fine, -penalty, 

or -restitution before making a 

compensation payment. See Public Law 

104–132, title II, sec. 234(a)(2), April 24, 

1996, 110 Stat. 1245 (delaying 

implementation of the requirement in 

34 U.S.C. 20102(b)(8)). 

§ 94.223 Contributory Conduct. 

(a) In general. A State may not deny 

or reduce claims on the basis of a 

victim’s alleged contributory conduct, 

except pursuant to paragraph (b). 

(b) Exceptional cases. In exceptional 

and specific cases, a State may deny or 

reduce claims on the basis of a victim’s 

alleged contributory conduct, provided 

that— 

(1) The victim’s alleged contributory 

conduct was not the result of criminal 

force, fraud, or coercion (e.g., human 

trafficking); and 

(2) The State has a publicly available 

written policy in effect that (at a 

minimum) sets forth the standard of 

review, the review process, and an 

appeal process for any such denials or 

reductions. 

§ 94.224 Familial Relationship or Shared 

Residence with Offender (Unjust 

Enrichment). 

(a) In general. States must comply 

with the limitation on the denial of 

compensation based on family 

relationship or sharing of a residence 

with the offender, set forth in 34 U.S.C. 

20102(b)(7) (limiting such denials 

except pursuant to State rules to prevent 

unjust enrichment of the offender). 

(b) Unjust enrichment. A State may 

not deny compensation based on a 

victim’s familial relationship or shared 

residence with an offender unless it has, 

in effect, a law, rule, or written policy 

that addresses unjust enrichment. Such 

law, rule, or written policy may not 

prohibit compensation where there is 

only de minimis benefit to the offender, 

and it may provide exceptions for the 

wellbeing of the victim (e.g., by 

allowing compensation when collateral 

sources of payment from an offender are 

not reasonably available, or where the 

State has the option of seeking 

subrogation from the offender). 

§ 94.225 Victim Application Provisions. 

(a) Waiver of filing deadline for 

delayed testing of, or DNA profile 

matching from, certain sexual offense 

evidence. States must provide a waiver 

for application filing deadlines, 

pursuant to the requirements of 34 

U.S.C. 20102(a)(9). 

(b) Notary requirements prohibited. 

No State may require applicants to 

provide a notarized signature to 

complete the State’s initial application 

for compensation. States are not 

prohibited from requiring notarized 

signatures for specific application 

documents, where appropriate. 

§ 94.226 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.227 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.228 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.229 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.230 [RESERVED] 

Relationship to Collateral Sources of 

Payment 

§ 94.231 Coordination. 

In order to promote mutual 

understanding of eligibility 

requirements, application processing, 

timelines, and other program specific 

requirements, States must coordinate 

with, and provide appropriate referrals 

to, other programs that provide financial 

assistance and services to crime victims, 

whether funded by Federal, State or 

local Governments, to facilitate victim 

access to resources. Examples of such 

programs include workers’ 

compensation, vocational rehabilitation, 

and VOCA victim assistance subgrantee 

programs. 

§ 94.232 Means Testing. 

OVC understands the provision at 34 

U.S.C. 20102(c) (generally prohibiting 

other programs from counting victim 

compensation payments for purposes of 

means testing, except for the 9/11 

Victim Compensation Fund), in its 

reference to ‘‘any amount of crime 

victim compensation that the applicant 

receives through a crime victim 

compensation program under this 

section’’ to refer to both State and 

federally funded victim compensation 

payments. 

§ 94.233 Payor of Last Resort. 

(a) Exceptions. A State may make 

exceptions to the payor of last resort 

requirement in 34 U.S.C. 20102(e) 

(which requires the State compensation 

program (whether using VOCA funds or 

State funds for payments) to be the 

payor of last resort with regard to most 

Federal or federally financed programs) 

for victim needs that would not 

adequately be met by collateral sources 

that normally are required to pay first 

(e.g., collateral source not reasonably 

available due to delay, coverage, or 

other reasons). 

(b) No requirement for victims to 

apply for or use collateral sources. 

States are not required to have victims 

apply for, or use, other Federal or 

federally funded programs, or private 

insurance, private donations, or 

crowdfunding, prior to making a 

compensation payment. 

§ 94.234 Private Donations and 

Crowdfunding. 

States may not consider private 

donations (e.g., crowdfunding) as 

collateral sources for mandatorily or 

optionally compensable expenses, 

except under extenuating circumstances 

(e.g., large incidents, mass violence, 

high-profile incidents), as determined 

by the State. 

§ 94.235 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.236 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.237 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.238 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.239 [RESERVED] 

§ 94.240 [RESERVED] 

Program Administration 

§ 94.241 Grant Award Period of 

Performance. 

Victim compensation grants are 

awarded annually and are available 

during the timeframe set forth in 34 

U.S.C. 20101(e) (the Federal fiscal year 

of award plus three fiscal years). A 

States may use grant award funds to pay 

compensation claims paid during the 

grant award period of performance 

(including reimbursement for claims 

paid during that period but prior to 

award), unless otherwise restricted by 

the terms of the award. OVC will 

consider period of performance 

extension requests on a case-by-case 


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basis (approval of a request is subject to 

the discretion of the Assistant Attorney 

General for OJP), pursuant to request 

procedures set forth in the DOJ Grants 

Financial Guide, or procedures 

otherwise specified by OVC from timeto-time. 

§ 94.242 Application for Annual Grant. 

OVC issues an annual notice of 

funding opportunity (solicitation of 

application) to States that describes how 

to apply for the grant. The application 

must be submitted in the form and 

manner, and by the deadlines, 

prescribed by OVC. OVC may deny a 

non-compliant application. 

§ 94.243 Process for State Certification of 

Compensation Payments. 

(a) Manner of certification. A State 

shall provide to OVC the information 

required by OVC and shall do so in such 

form and manner as OVC may specify 

from time-to-time, to run the allocation 

formula in 34 U.S.C. 20102(a). OVC, as 

of the effective date of this rule, requires 

this information to be reported annually 

on a Federal fiscal year basis via its 

Victim Compensation Certification 

form. 

(b) State policy for certification. A 

State must have a written policy 

regarding completion and submission of 

the Victim Compensation Certification 

form. Such policy must (at a minimum) 

set forth the steps to complete the form, 

the data sources the State uses to 

populate the form, and the review 

process for approval of the form. 

§ 94.244 Recoupment of Compensation 

Payment Recovery Costs. 

States may report certain recovery 

costs to OVC, as provided in the Victim 

Compensation Certification form, to be 

treated as (and added to) the amount of 

certified compensation payments for 

purposes of calculating the State’s 

VOCA Victim Compensation grant. 

§ 94.245 Incorrect Certifications. 

(a) Over-certification. If a State overcertifies compensations payments to 

crime victims (resulting in a grant 

amount that is more than the statutory 

allocation), the necessary steps will be 

taken by OVC to recover funds that were 

awarded in error. OVC (in its discretion) 

may offset the excess amount against 

prior or subsequent year undercertifications, or against future awards, 

or implement other remedies as 

appropriate. 

(b) Under-certification. If a State 

under-certifies compensation payments 

to crime victims (resulting in a grant 

amount that is less than the statutory 

allocation), OVC ordinarily will not 

award supplemental funds to the State 

to correct the State’s error, as this 

typically would require recalculating 

allocations to every State VOCA 

compensation and assistance program 

and would be administratively 

burdensome. OVC (in its discretion) 

may offset the lower amount against 

prior or subsequent year overcertifications, add it to future awards, or 

implement other remedies as 

appropriate. 

§ 94.246 Sources of Payments to Crime 

Victims. 

A State is not required to identify the 

source of individual payments to crime 

victims as either Federal or State funds, 

or to track restitution recoveries or other 

refunds to Federal or State funds paid 

out to the victim. States are required (at 

a minimum) to allocate aggregate 

payment amounts to Federal or State 

funding for annual reporting. 

§ 94.247 Reporting. 

A State shall submit such reports for 

grants awarded under this program as 

OVC may require from time-to-time. 

§ 94.248 Access to Records. 

A State shall, upon request, and 

consistent with 2 CFR 200.337 

(protecting true names of victims), 

provide OJP (and other Federal agencies 

responsible for grant monitoring, audit, 

or investigation) with access to all 

records related to the use of grant 

awards under this subpart. 

§ 94.249 Discrimination Prohibited. 

(a) DOJ rules apply. The VOCA nondiscrimination provisions set out at 34 

U.S.C. 20110(e) are implemented for 

grant awards under this subpart in 

accordance with 28 CFR part 42. 

(b) OCR guidance. In complying with 

VOCA, at 34 U.S.C. 20110(e), as 

implemented by 28 CFR part 42, and 

other applicable civil rights 

requirements, SAAs shall comply with 

such guidance as may be issued from 

time-to-time by the OJP Office for Civil 

Rights. 

(c) Language access. In connection 

with grants awarded under this subpart, 

States shall comply with pertinent 

Federal civil-rights requirements to 

provide language access for limited 

English proficient persons. 

§ 94.250 Non-disclosure of Confidential or 

Private Information. 

A State shall comply with the 

requirements of section 94.115 of 

subpart B of this Part, applied mutatis 

mutandis to grants awarded under this 

subpart. 

Administrative and Training Costs 

§ 94.251 Administrative and Training Cost 

Allowance. 

(a) Notification. Within the limit 

provided in 34 U.S.C. 20102(a)(4), a 

State may use VOCA Compensation 

grant funds for training purposes or 

administration of the State crime victim 

compensation program but must notify 

OVC of its decision to do so, either at 

the time of application for the VOCA 

grant or within thirty days of such 

decision. If VOCA funding will be used 

for administration, the State shall follow 

the rules in sec. 94.213 of this subpart, 

and submit the certification required by 

34 U.S.C. 20110(h), regarding 

supplantation. 

(b) Records. States shall maintain 

sufficient records to substantiate 

expenditure of VOCA funds for training 

or administration and are required (in 

performance reporting) to describe the 

use and effect of these funds on the 

State victim compensation program. 

§ 94.252 Allowable Administrative and 

Training Costs. 

States may use the VOCA 

Compensation administrative and 

training cost allocation for a broad 

variety of costs reasonably necessary 

and allocable to administrative and 

training needs of the State crime victim 

compensation program. The State crime 

victim compensation program 

encompasses both State-funded and 

federally funded compensation 

payments and activities under that 

program. All charges to the VOCA grant 

for administrative and training costs 

must be reasonably allocable to the 

period of performance under the grant 

award to which they are charged and in 

proportion to their benefit to the State 

victim compensation program under the 

generally applicable government-wide 

allocation rules in 2 CFR part 200. 

VOCA funds used for training may be 

used only for training activities that 

occur within the award period of 

performance for the grant award to 

which they are charged, and all funds 

for training charged to that grant award 

must be obligated prior to the end of 

that period of performance. 

Dated: January 31, 2024. 

Amy Solomon, 

Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02230 Filed 2–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P 


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