And while nearly every state has sufficient money to pay current claims, expansion depends on more resources. It makes little sense to argue that since some states have reserves, no states should receive additional VOCA funds. It seems much more sensible to make changes to meet the needs of the less well-off states, than it does to refuse to do so because a few states have ample money. Speed Payments and Increase Applications by Increasing the Administrative Allowance Victims in some states must wait too long for payments to be made by compensation programs. Nearly every state needs more staff to process large caseloads.
State budgets are often too tight to allow for hiring new staff.
And yet it is often the smaller states, with a handful or less of employees, who struggle to keep up with caseloads. Large states face proportionately larger challenges, and the federal grant percentage just doesn't allow enough funds to hire the additional staff necessary to keep the work flowing quickly. Other states do not have administrative funds to obtain or upgrade automated systems that have proven crucial in processing claims promptly. Imagine an insurance company with little or no software or hardware to process claims-this is the situation in too many state compensation programs. More administrative funds would allow states to make necessary purchases to modernize their operations and serve victims better.