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Victims of violent crime may suffer financial stress as devastating as their
physical injuries and emotional trauma. Recovering from violence or abuse is
difficult enough without having to worry about how to pay for the costs of
medical care and counseling, or about how to replace lost income due to
disability or death.
The good news is that every state has a crime victim compensation program
that can provide substantial financial assistance to crime victims and their
families. And while no amount of money can erase the trauma and grief
victims suffer, this aid can be crucial in the recovery process. By paying
for care that restores victims' physical and mental health, and by replacing
lost income for victims who cannot work and for families who lose a
breadwinner, compensation programs are helping victims regain their lives
and their financial stability.
As compensation programs
enter the 21st century, they are serving an ever-increasing number of
victims with larger amounts of benefits than ever before. Despite a
substantial decline in violent crime--a 34% drop since 1993--applications
and payouts continue to grow in most states. The national total of benefits
is at record-high levels, and programs are addng new compensable costs and
expanding outreach to ensure that more victims' needs are met.
Crime victim compensation
is the oldest type of organized victim assistance in the United States. The
first compensation program was created in 1965, and nine states were
operating such programs by 1972, when the earliest programs providing other
types of victim assistance were established. Today, compensation programs
across the country are paying out close to $265 million annually to more
than 115,000 victims. Fittingly, most of this money comes from offenders,
since a large majority of states fund their programs entirely through fees
and fines charged against those convicted of crime, rather than tax dollars.
Federal grants to compensation programs, providing close to 25% of the money
for payments to victims, also come solely from offender fines and
assessments.
Victims of rape, assault,
child sexual abuse, drunk driving, and domestic violence, as well as the
families of homicide victims, are all eligible to apply for financial help.
Nationally, close to a third of the recipients of compensation are children,
most of whom are victims of sexual abuse.
Compensation programs can
pay for a wide variety of expenses and losses related to criminal injury and
homicide. Beyond medical care, mental health treatment, funerals, and lost
wages, a number of programs also cover crime-scene cleanup, travel costs to
receive treatment, moving expenses, and the cost of housekeeping and child
care. And states continue to work with victims and advocates to find new
ways to help victims with more of the costs of recovery.
Telling victims about
compensation is the responsibility of every individual who works in victim
services and law enforcement. This resource also should be made known by
those who provide medical and counseling services. Compensation programs
depend largely on these professionals who work with victims daily to get the
message out that financial assistance is available, and programs typically
expend a great deal of time and effort in providing training and information
to them. We encourage everyone with a role in helping victims to get more
details from the program in their state by contacting it directly. |
