FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OVC
TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2001 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS MORE THAN $90
MILLION TO STATES
TO COMPENSATE CRIME VICTIMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Justice Department’s
Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) announced today that all 50 states and three
territories have received a total of $90.6 million in FY 2001 funds to support
victim compensation programs. With the
FY 2001 grants, OVC has now distributed almost $1 billion in victim
compensation funds since Fiscal Year 1986.
Money for these annual awards comes from the Crime Victims Fund, which
is supported solely by fines paid by federal criminal offenders -- not
taxpayers.
“No amount of money can truly compensate
victims for the pain and suffering they endure, but these funds can provide
critical support to help with crime-related expenses,” said Attorney General
John Ashcroft. “This support, however,
can serve as a lifeline that helps victims heal and continue with their lives.”
State compensation programs receive annual
grants equal to 40 percent of the state’s total payout to crime victims in the
previous year. Compensation programs
work similarly to private insurance, providing reimbursement to, or on behalf
of, crime victims for expenses such as medical costs, mental health counseling,
funeral and burial costs, and lost wages, as a result of being a crime victim.
The Crime Victims Fund is supported by fines
collected by United States Attorneys, the U.S. Courts and Bureau of
Prisons. Fines collected in one year
are deposited into the Fund and are available for grant awards the following
year.
Over 90 percent of Fund deposits are
distributed annually by OVC to states and territories to support state victim
compensation and victim assistance programs.
Remaining funds are used for training and technical assistance and
national demonstration projects.
OVC is the federal government’s chief
advocate for crime victims and their families.
OVC provides funding for approximately 4,100 victim assistance programs
serving 2.5 million crime victims each year and state victim compensation
programs that serve an additional 200,000 victims.
A list of the FY 2001 victim compensation
grant awards each state received is attached. More information about the Crime Victims Fund and OVC is
available on OVC’s Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc and from the OVC
Resource Center at 1-800/627-6872.
Individuals can call OVC at 202/307-5983 for information about their
state victim compensation agencies. A
list of these agencies is available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/state.htm.
Information about other Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) bureaus and program offices is available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov. Media should contact OJP’s Office of
Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703.
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OVC
01120
OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME
FY2001
STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION GRANTS
STATE |
STATE’S PREVIOUS YEAR
PAYOUT TO VICTIMS |
AWARD AMOUNT |
ALABAMA |
$4,743,903 |
$1,898,000 |
ALASKA |
$1,020,781 |
$408,000 |
ARIZONA |
$1,256,413 |
$503,000 |
ARKANSAS |
$870,420 |
$348,000 |
CALIFORNIA |
$48,234,581 |
$19,294,000 |
COLORADO |
$6,530,059 |
$2,612,000 |
CONNECTICUT |
$1,452,605 |
$581,000 |
DELAWARE |
$445,492 |
$178,000 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |
$1,148,009 |
$459,000 |
FLORIDA |
$11,352,404 |
$4,541,000 |
GEORGIA |
$3,519,864 |
$1,408,000 |
HAWAII |