| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | OVC | MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1998 | 202/307-0703 |
STATES RECEIVE FUNDS TO HELP CRIME VICTIMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) today announced that $343.1 million in Fiscal Year 1998 funds has been awarded to all state crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs. Money for these grants comes from the Crime Victims Fund, which is supported solely by fines paid by federal criminal offenders -- not taxpayers.
"The Crime Victims Fund provides money to thousands of programs to help victims begin to piece their lives back together after the trauma of crime has upended their lives," said Acting OVC director Reginald Robinson, whose agency administers the Fund. "Crime victims can receive assistance for expenses such as medical costs, counseling and emergency shelter."
Fines collected in one year by United States Attorneys, the U.S. Courts and Bureau of Prisons are deposited into the Fund and are available for grant awards in the following year. Fund deposits for 1997 totaled just under $363 million. Over 90 percent of Fund deposits are distributed annually to support state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
State compensation programs receive annual grants equal to forty percent of the state's total payout to crime victims in the previous year. Compensation programs work similarly to private insurance, reimbursing victims of crime directly for such crime-related expenses as medical treatment, counseling, funeral costs and lost wages. State victim assistance programs provide funds to community agencies that assist crime victims through crisis intervention, criminal justice advocacy, counseling, emergency shelter and other services.
A list of the FY 1998 victim compensation and victim assistance grant awards each state received is attached. This year, because it amended its victims compensation statute in June 1997, Nevada became eligible to receive its first federal victim compensation funds.
For more information about the Crime Victims Fund and OVC, visit the Office for Victims of Crime World Wide Web site at https://ojp.gov/ovc or the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) web site at https://ojp.gov. Or, call the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center at 800/627-6872. Individuals can call OVC at 202/307-5983 or OJP's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703 for information about their state victim compensation and victim assistance agencies.
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OVC98140
After hours contact: Linda Mansour on 202/616-3534 or page on 888/582-6750
OVC STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE
FY 1998
|
STATE |
VICTIM
COMPENSATION
GRANT AWARDS |
VICTIM ASSISTANCE
GRANT AWARDS |
| ALABAMA |
$895,000 |
$4,443,000 |
| ALASKA |
$209,000 |
$1,060,000 |
| ARIZONA |
$367,000 |
$4,586,000 |
| ARKANSAS |
$483,000 |
$2,816,000 |
| CALIFORNIA | $19,458,000 |
$29,912,825 |
| COLORADO | $1,911,000 |
$4,027,000 |
| CONNECTICUT |
$578,000 |
$3,521,000 |
| DELAWARE |
$422,000 |
$1,169,000 |
| D.C. |
$ 23,000 |
$1,001,000 |
| FLORIDA | $4,073,000 |
$13,786,000 |
| GEORGIA |
$416,000 |
$ 7,284,000 |
| HAWAII |
$259,000 |
$1,592,000 |
| IDAHO |
$445,000 |
$1,597,000 |
| ILLINOIS | $2,566,000 |
$11,430,000 |
| INDIANA |
$850,000 |
$5,889,000 |
| IOWA |
$961,000 |
$3,131,000 |
| KANSAS |
$694,000 |
$2,873,000 |
| KENTUCKY |
$225,000 |
$4,083,000 |
| LOUISIANA |
$190,000 |
$4,514,000 |
| MAINE |
$52,000 |
$1,647,000 |
| MARYLAND |
$378,000 |
$5,179,000 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | $1,321,000 |
$6,121,000 |
| MICHIGAN |
$740,000 |
$9,352,000 |
| MINNESOTA |
$951,000 |
$4,797,000 |
| MISSISSIPPI |
$93,000 |
$3,006,000 |
| MISSOURI |
$895,000 |
$5,444,000 |
| MONTANA |
$217,000 |
$1,311,000 |
| NEBRASKA |
$ 88,000 |
$2,024,000 |
| NEVADA | $635,000 |
$1,979,000 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | $36,000 |
$1,573,000 |
| NEW JERSEY | $1,429,000 |
$7,870,000 |
| NEW MEXICO |
$314,000 |
$2,081,000 |
| NEW YORK | $3,769,000 |
$17,278,000 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | $943,000 |
$7,256,000 |
| NORTH DAKOTA |
$76,000 |
$1,094,000 |
| OHIO | $2,290,000 |
$10,809,000 |
| OKLAHOMA |
$622,000 |
$3,546,000 |
| OREGON |
$312,000 |
$3,456,000 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | $1,254,000 |
$11,624,000 |
| RHODE ISLAND |
$412,000 |
$1,414,000 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | $1,015,000 |
$3,913,000 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA |
$62,000 |
$1,176,000 |
| TENNESSEE | $1,605,000 |
$5,408,000 |
| TEXAS | $8,078,000 |
$18,149,000 |
| UTAH |
$551,000 |
$2,346,000 |
| VERMONT |
$107,000 |
$1,043,000 |
| VIRGINIA |
$97,000 |
$6,659,000 |
| WASHINGTON | $2,726,000 |
$5,605,000 |
| WEST VIRGINIA |
$548,000 |
$2,185,000 |
| WISCONSIN |
$620,000 |
$5,261,000 |
| WYOMING |
$110,000 |
$944,000 |
| AMERICAN SAMOA | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$243,000 |
| GUAM | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$323,000 |
| N. MARIANA ISLANDS | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$240,000 |
| PUERTO RICO | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$3,990,000 |
| REPUBLIC OF PALAU | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$15,975 |
| VIRGIN ISLANDS |
$57,000 |
$594,000 |
| TOTAL | $67,428,000 |
$275,670,800 |