VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES $305 MILLION TO GO TO STATES

TO ASSIST CRIME VICTIMS

SACRAMENTO, CA - Vice President Gore announced today that the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has begun awarding $305 million in Fiscal Year 1999 funds to state crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs. While visiting the University of California at Davis Medical Center's child abuse program, Gore also announced California's crime victim compensation grant award, which totals $17.67 million.

Twenty-seven states have been awarded funds so far. The remaining states are expected to receive their awards by the end of February.

Fines collected in one year by U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Courts and Bureau of Prisons are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund and are available for grant awards in the following year. The fund is supported solely by fines paid by federal criminal offenders - not taxpayers - and is administered by OVC.

"We're taking money out of the hands of criminals and giving it to victims and those who help victims recover from the devastating effects of crime," said Gore. "Diligence on the part of our U.S. Attorneys makes it possible for us to provide funding to states to assist thousands of crime victims."

"These funds support nearly 3,000 victim services agencies, such as domestic violence shelters, child abuse and sexual assault programs and programs to assist survivors of homicide," added Attorney General Janet Reno. "Many of the monies collected come from large criminal fines levied against corporations."

UCAR International, Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of graphite electrodes, was ordered last year to pay $110 million in six annual installments for an antitrust violation. The first installment of $20 million will be available for crime victims this year. Other fines collected last year included $49 million from Heeremac, V.O.F. for an antitrust violation that involved bid rigging for the sale of heavy marine construction equipment and $20 million from the Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Company for price fixing.

More than $324 million was collected during Fiscal Year 1998 for the Crime Victims Fund. OVC awards over 90 percent of the money collected each year to state victim compensation and assistance programs. Remaining funds are used for training and technical assistance and national demonstration projects. 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.

In addition to funding state victim compensation and victim assistance programs, OVC trains those who work with victims and develops projects to enhance victims' rights and services. This frequently involves responding to high-profile incidents such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Capitol Hill shootings and the embassy bombings in Africa. A list of the FY 1999 victim compensation and victim assistance allocations each state is expected to receive is attached.

For more information about the Crime Victims Fund and OVC, visit the Office for Victims of Crime Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc or the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Website at www.ojp.usdoj.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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OVC99031

After hours contact: Linda Mansour on 202/616-3534 or page on 888/582-6750

OVC STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE ALLOCATIONS

FY 1999

STATE	VICTIM COMPENSATION ALLOCATIONS	VICTIM ASSISTANCE ALLOCATIONS
ALABAMA	$945,000	$3,854,000
ALASKA	$265,000	$973,000
ARIZONA	$356,000	$4,037,000
ARKANSAS	$503,000	$2,459,000
CALIFORNIA	$17,670,000	$25,555,000
COLORADO	$2,295,000	$3,523,000
CONNECTICUT	$586,000	$3,039,000
DELAWARE	$447,000	$1,068,000
D.C.	$221,000	$911,000
FLORIDA	$3,487,000	$11,878,000
GEORGIA	$663,000	$6,313,000
HAWAII	$364,000	$1,421,000
IDAHO	$463,000	$1,440,000
ILLINOIS	$2,351,000	$9,737,000
INDIANA	$580,000	$5,053,000
IOWA	$834,000	$2,715,000
KANSAS	$580,000	$2,515,000
KENTUCKY	$213,000	$3,535,000
LOUISIANA	$331,000	$3,879,000
MAINE	$69,000	$1,464,000
MARYLAND	$453,000	$4,456,000
MASSACHUSETTS	$742,000	$5,250,000
MICHIGAN	$313,000	$8,089,000
MINNESOTA	$575,000	$4,138,000
MISSISSIPPI	$315,000	$2,620,000
MISSOURI	$2,264,000	$4,695,000
MONTANA	$222,000	$1,182,000
NEBRASKA	$93,000	$1,786,000
NEVADA	$705,000	$1,802,000
NEW HAMPSHIRE	$57,000	$1,411,000
NEW JERSEY	$1,587,000	$6,753,000
NEW MEXICO	$254,000	$1,843,000
NEW YORK	$3,369,000	$14,583,000
NORTH CAROLINA	$809,000	$6,265,000
NORTH DAKOTA	$44,000	$998,000
OHIO	$2,066,000	$9,186,000
OKLAHOMA	$687,000	$3,076,000
OREGON	$334,000	$3,018,000
PENNSYLVANIA	$1,117,000	$9,833,000
RHODE ISLAND	$448,000	$1,267,000
SOUTH CAROLINA	$1,941,000	$3,420,000
SOUTH DAKOTA	$92,000	$1,073,000
TENNESSEE	$1,855,000	$4,668,000
TEXAS	$7,917,000	$15,594,000
UTAH	$751,000	$2,099,000
VERMONT	$124,000	$957,000
VIRGINIA	$450,000	$5,729,000
WASHINGTON	$2,828,000	$4,856,000
WEST VIRGINIA	$530,000	$1,910,000
WISCONSIN	$542,000	$4,514,000
WYOMING	$132,000	$872,000
AMERICAN SAMOA	Doesn't have victim compensation program	$236,000
GUAM	Doesn't have victim compensation program	$303,000
N. MARIANA ISLANDS	Doesn't have victim compensation program	$234,000
PUERTO RICO	Doesn't have victim compensation program	$3,472,000
VIRGIN ISLANDS	$127,000	$579,000
TOTAL	$66,966,000	$238,136,000

January 1999