Office for Victims of Crime Grant Programs: Victim Services for Older Adults FY 2019 Topical Snapshot

It is critical for victim service providers to provide services to older crime victims, whose victimization may cause real or perceived changes in physical and mental health, isolation, memory loss, or diminished cognitive ability. In FY 2019, victim assistance subgrantees receiving VOCA grant money allocated $67 million for services to elderly victims of abuse or neglect, identity theft, fraud, financial exploitation, and other crimes. Older victims composed 75 percent or more of the new victims served by 105 VOCA-funded organizations. Services included assistance with victim impact statements to courts, legal counsel, and obtaining protection and restraining orders. In FY 2019, VOCA-administering agencies paid 1,430 compensation claims related to elder abuse or neglect, an 11-percent increase from FY 2018. Assault was the most common crime type in elder abuse or neglect, followed closely by fraud and financial crimes.