NCJ Number
156240
Date Published
1995
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This is the 1993-1994 Annual Report of the Florida Division of Victim Services, which provides various direct services to crime victims as well as technical assistance and training to promote the establishment of local victim service programs throughout the State.
Abstract
During the reporting period, approximately 122,000 victims received services through such division programs as victim compensation, victim assistance grants, appellate victim services, and the toll-free information and referral telephone line. In addition, the division responded to 6,015 requests for technical assistance from victim assistance grant programs. Through a concerted effort to process payments to victims in a timely manner, the division pursued a streamlined approach to claims processing. A result of these efforts is the substantial increase in dollars paid in awards to claimants to $16,075,418 in 1993-94 from $9,096,628 in 1992-93. During 1993-94, the division paid $484,415 for initial physical examinations of sexual battery victims, the primary purpose of which was to assist the State in gaining evidence for criminal prosecutions. The 1994 Florida Legislature repealed Section 960.28, Florida Statutes, effective July 1, 1995. Simultaneously, the Department of Legal Affairs was mandated to study the conflicting issues surrounding delivery and payment of evidentiary examinations and to make recommendations on how this process can be improved and clarified. The report was completed and submitted to the Legislature in December 1994. House Bill 2027, the Florida Civil Restitution Lien and Crime Victims' Remedy Act of 1994, took effect July 1, 1994. This legislative action was predicated on difficulties encountered by crime victims in receiving services and the availability of dollars for providing services. These issues directly impact the programs administered by the division and are reflected in this report. 7 figures and 3 tables