This summary assessment of Delaware’s victim compensation program is part of the National Study of Victim Compensation Program Trends, Challenges, and Successes conducted from 2022 to 2024 by the Urban Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago.
This brief summarizes an assessment of Delaware’s victim compensation programs conducted from 2022 to 2024 as part of a national evaluation by the Urban Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago. The National Study of Victim Compensation Program Trends, Challenges, and Successes, which includes evaluations of four state crime victim compensation programs. The report aims to understand the utilization of the victim compensation program and professionals’ and victim claimants’ perspectives on its ability to meet victims’ needs. The authors conclude that the Delaware compensation program is well respected by and connected to providers in the community and provides valuable benefits to victims in a mostly efficient, effective, and responsive way. Program staff and assistance providers noted great improvement in the program’s functioning since it switched from oversight by a board to the current structure that standardizes decision-making by investigative staff. Being located in the state’s department of justice allows for efficiency with legal system agencies, though it may increase distrust among some communities. The compensation program recently enacted several major changes to improve its comprehensiveness, efficiency, and accessibility; these included introducing an online application and portal; removing the statutory cap on the number of program staff; and changing the contributory conduct policy. Professionals in the compensation program and providers in the community offered recommendations for improving Delaware’s victim compensation program regarding victim awareness and accessibility, program staffing, compensation coverage, and program funding. A number of additional recommendations focused on policy changes to the compensation program’s coverage. In general, compensation staff and assistance providers would like to increase many of the amounts covered in response to rising costs. They would also like to see the program include other costs and crimes.