NCJ Number
188096
Date Published
July 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the features of the Federal Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, which is administered by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Abstract
The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act was enacted in 1976. It provides for a one-time financial benefit to the eligible survivors of public safety officers whose deaths are the direct and proximate result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty. The benefit was increased from $50,000 to $100,000 for deaths that occurred on or after June 1, 1988. It provides the same benefit to public safety officers who have been permanently and totally disabled by a catastrophic personal injury sustained in the line of duty, if that injury permanently prevents the officer from performing any gainful work. The Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB) also includes the Public Safety Officers' Education Assistance Act. This act expands upon the former Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance Program to provide financial assistance for higher education of the spouses and children of Federal, State, and local public safety officers permanently disabled or killed in the line of duty. Under the PSOB Program, a public safety officer is a person who serves a public agency in an official capacity, with or without compensation, as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a public rescue squad or ambulance crew. This paper also provides information on survivors eligible for program death benefits, PSOB program limitations and exclusions, reduction of benefits, interim payment, attachment and tax exemption, attorneys' fees, and how to file a claim.