This Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Data Analysis Report on the Victim Compensation Formula Grant Program mandated under the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) addresses the demographics and status (primary or secondary) of those applying for crime victim compensation, the number of applications for victim compensation, number of claims paid, types of victimization related to crime type, total amount paid by crime type and expense type, and notable trends and issues.
The U.S Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) VOCA Victim Compensation Program provides supplemental funding to U.S. states’ and territories’ victim compensation programs. Such programs offer financial compensation to individuals for expenses they incurred as a result of a crime, and it is distinguishable from restitution by the offender assessed at sentencing. Compensation funding may be used by victims for a range of expenses, such as medical and dental care, funeral and burial costs, mental health treatment, and loss of income. Data presented in this report include all state compensation claims, regardless of the funding source. The annual grant amount is based on 60 percent of each state’s compensation payments from 2 years prior to the grant year. In FY 2019, 54 states and territories received VOCA Victim Compensation grants totaling $399,558,500 (a 2-percent decrease from FY 2018) in compensation funding for 235,314 claims. A total of 273,309 people applied for compensation benefits. In FY 2019, 235 victim compensation claims were paid. Thirty-three percent of the claims paid were for assault victimizations, followed by child sexual abuse (28 percent), sexual assault (20 percent), and homicide (8 percent). Extensive figures and tables and appended crime type categorizations and expenses paid by crime type