The mission of the OVC is to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices related to crime victims. The OVC accomplishes its mission in many different ways, such as administering the Crime Victims Fund, supporting direct services, providing training programs for diverse professionals, sponsoring demonstration projects with national impact, and publishing and disseminating publications that highlight promising practices in the effective treatment of crime victims. The Crime Victims Fund is derived from fines and penalties paid by Federal criminal offenders, and nearly 90 percent of the money collected each year is distributed to States to fund their victim assistance and compensation programs. The OVC sponsors training on a variety of victim issues for victim service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, the judiciary, the clergy, and medical and mental health personnel. The OVC has established the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center, an information clearinghouse that provides research findings, statistics, and literature on emerging victim issues. In addition, the OVC has established the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center to serve as a centralized access point for information about the OVC's training and technical assistance resources.
What Is the Office for Victims of Crime?
NCJ Number
184920
Date Published
September 1999
Length
2 pages
Annotation
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), created in 1983, provides Federal funds to support victim assistance and compensation programs throughout the United States.
Abstract