Frequently Asked Questions

Government-wide grant rules at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 define the requirements for government oversight of grants. All grants, including those made under TVSSA and those formula grants made to states, are governed by 2 C.F.R. Part 200. TVSSA awards have certain flexibilities (e.g., in project duration) that VOCA state formula grants do not have, by virtue of TVSSA’s more flexible statutory authorization (one sentence in the annual appropriation act). OVC has sought to maximize Tribal flexibility in use of funds for victim services, where legally permissible to do so.

Tribes under the TVSSA have more latitude than the states under the State Victim Assistance Formula Grant program in determining how to use their funds.

One hundred percent of Tribal Set-Aside funding is used for Tribes—through grants directly to Tribes, grants to support Tribes through convenings such as the biennial National Indian Nations Conference, and training and technical assistance to support grantees in implementing their awards. View details about the obligation of the Tribal Set-Aside from the Crime Victims Fund from Fiscal Years 2018–2023.

Select OVC publications and products are available to order. Contact our Response Center for assistance.

OVC Response Center
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD  20849–6000
Phone: 800-851-3420 or 202-836-6998
(TTY 301-240-6310)
Email: askovc@ncjrs.gov

The United States uses two national data collection systems to track detailed information on homicides.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Reporting Program reports provides homicide data from thousands law enforcement agencies across the Nation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also publishes annual homicide data in its National Vital Statistics System, Fatal Injury Reports. Mortality data are produced from standardized death certificates filed throughout the United States.

Read the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, The Nation's Two Measures of Homicide for information about these two data collection systems.

A definition of forcible rape used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is available in the following Department of Justice Press Release. The FBI defines of rape as: "[t]he penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

If you have not yet contacted law enforcement officials to assist in locating a missing adult, please do so immediately.

For additional assistance, visit the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) website. NamUs is a clearinghouse for missing persons and unidentified death records. This free online system can be searched by medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials, and the general public to solve these cases. To enter a missing persons report into the NamUs database, visit the registration page.

For technical assistance or guidance using JustGrants, contact JustGrants Support at 833-872-5175 or JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov. JustGrants Support operates weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. eastern time and Saturday, Sunday, and Federal holidays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time.

Visit the Get Posted section of the OVC Directory of Crime Victim Services for information on how to add your program or organization to the Directory.

The Directory of Crime Victim Services is an Office for Victims of Crime resource that includes contact information for thousands of victim service providers. The Directory is designed to help service providers and individuals locate victim services in the United States and other countries.