Frequently Asked Questions

The amount of money appropriated to each state's victim compensation program is available from the latest Crime Victims Fund Compensation and Assistance Allocation Charts on our Funding & Awards: Formula Grants page.

If you have not received your Victim Identification Number (VIN) and/or Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the federal Victim Notification System (VNS), please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or the U.S. Attorney's Office handling your case.

For additional information, please visit the Victim Notification System website and the Department of Justice's Victim Notification Program website.

Intimate partner homicide statistics are available in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crime in the United States report.

For additional information, visit our Intimate Partner Violence and Homicide Survivors/Co-Survivors Topic pages.

The CrimeSolutions.gov website uses rigorous research to inform practitioners and policymakers about what works in crime victim services, as well as criminal and juvenile justice. Visit the Victims & Victimization section of the site to view research on program effectiveness reviewed and rated by CrimeSolutions.gov Researchers and Reviewers.

CrimeSolutions.gov was created by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and is operated by OJP's National Institute of Justice.

Also visit the OVC-funded Center for Victim Research. The Center provides access to victim research and data and seeks to improve the utility of research and data collection to crime victim services.

Agencies that receive Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds also have complimentary access to the Center's collection subscription-based journal articles. Visit the Center for Victim Research Registration page and then click on “VOCA-Funded Agencies.” Once you are registered as a VOCA-Funded Agency, you will be able to search for both open-access and subscription resources.

Visit the Topics section of our site for additional publications and resources.

View the comprehensive VOCApedia: Victim Assistance Program Final Rule to find answers to frequently asked questions that VOCA administrators have about the VOCA Victim Assistance Final Rule. If you have questions which are not answered on in VOCApedia, please contact the OVC Resource Center at [email protected].

Begin by reviewing the Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide, an online guide that provides practical information on the creation and day-to-day operations of anti-human trafficking task forces, along with recent case examples. It includes strategies for strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration and enhancing victim identification as well as strategies for victim-centered investigation and prosecution.

The e-Guide is regularly updated with new tools, trainings, resources, and more case examples. The e-Guide is the result of a partnership between the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

OVC will provide funding for the following activities:

• Crisis response assistance.
• Consequence management assistance.
• Criminal justice support assistance.
• Crime victim compensation assistance.

These activities are intended to complement services that are available from other agencies and organizations as well as to provide a base level of assistance for terrorism and mass violence victims.

Funding for services and other support may include activities that are deemed necessary and essential to providing services and are not limited to the assistance categories listed above. In addition, a limited amount of available funding, as agreed upon by OVC and the applicant, may be used for administrative purposes deemed necessary and essential to the delivery of services and assistance to victims.

View pages 6–8 of the AEAP solicitation for further details about the types of services that are allowable.

The Office for Victims of Crime uses AEAP to help jurisdictions respond to victims’ immediate and ongoing needs in the aftermath of mass violence or domestic terrorism. This funding can compensate and assist victims of terrorism and mass violence that occur within the United States.

Further details can be found in the AEAP solicitation.

OVC will conduct a thorough review of each AEAP application; however, due to the unique nature of each incident and the complex nature of the application and the application review process, OVC cannot provide a specific timeframe.

OVC is aware of the critical role AEAP funding can provide to communities and will work as quickly and efficiently as possible in its review of every application. Applicants will be notified as soon as possible after the review process has been completed.

The amount of Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) funding awarded is decided on a case-by-case basis considering factors such as the availability of other resources (including Victims of Crime Act formula grant dollars); the severity of the impact; and the number of people suffering from physical, emotional, and psychological injury. Requests for funding must identify all other federal and nonfederal contributions (cash or in-kind).

If amounts awarded are not expended by the end of the grant period, they must be returned to OVC for deobligation.