Frequently Asked Questions About the TVSSA Distribution

Every federally recognized Tribe that submits an application for the OVC Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside (TVSSA) program receives a grant award. Not all Tribes apply each year. Information about how to participate in the noncompetitive, formula grant TVSSA program is posted on OVC’s website each year.

OVC is the Federal entity designated by the VOCA statute to administer the TVSSA funding, including establishing the requirements and eligibility criteria for the program. The statutory phrase “services for victims of crime” requires that beneficiaries of this program be victims of criminal victimization. Under the TVSSA program, Tribes may provide a broad range of services to crime victims.

OVC’s interpretation of what is allowable under the Set-Aside is very broad—essentially any service to benefit a crime victim is allowable. For example, funding under the TVSSA Formula Program can be used to support activities such as—

• direct services to victims of crime;
• needs assessment and strategic planning;
• victim service program development and implementation;
• victim service program expansion;
• community outreach and education;
• purchasing or procuring tangible items related to victim services; and other activities needed to address the individualized needs of victims of any type of crime in Tribal communities;
• support for Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (see below for additional information); and
• other activities needed to address the needs of a wide variety of crime victims in Tribal communities.

Because the statutory authorization for the TVSSA specifies that the funds are to be used for “services for victims of crime,” cash payments to crime victims are not allowable.

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.