The following types of assistance are available to eligible applicants through AEAP.
Crisis Response Grants
(emergency, short-term, and up to 9 months)
The grants help victims build adaptive capacities, decrease stressors, and reduce symptoms of trauma immediately following an incident.
Consequence Management Grants
(ongoing, long-term, and up to 18 months)
These grants help victims recover and regain their ability to function.
Criminal Justice Support Grants
(ongoing, long-term, and up to 36 months)
These grants facilitate victim participation in investigations or prosecutions directly related to the incident.
Crime Victim Compensation Grants
(available during or after the crisis phase)
These grants reimburse victims for out-of-pocket expenses related to their victimization through state crime victim compensation programs.
| Crisis counseling | Emergency food and clothing | Compensation for medical and mental health costs, lost wages, and funeral expenses |
| Needs assessments and planning | Repatriation of remains | Cleaning and return of personal effects |
| Protocols for coordination and collaboration | Victim advocacy, outreach, and education | Support for victim participation in criminal justice proceedings |
| Emergency transportation and travel | Victim notification systems | Child and dependent care |
| Temporary housing assistance | Vocational rehabilitation | Limited victim-service related law enforcement overtime expenses such as death notifications, victim advocates, crime scene cleanup, and explaining the crime scene to the family |
Limited funding may be available to cover administrative costs necessary and essential to the delivery of services and assistance to victims.
Training and Technical Assistance
(available during or after the crisis phase)
These grants help federal, state, Tribal, and local authorities identify victim needs, coordinate victim services, develop response strategies, and address related issues. OVC may also provide consultants to draft the AEAP application and perform related tasks.
Victims and Communities Served by AEAP
Through AEAP, OVC is able to support communities that have experienced incidents of terrorism and mass violence.
In 2020, OVC awarded a $3,863,606 grant to Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Office of Victims’ Services to assist assist victims of the 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On October 27, 2018, 11 people were killed and seven others, including five police officers, were injured in a shooting while Shabbat morning services were being held. In total, 31 people in the building at the time of the shooting were directly impacted by this crime and hundreds more, including family members and first responders, were adversely affected. Program funds supported victims by providing supplemental crisis response and consequence-management support.
On January 23, 2018, a shooting occurred in a common area of the Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky. Two students were killed, 14 others were injured, and four other students were injured during the chaos that ensued. An estimated 250 students were eyewitnesses directly threatened by the shooting. In 2020, OVC awarded a $408,599 AEAP grant to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to support victims through supplemental crisis response and consequence-management support.
OVC awarded a grant to the Washington Department of Commerce, Office of Crime Victims Advocacy to support the 186 victims of a shooting at a Macy’s department store in Burlington, Washington, on September 23, 2016, which resulted in the deaths of 4 people. Program funds assisted victims by providing supplemental crisis response and consequence-management support.
On October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, killing 58 people and injuring at least 622 others during the final performance at a 3-day country music event. The concert venue was exposed to approximately 1,100 rounds fired from a rifle aimed at concert goers and first responders.
OVC awarded a $16,735,720 grant to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child and Family Services, to supplement the costs of counseling and therapy, vocational rehabilitation, and trauma recovery for victims and emergency responders. Funds also assisted with legal aid and supplemented the massive outlays incurred by the Nevada victim compensation program. Additionally, OVC awarded an $8,353,859 AEAP grant to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board to help provide supplemental crisis response and consequence-management support in serving Californian victims of this event.
On November 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in Thornton, Colorado, killing three people. OVC awarded a grant to the Colorado District Attorney’s Office to help the office assist 242 victims of this incident by providing supplemental crisis response, consequence management, criminal justice support, and crime victim compensation.
Other Federal Assistance
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is uniquely suited to provide emergency assistance to victims of domestic terrorism and mass violence because of its national scope and extensive experience in responding to victims of these crimes. Through its Victim Services Response Team, the FBI expands the capacity to support victims and operations in the aftermath of a terrorist or other mass casualty crime.
Visit the FBI's Victim Services Division for more information about the Federal and Special Jurisdictions Program.
For information about how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can help law enforcement, visit the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement web page.
AEAP Documents
AEAP Funding
AEAP grants are by invitation only and potential grantees may be invited to submit an application only after consultation with OVC.