Now Accepting VOCA Victim Compensation Certification Forms—Due December 29, 2023

November 8, 2023

A Copy of an Email Sent by Joel P. Hall, OVC Deputy Division Director, on October 31, 2023

Hello from OVC,

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) State Victim Resource Division (SVRD) is excited to share with you the release of the VOCA Victim Compensation Certification (VCC) form and instructions to prepare for the FY 2024 VOCA Formula Award Allocations. The data provided in this certification form is used by OVC to calculate allocations for VOCA-eligible crime victim compensation programs. The fillable-pdf VCC form and corresponding directions are attached to this email (in one document). We included all VOCA Victim Compensation and Assistance administrators on this email for your awareness, and we recognize the release of the VCC form most directly impacts Victim Compensation administrators. There have been no changes to the form from last year.

For your ease and reference, below you will find:

• background on the VCC form and instructions.
• the due date for the new VCC form completion and submission – Friday, December 29, 2023.
• information about a recorded webinar on how to complete the VCC form.
• written instructions on completing the VCC form.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact your Grant Management Specialist and/or me.

Joel P. Hall
Deputy Division Director
Office for Victims of Crime

Relevant Details re: the VCC Form:
 

• VCC Form Submission Due Date: All grantees must submit the VCC form directly to their grant manager by Friday, December 29, 2023. Written instructions on how to submit the VCC form are below.
   
• Training Opportunity: On Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. e.t., SVRD facilitated a discussion with VOCA Victim Compensation State Administrators — and anyone who is involved in completing the VCC form — during an instructional webinar on the VCC Form. OVC provided an overview of the VCC form and instructions, offered tips for completing the form, and took questions. All are welcome and we encourage anyone with a role in completing the form to view a recording of this webinar.
   
• JustGrants Submission Status: Currently, JustGrants still cannot support completion of the VCC form in the JustGrants system for this year. We continue to work with the JustGrants development team. But for now, we will need to complete the VCC forms externally from JustGrants. You may submit them to your SVRD Grant Management Specialists as we have for the past 2 years.
   
• Instructions for Submitting VCC Forms:
   
  • Submit to OVC SVRD Grant Management Specialists – VOCA Compensation grantees must submit the VCC forms (via email) to their assigned Grant Management Specialist. The Grant Management Specialist will upload the state-completed form into JustGrants on your agency’s behalf. VOCA Compensation grantees should not submit a Grant Award Modification (GAM) in JustGrants in an effort to submit the VCC form.
     
  • Reporting Period – The reporting period is October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022.
     
  • Electronic Signature – Please sign the form electronically at the bottom of the PDF in the signature box.
     
  • File Names – Please use the following naming convention when submitting the VCC form to your Grant Management Specialist to ensure consistency in the files for uploading: <State Initials>, VCC, <Award Year>, (Ex. OH VCC FY 23). The date of 2023 reflects the award year the VCC forms are being collected. A common question to OVC is why put FY 23 on the file name when the reporting period is FY 22. The reason for that is that you report previous compensation expenditures for federal fiscal year (FFY) 22 during this FFY 23 to prepare the allocation tables for FFY 24. This gap allows compensation programs the time to reconcile their expenditures before reporting.
     
  • Due Date – The due date for VCC form submission to your OVC grant manager is Friday, December 29, 2023.
     
  • Note – Do not submit VIA a GAM in JustGrants.

Attachment: VOCA Victim Compensation Certification (VCC) form