1997-98 Academy Text Supplement

Chapter 9


Crime Victim Compensation Statistical Overview

Significant Landmarks in Crime Victim Compensation

Outreach and Awareness

The National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards (NACVCB), with support from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), developed significant outreach projects to increase awareness about crime victim compensation support in 1996. The Association developed 30-second television public service announcements and two 10-minute training videotapes: one directed toward police and service providers, and the other developed for Native American victims of crime.

Program Standards for Compensation Programs

In 1995 and 1996, members of the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards developed Program Standards for state compensation programs to strive to achieve four overall goals:

The Program Standards, developed with the support of OVC and through the work of an Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of compensation programs and victim service programs, are intended to serve as guidelines for state compensation programs in directing their program goals for the future. NACVCB hopes that the standards provide program leaders and staff with a clear picture of what many programs are already doing to fulfill their missions. The standards should show what is possible and serve as benchmarks for programs that want to gauge their efforts and chart their progress. Distributed at the 1996 annual conference of NACVCB, these standards are highlighted below.

Effective Outreach, Training, and Communication

Compensation programs should strive to inform as many victims as possible about compensation opportunities available to them, and communicate effectively and sensitively with victims and groups that work with them or on their behalf by:

Expeditious and Accurate Claims Processing

Programs should ensure that applications are processed as expeditiously, accurately, and efficiently as possible so that eligible victims may receive financial assistance promptly and in accordance with the program's mandates and requirements by:

Good Decision Making

The goal of compensation programs is to make fair and consistent decisions on all applications as promptly as possible, in accordance with statutory requirements and in furtherance of the program's mission to serve victims by:

Sound Financial Planning

It is also the goal of compensation programs to ensure that sufficient funds exist for the program to pay all eligible applicants to the full extent of their compensable costs by:

(The above standards were provided by the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards. For additional information, contact the Association at 703-370-2996)

International Crime Victim Compensation