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Research

Research & Evaluation

Highlights of OVC support for efforts to build knowledge critical to the crime victims field during FYs 2021-2022.

Crime Victims Fund

The Crime Victims Fund supports services for victims of crime throughout the Nation. This page outlines updates related to the Fund during FYs 2021-2022.

Message From the Director

A message summarizing OVC work to uphold crime victims' rights and ensuring high-quality services are available to victims of crime during Fiscal Years 2021-2022.

2023 Report to the Nation

This report provides descriptions and vignettes of some of OVC’s key victim service programs during FYs 2021-2022—highlighting their successes, their challenges, and their efforts to help victims of crime rebuild their lives.

Understanding the Effects of the Pandemic for Domestic Violence Victims

November 2021

Hear from Federal Government representatives, researchers, and service providers about how COVID-19 has impacted the occurrence of domestic violence across the country as they cover—

  • an analysis of domestic violence calls,
  • the inequities experienced by underserved populations, and
  • the challenges service providers experienced and their innovative responses to help those in need.

OVC and the Office on Violence Against Women hosted this webinar on Friday, October 29, 2021.

Capacity-Building Overview

Capacity-Building Overview

OVC programming in FYs 2019 and 2020 focused on building capacity in a number of key areas. OVC supported many programs to combat human trafficking and help survivors of this terrible crime; and to plan for, respond to, and serve victims of acts of terrorism and mass violence. OVC also strengthened its support for a wide range of law enforcement organizations and their...

VOCA Assistance Highlights

VOCA Assistance Highlights

OVC’s VOCA Assistance Formula Grant Program supports thousands of victim assistance programs throughout the Nation annually. OVC’s funding of these programs—through subgrants to state agencies and local service providers—provides help for individuals, families, and communities recovering from both the immediate and prolonged effects of victimization.

VOCA assistance supports crisis counseling, telephone and onsite information and referrals, criminal justice support and advocacy, emergency...

Public Awareness

Public Awareness

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week

In April 2020, OVC sponsored the annual commemoration of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW). The theme—Seek Justice. Ensure Victims’ Rights. Inspire Hope—recognized that education on crime victims’ rights is key to ensuring that all participants in the criminal justice process acknowledge and support those rights. The theme also invited us to celebrate the individuals and...

Message From the Director

Message From the Director

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) was established as part of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA). VOCA and OVC institutionalized a decades-long movement to articulate and enforce the rights of crime victims in the justice system and to offer comprehensive services to victims...

Tribal Communities

Tribal Communities

American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) suffer from one of the highest rates of victimization in the country. Cultural differences, remote locations, and challenging jurisdictional issues make providing victim services in tribal communities complex. In its work with tribes, OVC pays particular attention to government-to-government relationships with our tribal government grantees and to supporting tribes in providing culturally appropriate services for victims.

Tribal...

Terrorism and Mass Violence

Terrorism and Mass Violence

In recent years, the Nation has experienced a surge in incidents of mass violence and domestic terrorism. These tragedies have affected a range of communities—from small rural areas to large urban populations—and various locations, such as schools, workplaces, nightclubs, and public settings. As the frequency of these tragedies increases, OVC recognizes the need to become better prepared and equipped with the...

State Formula Grants

State Formula Grants

OVC administers two formula grant programs that support crime victim compensation and assistance, described above—the VOCA Victim Compensation Formula Grant Program and the VOCA Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program. Every year, OVC awards each eligible state and territory a VOCA victim compensation formula grant to supplement state funds that reimburse victims for out-of-pocket expenses resulting from crime, such as medical and dental...

Exhibits

Exhibits

table of Crime Victims Fund cash flow, FYs 2019 and 2020 (in $ Millions)

 

graph of Crime Victims Fund deposits and disbursements

 

table of the payment of status of claims submitted to VOCA victim compensation programs, FYs 2019-2020

 

table of state compensation program benefits paid in FYs 2019 and 2020, by type of expense

 

table of victims served by VOCA assistance programs in FYs 2019 and 2020, by type of victimization

 

table of services delivered to victims by VOCA assistance programs in FYs 2019 and 2020, by type of assistance

 

table of VOCA assistance program nationwide performance indicators, FYs 2019 and 2020

 

chart of the growth of OVC's tribal grant programs, FYs 2016-2020

 

table of the population tiers for the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside formula program

 

bar graph of the history of OVC's anti-human trafficking funding

 

pie chart of OVC anti-human trafficking award funding

 

graph of number of clients served by OVC anti-human trafficking grantees, FYs 2016-2020

 

map of law enforcement-based victim services program sites