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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.

Crime Victims Fund

Crime Victims Fund

The Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, supports services for victims of crime throughout the Nation. OVC is charged by Congress with administering the Fund, which is composed primarily of fines, special assessments, and bond forfeitures from convicted federal offenders, making it a self-sufficient source of compensation and assistance that does not rely...

Research & Evaluation

Research and Evaluation

Data on Crime Victimization

In FYs 2019 and 2020, OVC funded two partner agencies—the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—in their endeavors to generate, collect, and analyze quantitative and qualitative data on victimization, victim services, and related topics critical to the field.

OVC continued an interagency agreement with NIJ to support research for the field, including...

Support for Law Enforcement

Support for Law Enforcement

OVC supports partnerships with law enforcement agencies at the state, tribal, and local levels to combat crime, promote safer neighborhoods, and establish collaborations between police and the communities they protect. Through discretionary grant programs, OVC grantees help agencies provide effective, trauma-informed law enforcement practices to better serve all victims. OVC also funds national-scope discretionary programs to provide comprehensive services to victims...

OVC Discretionary Funding

OVC Discretionary Funding

OVC provides discretionary grants for national-scope demonstration projects and training and technical assistance (TTA) to enhance the professional expertise of victim service providers. These grants are competitively awarded to states, local government agencies, tribal governments, educational institutions, private nonprofit organizations, and individuals. Programs identify and implement promising practices, models, and initiatives; address gaps and needs in TTA; and fund demonstration programs that...

Formula Grants: VOCA Compensation and Assistance

Formula Grants: VOCA Compensation and Assistance

OVC administers two Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) formula grant programs that support crime victim compensation and assistance—the foundation of support for victims throughout the Nation. These formula grants account for approximately 95 percent of the VOCA funds that OVC disburses each year.

  • The VOCA Victim Compensation Grant Program provides funding to supplement state compensation programs that reimburse victims...

Innovative Practices

Innovative Practices

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, only 8 percent of victims of violent crimes received help from a victim service agency in 2019—a decline of 11 percent from 2018. To improve this reality, the victim services field must diversify and expand existing strategies for providing victim assistance and create vital links to other fields that come into contact with victims of crime...

Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation

Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation

Older adults are especially vulnerable to violent crime, neglect, and exploitation, including financial fraud. The effects of these crimes can be devastating, and older adults may be targeted at rates that outpace the services available to help the growing number of victims. Not surprisingly, elder abuse results in a wide range of negative health impacts, including the increased likelihood of...

Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve

Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve

Following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Congress amended VOCA to authorize OVC to allocate up to $50 million per year from the Crime Victims Fund to establish the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve (Reserve). The Reserve provides help primarily through funding for immediate and direct services for victims of terrorism and criminal mass violence within the United States and abroad, supplemental funding provided directly...