Victim assistance

Combating Human Trafficking

With funding appropriated through the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, OVC administers the largest amount of federal funding dedicated to responding to human trafficking in the United States.

OVC funding supports the delivery of direct services such as case management, housing, legal assistance, and multidisciplinary collaboration and state-level approaches to identifying and serving victims of human trafficking. In addition...

VOCA Statutory Set-Asides

OVC supports direct services for victims of federal crimes through the following federal agency programs:

• The Children’s Justice Act (CJA) provides up to $20 million annually to help states and tribes develop, establish, and operate programs to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases—particularly cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation—and to improve the handling of cases of...

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 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

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 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

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

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

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...

VOCA Compensation Highlights

OVC’s VOCA Compensation Formula Grant Program reimburses victims for financial losses resulting from their victimization. OVC disburses these funds to supplement state programs that provide financial assistance and reimbursement to victims for crime-related expenses, including medical and dental care, counseling, funeral and burial expenses, and lost wages. Compensation programs may also reimburse victims for other types of expenses related to their victimization...

Serving Victims Everywhere

OVC believes that crime victims should have access to the evidence-based services and support they need to begin their physical, emotional, and financial recovery. However, OVC recognizes that there are serious challenges to achieving this goal. Strengthening connections across allied fields to expand the availability and quality of services that impact a victim’s healing are among these challenges.

Center for Victim Research...

Introduction

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is pleased to present this report of activities during fiscal years (FY) 2019 and 2020. Every year, OVC supports millions of victims of crime. The core of this support is the Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), which is financed not by tax dollars, but by fines, bond forfeitures, and penalties from offenders in federal cases. In FY...

Victims of the Addiction Crisis

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, parental substance abuse is one adverse childhood experience associated with a range of negative outcomes later in life. Children and youth who are exposed to parental substance abuse may be at greater risk for crime victimization during their lifetimes, including child abuse and neglect, human trafficking, intimate...

Introduction

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is pleased to present this report of activities during fiscal years (FY) 2017 and 2018. Every year, OVC supports millions of victims of crime as they heal from their victimization and rebuild their lives. The core of this support is the Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), which is financed by fines, bond forfeitures, and penalties stemming from...

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

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

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

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

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

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...