Victims of Crime Act, 1984

The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) provides funding for victim assistance, victim compensation, and training and technical assistance for victim service providers across the nation, with priority consideration to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse and underserved victims. Victims of drunk driving, surviving family members of homicide victims, and victims of physical assault, elder abuse, robbery, hate crime, arson, and financial fraud are generally considered underserved.

VOCA is funded by fines, penalties, bond forfeitures, and special assessments collected from offenders convicted of federal crimes by U.S. Attorneys' Offices, federal U.S. courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Congress established the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to distribute funding to states and U.S. territories. The majority of VOCA funding is distributed through formula grants, although a small portion of the fund is available for federal crime victims and for training and technical assistance in federal programs.

[Page 494]To be eligible for a federal grant, state programs must meet certain conditions. Programs must cover medical expenses, mental health counseling, and lost wages for victims, as well as funeral expenses and lost support for families of homicide victims. Drunk driving and domestic violence must be considered compensable crimes, and victims of domestic violence cannot be categorically excluded on the basis of their being related to or living with the offender. Programs must agree to consider all U.S. citizens who are victims of crimes within their states, regardless of the residency of the victim, as eligible for compensation. Programs also must cover their own residents who are victims of terrorism in foreign countries. Finally, programs must cover crimes falling under federal jurisdiction within the states, such as crimes occurring on Indian reservations, National Park lands, or military bases.