| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | OVC | WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1997 | 202/307-0703 |
RECORD AMOUNT OF FEDERAL FUNDS
GOES TO STATES TO HELP CRIME VICTIMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) today announced that all of the participating state victim compensation and victim assistance programs have received their Fiscal Year 1997 grants totaling $471.3 million to help them provide increased victim services.
"We're very excited to be awarding states an historic level of funding -- about three times as much money in victim assistance funds as we gave them last year," said Aileen Adams, OVC Director. "This is the result of a record-breaking level of deposits into the Crime Victims Fund -- $528.9 million this year. It will enable states to expand needed services into underserved areas, such as rural communities."
The Crime Victims Fund, which supports thousands of programs for crime victims with money paid in fines by federal criminal offenders -- not taxpayers -- has reached it highest level in its 14-year history, increasing from $68 million in 1985.
"The Fund has grown by 250 percent over the last four years," said Adams. "Aggressive prosecutions and improved collection efforts by U.S. Attorneys are the reasons for the increase."
The Fund was augmented in 1996 by a $340 million fine against Daiwa Bank in a criminal fraud case arising out of illegal trading activity in New York and a $100 million criminal price-fixing fine paid by Archer Daniels Midland Company.
The Fund and OVC, which administers the Fund, were established by the 1984 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). Over 90 percent of Fund deposits are distributed annually to support state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
Compensation programs work similarly to private insurance funds. They reimburse victims of crime directly for expenses related to the crime, such as medical treatment, counseling, funeral costs and lost wages. While state programs vary, most do not compensate victims for property loss or damage. State victim assistance programs provide funds to community agencies that assist crime victims through crisis intervention, criminal justice advocacy, counseling, emergency shelter and other services. Today, the Fund helps states support over 2,700 victim assistance organizations serving more than two million victims each year.
Fiscal Year 1997 marks the 12th year that OVC has funded state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. OVC awarded $214 million in grants to the states in FY 96. This year, states received victim assistance grants ranging from $31,950 to $44,294,000. Each state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico receive a base amount of $500,000. The territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa each receive a base amount of $200,000. Additional funds are distributed based on population. The formula for victim compensation grants to states is based on a percentage of state payments to crime victims in the previous year. This year's state victim compensation grants ranged from $20,000 to $25,489,000.
A list of FY 1997 state victim compensation and victim assistance grant awards for each state is attached. For more information about the Crime Victims Fund and OVC, visit the Office for Victims of Crime World Wide Web site at https://ojp.gov/ovc/ or the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) web site at https://ojp.gov. Or, call the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center on 800/627-6872.
Individuals can call OVC on 202/307-5983 or OJP's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs on 202/307-0703 for information about their state victim compensation and victim assistance agencies.
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OVC97093
After hours, contact: Linda Mansour, 202/616-3534
OVC STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANTS
FY 1997
|
STATE |
VICTIM COMPENSATION GRANT AWARD |
VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANT AWARD |
| ALABAMA |
$848,000 |
$6,396,000 |
| ALASKA |
$311,000 |
$1,337,000 |
| ARIZONA |
$291,000 |
$6,348,000 |
| ARKANSAS |
$427,000 |
$3,943,000 |
| CALIFORNIA | $25,489,000 |
$44,294,000 |
| COLORADO | $1,644,000 |
$5,694,000 |
| CONNECTICUT |
$572,000 |
$5,040,000 |
| DELAWARE |
$135,000 |
$1,494,000 |
| D.C. |
$107,000 |
$1,268,000 |
| FLORIDA | $5,759,000 |
$20,138,000 |
| GEORGIA |
$130,000 |
$10,483,000 |
| HAWAII |
$387,000 |
$2,145,000 |
| IDAHO |
$150,000 |
$2,113,000 |
| ILLINOIS | $2,407,000 |
$16,900,000 |
| INDIANA |
$529,000 |
$8,546,000 |
| IOWA |
$829,000 |
$4,440,000 |
| KANSAS |
$659,000 |
$4,056,000 |
| KENTUCKY |
$181,000 |
$5,852,000 |
| LOUISIANA |
$100,000 |
$6,520,000 |
| MAINE |
$75,000 |
$2,221,000 |
| MARYLAND |
$253,000 |
$7,491,000 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | $1,355,000 |
$8,920,000 |
| MICHIGAN |
$713,000 |
$13,739,000 |
| MINNESOTA |
$531,000 |
$6,890,000 |
| MISSISSIPPI |
$84,000 |
$4,239,000 |
| MISSOURI |
$971,000 |
$7,880,000 |
| MONTANA |
$117,000 |
$1,707,000 |
| NEBRASKA |
$77,000 |
$2,770,000 |
| NEVADA | Will receive its first compensation award in FY 1998 |
$2,621,000 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | $20,000 |
$2,092,000 |
| NEW JERSEY | $3,035,000 |
$11,515,000 |
| NEW MEXICO |
$378,000 |
$2,837,000 |
| NEW YORK | $3,374,000 |
$25,643,000 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | $1,112,000 |
$10,457,000 |
| NORTH DAKOTA |
$25,000 |
$1,389,000 |
| OHIO | $4,012,000 |
$15,958,000 |
| OKLAHOMA |
$701,000 |
$5,044,000 |
| OREGON |
$270,000 |
$4,854,000 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | $1,314,000 |
$17,236,000 |
| RHODE ISLAND |
$474,000 |
$1,872,000 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | $1,063,000 |
$5,592,000 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA |
$84,000 |
$1,511,000 |
| TENNESSEE | $1,578,000 |
$7,787,000 |
| TEXAS | $6,413,000 |
$26,458,000 |
| UTAH |
$554,000 |
$3,205,000 |
| VERMONT |
$94,000 |
$1,311,000 |
| VIRGINIA |
$382,000 |
$9,675,000 |
| WASHINGTON | $3,151,000 |
$8,029,000 |
| WEST VIRGINIA |
$211,000 |
$3,034,000 |
| WISCONSIN |
$630,000 |
$7,602,000 |
| WYOMING |
$82,000 |
$1,166,000 |
| AMERICAN SAMOA | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$265,000 |
| GUAM | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$385,000 |
| N. MARIANA ISLANDS | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$260,000 |
| PUERTO RICO | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$5,706,000 |
| REPUBLIC OF PALAU | Doesn't have victim
compensation program |
$31,950 |
| VIRGIN ISLANDS |
$154,000 |
$641,000 |
| TOTAL | $74,242,000 |
$397,059,000 |
July 9, 1997