Financial Assistance: Crime Victim Compensation

Benefits
Eligibility
Application
State programs

Crime victim compensation is a government program to reimburse victims of violent crimes- such as assault, homicide, rape, and, in some states, burglary - as well as their families for many of their out-of-pocket expenses. Every state has a crime victim compensation program.

Benefits

Crime victim compensation programs will generally pay for:

medical and dental expenses,
counseling costs,
funeral or burial expenses, and
lost wages or support.

Some states also cover such costs as financial counseling, crime scene cleanup, travel for medical treatment or court proceedings, or relocation expenses for victims who must move for their physical safety.

Crime victim compensation programs have a maximum that will be paid for each claim, which varies from state to state and can range from $10,000 to $100,000. They also have limits on certain types of expenses, for example, limits on the amounts that can be paid for funeral or burial expenses, for counseling, or for medical expenses.

Because it may take several weeks or months to process a claim for crime victim compensation, many states offer emergency awards, which are compensation payments of $500 to $1,000 to cover emergency expenses such as medications, food or shelter.

Eligibility

Victims

The direct victim of a violent crime is generally eligible for compensation. Some states only compensate victims who were physically injured in the course of the crime, while others also compensate victims of violent crime who were traumatized but not physically injured by the crime.

Family members

Families of homicide victims can get compensation to pay the medical bills and funeral or burial expenses, and to pay for counseling and loss of support. Some states will compensate family members in certain other types of cases, for example, paying for counseling for family members in cases of sexual assault, child abuse, or domestic violence.
Most state compensation programs require that victims:

report the crime promptly to the police (the reporting time varies between states, and nearly all states have good exceptions for child victims, incapacitated victims, and other special circumstances);
cooperate with the police and prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of the offense (the state may have a good exception for this requirement, too);
submit an application for compensation within a certain time (although the state make an exception for good ;
not have been committing a crime at the time (for example, someone cannot get compensation for being shot while drug dealing), or not have been involved in other serious misconduct that caused or contributed to the injury or death; and
have costs from the crime that are not covered by insurance or some other
program, such as Workers' Compensation or Medicaid.

Compensation can be paid even when no one is arrested or convicted for the crime.

Application

To apply for crime victim compensation, victims or families must file a claim form in the state where the crime occurred. The compensation program will then examine police records, receipts, and other information before deciding whether to pay a claim. For information about your state program, contact the agency listed for your state below:

State Crime Compensation Programs

ALABAMA

Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission
P.O. Box 1548
Montgomery, AL 36102-1548
(334) 242-4007 FAX (334) 353-1401
1-800-541-9388 (victims only)

ALASKA

Violent Crimes Compensation Board
P.O. Box 111200
Juneau, AK 99811
1-800-764-3040 FAX: (907) 465-2379

ARIZONA

Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
110 W. Washington Street, Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85007
1-877-668-2252
(602) 364-1146
FAX: (602) 364-1175

ARKANSAS

Crime Victims Reparations Board
Office of the Attorney General, Community Relations
323 Center St., Suite 600
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 682-1020 FAX: (501) 682-5313/ 683-5569
1-800-448-3014 (in-state)

CALIFORNIA

Victims of Crime Program/ Victim Compensation and Govt. Claims Board
P.O. Box 48
Sacramento, CA 95812-0048
1-800-777-9229 FAX: (916) 322-1487

COLORADO

Division of Criminal Justice Department of Public Safety
700 Kipling St., Suite 1000
Denver, CO 80215
(303) 239-5719 FAX: (303) 239-5743

CONNECTICUT

Office of Victim Services
31 Cooke Street
Plainville, CT 06062
(860) 747-4501 FAX: (860) 747-6508
1-888-286-7347 (in-state)

DELAWARE

Violent Crimes Compensation Board
240 N. James St. Suite 203
Wilmington, DE 19804
(302) 995-8383 FAX: (302) 995-8387
1-800-464-4357 (in-state)
1-800-273-9500 (out-of-state)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Crime Victims Compensation Program
D.C. Superior Court
515 5th St., N.W., #104
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 879-4216 FAX: (202) 879-4230

FLORIDA

Division of Victim Services and Criminal Justice Programs Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
(850) 414-3300 FAX: (850) 487-1595/413-0633
1-800-226-6667 (information referral for victims only)

GEORGIA

Crime Victim Compensation Program Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
503 Oak Place South, Suite 540
Atlanta, GA 30349
(404) 559-4949 FAX: (404) 669-3408
1-800-547-0060 (victims only) 1-877-231-6590

HAWAII

Crime Victims Compensation Commission
333 Queen Street, #404
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 587-1143
FAX: (808) 587-1146

IDAHO

Crime Victims Compensation Program
Idaho Industrial Commission
317 Main Street
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, 1D 83720-0041
(208) 334-6080 FAX: (208) 332-7559
1-800-950-2110

ILLINOIS

Illinois Court of Claims
630 South College
Springfield, IL 62756
(217) 782-7101 FAX: (217) 524-8968

Crime Victim Services Division
Crime Victims Compensation Bureau
Office of the Attorney General
100 W. Randolph, 13th floor
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-2581 FAX: (312) 814-4231
1-800-228-3368 (voice/TTY)

INDIANA

Violent Crime Victim Compensation Fund
Criminal Justice Institute
One North Capitol, Suite 1000
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-1295 FAX: (317) 233-3912
1-800-353-1484 (victims only)

IOWA

Crime Victim Assistance Division
Department of Justice
321 E. 12th Street, Room 018
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-5044 FAX: (515) 281-8199
1-800-373-5044

KANSAS

Crime Victims Compensation Board
Office of the Attorney General
120 S.W. 10th Ave., 2nd Floor
Topeka, KS 66612-1597
(785) 296-2359 FAX: (785) 296-0652

KENTUCKY

Crime Victims Compensation Board
130 Brighton Park Blvd.
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 573-2290 FAX: (502) 573-4817

LOUISIANA

Crime Victims Reparations Board
Commission on Law Enforcement
1885 Wooddale Blvd., Suite 708
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 925-4437 FAX: (225) 925-1998
1-888-684-2846 (in-state)

MAINE

Victims' Compensation Program
Office of the Attorney General
State House Station #6
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 624-7882 FAX: (207) 624-7730
1-800-903-7882 (in-state, victims only)

MARYLAND

Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Suite 206, Plaza Office Center
6776 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21215-2340
(410) 585-3010 FAX: (410) 764-3815
1-888-679-9347

MASSACHUSETTS

Victim Compensation and Assistance Division
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-2200 FAX: (617) 367-3906

MICHIGAN

Crime Victims Services Commission
320 S. Walnut St.
Lansing, MI 48913
(517) 373-7373 FAX: (517) 334-9942

MINNESOTA

Crime Victims Reparations Board
Office of Justice Programs
Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety
445 Minnesota St., Suite 2300
St. Paul, MN 55101-1940
(651) 201-7300 FAX: (651) 296-5787
1-888-622-8799

MISSISSIPPI

Crime Victim Compensation Program
Department of Finance and Administration
P.O. Box 267
Jackson, MS 39205
(601) 359-6766 FAX: (601) 359-3262
1-800-622-8799

MISSOURI

Crime Victims' Compensation Unit
Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations
P.O. Box 3001
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 526-6006 FAX: (573) 526-4940
1-800-347-6881 (victims only)

MONTANA

Crime Victims Unit
Office of Victim Services and Restorative Justice
Montana Dept. of Justice
1712 9th Avenue, P.O. Box 201410
Helena, MT 59620-1410
(406) 444-3653 FAX: (406) 444-4303
> 1-800-498-6455 (in-state)

NEBRASKA

Crime Victim Reparations Program
Commission on Law Enforcement
P.O. Box 94946
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-2828 FAX: (402) 471-2837

NEVADA

Victims of Crime Program
Department of Administration
2200 S. Rancho, Suite 130
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 486-2740 FAX: (702) 486-2825

4600 Kietzke, Building I, Suite 205
Reno, NV 89502
(775) 688-2900 FAX: (775) 688-2912

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Victims' Assistance Commission
Department of Justice
33 Capitol St.
Concord, NH 03301-6397
(603) 271-1284 FAX: (603) 271-2110
1-800-300-4500 (in-state)

NEW JERSEY

Victims of Crime Compensation Board
Department of Law and Public Safety
50 Park Place, 6th fl.
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 648-2107 FAX: (973) 648-3937/7031
1-800-242-0804

NEW MEXICO

Crime Victims Reparations Commission
8100 Mountain Road, N.E., Suite 106
Albuquerque, NM 87110-7822
(505) 841-9432 FAX: (505) 841-9437
1-800-306-6262 (victims only)

NEW YORK

Crime Victims Board
55 Hanson Place
10th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 923-4325
FAX: (718) 923-4347

65 Court St., Room 308
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 847-7948
FAX: (716) 847-7995

845 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12206
(518) 457-8727
FAX: (518) 457-8658

NORTH CAROLINA

Crime Victims Compensation Commission
Victim and Justice Services
Department of Crime Control and Public Safety
4703 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4703
(919) 733-7974 FAX: (919) 715-4209
1-800-826-6200 (in-state only, victims line)

NORTH DAKOTA

Crime Victims Compensation Program
Division of Parole and Probation
Box 5521
Bismarck, ND 58506-5521
(701) 328-6195 FAX: (701) 328-6186
1-800-445-2322 (in-state)

OHIO

Victims of Crime Compensation Program
Office of the Attorney General
150 East Gay Street, 25th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-5610 FAX: (614) 752-2732
Toll-Free for General Information (877) 584-2846 (877-5VICTIM),
Also 1-800-582-2877

OKLAHOMA

Crime Victims Compensation Board
District Attorneys Council
421 NW 13th, Suite 290
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
> (405) 264-5006 FAX: (405) 264-5097
1-800-745-6098

OREGON

Crime Victims Assistance Section
Department of Justice
1162 Court St., N.E.
Salem, OR 97310
(503) 378-5348 FAX: (503) 378-5738

PENNSYLVANIA

Victim Compensation Assistance Program
Office of Victim Services
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
P.O. Box 1167
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1167
(717) 783-5153
FAX: (717) 787-4306
1-800-233-2339

RHODE ISLAND

Crime Victim Compensation Program
Office or General Treasurer
40 Fountain Street, 1st floor
Providence, RI 02903-1856
(401) 222-8590 FAX: (401) 222-4577