Crime Victim Compensation

 

The primary purpose of these grants is to supplement state efforts to provide financial compensation to crime victims throughout the Nation for costs resulting from crime, and to encourage victim cooperation and participation in the criminal justice system. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Department of Justice, administers the Crime Victim Compensation formula grant program. OVC annually awards a grant to each state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to support state crime victim compensation programs. These programs help pay for some of the expenses resulting from crimes involving violence or abuse.

General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
16.576
Federal Agency/Office
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
A - Formula Grants
Program Accomplishments
Not applicable.
Authorization
an act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice in the current fiscal year., Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984 U.S.C. 34 U.S.C. 20102
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other possession or territory of the United States who have an established eligible crime victim compensation program, and who meet the eligibility requirements discussed above.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Victims of crime that results in death or physical or personal injury and are determined eligible under the State victim compensation statute. State compensation statutes either declare that coverage extends generally to any crime resulting in physical or personal injury, or they list all specific crimes that can be covered.
Credentials/Documentation
Regarding the question below relating to the applicability of 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles: The cost principles are generally applicable, except with respect to for-profit entities or to organizations listed at Appendix VIII to 2 CFR Part 200.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants must submit completed applications via the Office of Justice Programs, Grants Management System or through grants.gov following established criteria. The receipt, review, and analysis of applications will follow Office of Justice Programs policies and procedures for the administration of grant applications. Specific application instructions for solicitations are available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm).
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. In FY 2021, applications will be submitted to DOJ in a two-step process. Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. To register in Grants.gov, applicants will need to obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and System for Award Management (SAM) registration or renewal. Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application, including attachments, in JustGrants at https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/. To be considered timely, an application must be submitted by the application deadline using Grants.gov, and the applicant must have received a validation message from Grants.gov that indicates successful and timely submission. OJP urges applicants to submit applications at least 72 hours prior to the application due date to allow time for the applicant to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov and to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification.
Award Procedure
Upon approval by the Assistant Attorney General, successful applicants are notified via DOJ's Justice Grants System (JustGrants). The grant award must be accepted electronically by the receiving organizations authorized official in JustGrants.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
30 to 180 days.
Appeals
For statutory formula awards, see 28 C.F.R. Part 18. There are no appeal rights for rejection of a discretionary application, but for formula awards, see 28 C.F.R. Part 18.
Renewals
Awards are for the year of award plus 3 years. Applications will be annually.
How are proposals selected?
Criteria are established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, as amended, and Program Guidelines/Rules published in the Federal Register.
How may assistance be used?
Funds under this program shall be used by the States for awards of compensation benefits to crime victims, with the following exception: States may retain up to 5 percent of their total grant for administrative and training purposes. Formula grant funds to an eligible State crime victim compensation program is based on 60 percent of the amounts States expended during the fiscal year preceding the year of collections for the Crime Victims Fund, other than amounts awarded for property damage. If the sums available in the Fund for grants under this program are insufficient to provide grants of 60 percent as provided above, grants from the sums available will be made to each eligible crime victim compensation program so that all such programs receive the same percentage of the amounts awarded by such programs during the preceding fiscal year, other than amounts awarded for property damage. A crime victim compensation program is an eligible crime victim compensation program if (1) such program is operated by a State and offers compensation to victims and survivors of victims of criminal violence, including drunk driving and domestic violence for: (A) medical expenses attributable to a physical injury resulting from a compensable crime, including expenses for mental health counseling and care; (B) loss of wages attributable to a physical injury resulting from a compensable crime; and (C) funeral expenses attributable to a death resulting from a compensable crime; (2) such program promotes victim cooperation with the reasonable requests of law enforcement authorities; (3) such State, possession or territory certifies that grants received under this program will not be used to supplant funds otherwise available to provide crime victim compensation; (4) such program, as to compensable crimes occurring within the State, possession or territory, makes compensation awards to victims who are nonresidents of the State, possession or territory on the basis of the same criteria used to make awards to victims who are residents of the State, possession or territory; (5) such program provides compensation to victims of Federal crimes occurring within the State on the same basis that such program provides compensation to victims of State crimes; (6) such program does not, except pursuant to rules issued by the program to prevent unjust enrichment of the offender, deny compensation to any victim because of that victim's familial relationship to the offender, or because of the sharing of a residence by the victim and the offender; (7) such program does not provide compensation to any person who has been convicted of an offense under Federal law with respect to any time period during which the person is delinquent in paying a fine, other monetary penalty, or restitution imposed for the offense; and (8) such program provides such other information and assurances related to the purposes of this section as the Director may reasonably require. Any amount of crime victim compensation that the applicant receives through a crime victim compensation program under this section shall not be included in the income of the applicant until the total amount of assistance that the applicant receives from all such programs is sufficient to fully compensate the applicant for losses suffered as a result of the crime. As used in this section; (1) the term "property damage" does not include damage to prosthetic devices, eyeglasses or other corrective lenses, or dental devices; (2) the term "medical expenses" includes, to the extent provided under the eligible crime victim compensation program, expenses for eyeglasses and other corrective lenses, for dental services and devices and prosthetic devices, and for services rendered in accordance with a method of healing recognized by the law of the State; (3) the term "compensable crime" means a crime the victims of which are eligible for compensation under the eligible crime victim compensation program, and includes crimes involving driving while intoxicated and domestic violence; and (4) the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and any other possession or territory of the United States.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: To assist in fulfilling the Departments responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, Public Law 111–352, recipients must provide data that measures the results of their work.
Auditing
See 2 CFR 200 for audit requirements.
Records
See 2 C.F.R . ? 200.334 for the government-wide requirements for retention requirements for records.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Compensation funds may be carried forward for obligation by the grantee for 3 years subsequent to the fiscal year of award. Funds are released via electronic funds transfer. States must be enrolled in the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Vendor Express Program to request any Federal funds. Please contact program office for more detail.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
None/Not specified.
Headquarters Office
Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office for Victims of Crime
State Compensation and Assistance Division
810 Seventh Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531 US
Kathrina.Peterson@usdoj.gov
Phone: (202) 307-5983
Website Address
http://www.ovc.gov
Financial Information
Account Identification
15-5041-0-2-754
Obligations
(Formula Grants) FY 21 Estimate Not Available FY 22 FY 23 FY 20$94,807,595.00; FY 19$135,354,000.00; FY 18$128,685,000.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Each State receives 60 percent of its prior year payout of State compensation funds
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Office of Justice Programs' Financial Guide 2011 ojp.gov/financial guide/DOJ/index.htm and Post award Instructions (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/pdfs/post_award_instructions.pdf), applicable OMB Circulars, and Department of Justice regulations applicable to specific types of grantees, which can be found in title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations (28 C.F.R.).
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable.

 


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