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Chapter One
VOCA AND THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND
This report describes how the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA)
has been implemented at the federal, state, and local levels and
assesses its impact on the lives of crime victims. The report
begins with a summary of VOCA and the Crime Victims Fund (Fund),
the funding mechanism for victim assistance and victim
compensation programs and national-scope training throughout the
country. It then examines the victim assistance and victim
compensation formula grant programs administered by the Office
for Victims of Crime (OVC). Nearly 90 percent of the Fund's
monies are distributed through these two formula grant programs
to serve the nation's crime victims. The report also highlights
significant training and technical assistance grants supported by
the Crime Victims Fund to improve the delivery of services to
crime victims, as well as efforts to distribute information about
victims issues and programs through OVC and the OVC Resource
Center. Finally, the report describes federal leadership efforts
on behalf of victims and offers recommendations for further
legislative action.
VOCA has fulfilled the original intent of Congress to:
encourage states to improve their assistance to crime victims;
expand and enhance existing direct service programs by
providing funding support;
promote comprehensive services to crime victims across the
United States by encouraging coordination;
increase the number of programs and availability of services;
improve the quality of services to crime victims, including
victims of federal crimes;
ensure that services are offered to victims of sexual assault,
child abuse, and domestic violence, as well as other victims of
violent crimes;
encourage victim cooperation with law enforcement and
participation in the criminal justice process; and
assist victims in obtaining compensation benefits.
When reauthorized in 1988, the Act gave responsibility for the
administration of VOCA to the Director of OVC, including specific
responsibilities for:
establishing rules and procedures for distributing deposits in
the Crime Victims Fund in accordance with the Act's formula; and
serving as the federal advocate for crime victims' issues
through leadership; promoting innovative approaches to improve
the criminal justice system and services to victims; and
coordinating victims services among agencies within OJP, federal
and state agencies, and national organizations.
Crime Victims Fund
The Crime Victims Fund was established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) and serves as the funding source for all Department of Justice-assisted victim services throughout the country. Originally, VOCA limited that portion of the Fund available for victim services to $100 million. During the last decade, however, Congress steadily raised, and then ultimately eliminated, the ceiling. The elimination of the ceiling, coupled with increased deposits into the Fund, has enabled OVC to continue to supplement state efforts to serve more crime victims (see Chart 1, Crime Victims Fund Deposits).
Clerks of Federal Courts, Financial Litigation Unit staff from
U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and Bureau of Prisons officials
throughout the country collect fines and penalties from felons
and misdemeanants convicted of violating federal law. When
deposited into the Fund, this money supports:
grants to state victim compensation programs;
grants to state victim assistance agencies for community victim
service programs;
training and technical assistance for victim assistance
professionals;
services for victims of federal crimes; and
Children's Justice Act (CJA) program purposes.
The sources of revenue for the Fund are:
fines collected from persons convicted of federal criminal
offenses, with limited exceptions;(1)
forfeited appearance bonds and bail bonds collected under
Section 3146 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code;
special penalty assessments on criminal convictions. Created in
1984 by VOCA, these assessments represent the largest number of
transactions among Fund revenue sources, but yield only 1 to 4
percent of the total amount deposited;(2) and
criminal penalties for nonappearance assessed in addition to
forfeitures.
The Clerks of the Courts and the Administrative Office of United
States Courts' National Fine Center receive the money deposited
into the Crime Victims Fund. These deposits are the results of
collection and enforcement efforts by criminal prosecutors, the
United States Attorneys Offices' Financial Litigation Units, and
United States Probation Officers. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
also collects a substantial amount of money every year for the
Fund through its Inmate Financial Responsibility Program.(3) In FY
1995, the BOP deposited more than $4.5 million dollars into the
Fund. Money collected and deposited into the Fund during one
fiscal year is disbursed in the following year.
Distribution of the Fund
Between 1992 and 1994, the distribution of the Fund changed slightly.(4). Prior to 1988, VOCA provided funding support to State Crime Victim Compensation Programs at the rate of 35 percent of total payments to crime victims from state funding sources in a prior year. Currently, the statutorily established rate is 40 percent.(5)
In 1994, Congress enacted
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which
distributed the Fund in the following manner:
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Table 1
The distribution of dollars deposited in the Fund:
--$6.2 million is made available to the Administrative Office
of the United States Courts through FY 1995. Thereafter, the
first $3 million was to be allocated for that purpose.
--$10 million is made available for Children's Justice Act
programs, of which:
--85 percent is administered by HHS.
--15 percent is administered by OVC to help Native American
Indian tribes develop, establish and operate programs designed
to improve the handling, investigation, and prosecution of
child abuse cases, especially child sexual abuse cases.
Of the remaining funds:
--48.5 percent is allocated for state crime victim assistance
grants. It should be noted, however, that the amount of funds
available for VOCA victim assistance grants each year often
includes funds not used by the VOCA victim compensation
program. For example, for FY 1994 grants, the compensation
grant program was allocated a total of $63,054,000. Because
state compensation program, by statute, only could use
$60,680,000 (or 40% of their certified payout), the total
amount available for VOCA victim assistance grants increased to
$65,463,000.
--48.5 percent is allocated for state crime victim compensation
grants.
--3 percent is allocated for training and technical assistance and demonstration projects (up to 1.5 percent) and services through OVC to victims of federal crime (at least 1.5 percent). |
The current distribution of the entire Fund by percentage, including earmarks for the Administrative Office for U.S. Courts and HHS, is described in Chart 2, Crime Victims Fund Distribution.
1. 1 Excluded are fines collected pursuant to the following: Section 11(d) of the Endangered Species Act [16 U.S.C. 1540(d)]; Section 6(d) of the Lacey Act Amendment of 1981 [16 U.S.C. 3375(d)]; the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act [45 U.S.C. 351 et seq.]; the Postal Service Fund [39 U.S.C. 2601(a)(2) and 29 U.S.C. 2003]; the Navigable Waters Revolving Fund of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1321(311)]; county public school funds [18 U.S.C. 3613].
2. 2 A convicted individual is assessed $5 for Class C misdemeanors; $10 for Class B; and $25 for a Class A misdemeanor. For other than individuals (e.g. a corporate offender), the assessed amount is $25 for a Class C misdemeanor; $50 for Class B; and $125 for a Class A misdemeanor. For felons, the amounts are $50 for individuals and $200 for corporate offenders. [Section 3013 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code.]
3. 3 The Federal Bureau of Prisons established the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program in 1987. The program encourages inmates to pay their fines, special assessments and restitution, along with court-ordered obligation while in custody. Since 1987, the Bureau of Prisons has collected more than $54 million through this program.
4. 4 As enacted in 1984, VOCA specified a simple division of the Crime Victims Fund, which was capped at $100 million a year. Fifty percent was available for state crime victim compensation grants, with each state receiving no more than 35 percent
5. of the previous year's compensation payments to eligible crime
victims from that state's funding sources. Up to 50 percent,
plus any amount not expended for compensation, was available for
state crime victim assistance grants. The Attorney General, or
if designated, the Director of OVC, was authorized to apply up to
5 percent of the amount available for victim assistance to
victims of federal crime. Any amount collected in excess of a
$100 million ceiling was deposited in the U.S. Treasury's General
Fund.
The Children's Justice and Assistance Act of 1986 (CJA)
(Pub. L. 99-401) amended VOCA to change the Fund distribution
formula and raise the ceiling on the Fund to $110 million. CJA
also allocated up to $10 million of the Fund to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for state grants to
improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases,
particularly child sexual abuse. $8.5 million of this amount is
transferred to HHS while $1.5 million remains at OVC to help
Native American communities to improve the investigation and
prosecution of child abuse cases.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 later set a $125 million
ceiling on the Fund for Fiscal Years 1989 through 1991 and
thereafter a $150 million ceiling through FY 1994. The Crime
Control Act of 1990, however, increased the ceiling to $150
million by 1991.
The Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-572) eliminated the Fund ceiling entirely, beginning with deposits made in FY 1993. It also eliminated VOCA's sunset provisions. In addition, Public Law 102-572 altered the allocation formula by requiring that the first $6.2 million deposited into the Fund in FY 1993 through 1995 be available to support the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' efforts to collect fines. Thereafter, the first $3 million was to be allocated for that purpose.
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