THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES $305 MILLION WILL GO TO
STATES TO ASSIST VICTIMS OF CRIME
Sacramento, CA -- Vice President Gore announced today that states will receive $305 million in funds to help crime victims rebuild their lives. California will receive more than $43 million in state crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs.
"We're taking the money out of the hands of criminals and giving it to the victims and those who help victims recover from the devastating effects of crime," Vice President Gore said.
The Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) administers the Crime Victims Fund which collects all fines collected by the U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Courts and Bureau of Prisons each year. These funds are then made available for grant awards in the following year. The fund is supported solely by fines paid by federal criminal offenders -- not taxpayers. Many of the funds collected come from large criminal fines levied against corporations.
Like private insurance, state compensation programs reimburse victims of crime directly for such crime-related expenses as medical treatment, counseling, funeral costs and lost wages. State victim assistance programs provide funds to community agencies that assist crime victims through crises intervention, criminal justice advocacy, counseling, emergency shelter and other services. These funds support nearly 3,000 victim service agencies, such as domestic violence shelters, child abuse and sexual assault programs.
In addition to funding state victim compensation and victim assistance programs, OVC trains those who work with victims and develops projects to enhance victims' rights and services.
A list of victim compensation and victim assistance allocations each state is expected to receive is attached. The Department of Justice will complete award all states' funds by the end of February.
###
STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE ALLOCATIONS
FISCAL YEAR 1999
|-----------------+---------------------------+------------------------|
| | | | | STATE | VICTIM COMPENSATION | VICTIM ASSISTANCE | | | ALLOCATIONS | ALLOCATIONS | | | | |
|-----------------+---------------------------+------------------------|
ALABAMA $945,000 $3,854,000
ALASKA $265,000 $973,000
ARIZONA $356,000 $4,037,000
ARKANSAS $503,000 $2,459,000
CALIFORNIA $17,670,000 $25,555,000
COLORADO $2,295,000 $3,523,000
CONNECTICUT $586,000 $3,039,000
DELAWARE $447,000 $1,068,000
DC $221,000 $911,000
FLORIDA $3,487,000 $11,878,000
GEORGIA $663,000 $6,313,000
HAWAII $364,000 $1,421,000
IDAHO $463,000 $1,440,000
ILLINOIS $2,351,000 $9,737,000
INDIANA $580,000 $5,053,000
IOWA $834,000 $2,715,000
KANSAS $580,000 $2,515,000
KENTUCKY $213,000 $3,535,000
LOUISIANA $331,000 $3,879,000
MAINE $69,000 $1,464,000
MARYLAND $453,000 $4,456,000
MASSACHUSETTS $742,000 $5,250,000
MICHIGAN $313,000 $8,089,000
MINNESOTA $575,000 $4,138,000
MISSISSIPPI $315,000 $2,620,000
MISSOURI $2,264,000 $4,695,000
MONTANA $222,000 $1,182,000
NEBRASKA $93,000 $1,786,000
NEVADA $705,000 $1,802,000
NEW HAMPSHIRE $57,000 $1,411,000
NEW JERSEY $1,587,000 $6,753,000
NEW MEXICO $254,000 $1,843,000
NEW YORK $3,369,000 $14,583,000
NORTH CAROLINA $809,000 $6,265,000
NORTH DAKOTA $44,000 $998,000
OHIO $2,066,000 $9,186,000
OKLAHOMA $687,000 $3,076,000
OREGON $334,000 $3,018,000
PENNSYLVANIA $1,117,000 $9,833,000
RHODE ISLAND $448,000 $1,267,000
SOUTH CAROLINA $1,941,000 $3,420,000
SOUTH DAKOTA $92,000 $1,073,000
TENNESSEE $1,855,000 $4,668,000
TEXAS $7,917,000 $15,594,000
UTAH $751,000 $2,099,000
VERMONT $124,000 $957,000
VIRGINIA $450,000 $5,729,000
WASHINGTON $2,828,000 $4,856,000
WEST VIRGINIA $530,000 $1,910,000
WISCONSIN $542,000 $4,514,000
WYOMING $132,000 $872,000
AMERICAN SAMOA Doesn't have victim $236,000
compensation program
GUAM Doesn't have victim $303,000
compensation program
N. MARIANA ISLANDS Doesn't have victim $234,000
compensation program
PUERTO RICO Doesn't have victim $3,472,000
compensation program
VIRGIN ISLANDS $127,000 $579,000
|-----------------+---------------------------+------------------------|
| | | | | TOTAL | $66,966,000 | $238,136,000 | | | | |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
###