Victim compensation funds are a vital resource for survivors of gun violence. But there are many barriers to getting these funds into the hands of those who need help. Bureaucratic obstacles can often be overwhelming to those grieving a loved one who was taken by gun violence, navigating the trauma of a gun injury, or otherwise experiencing the raw emotional toll of survivorship.
$394M
In FY 2019, a total of $393,749,715 was paid to applicants as part of victim compensation nationwide.
$52.6M
A total of $52,635,431 was allocated for funeral expenses for all homicide applications nationwide in FY 2019.
Victim Compensation Funding Stream and Administration
States are responsible for administering and distributing victim compensation funds. Each state has its own compensation law and receives a different number of applications each year. These applications request or are eligible for varying funding amounts. This all results in state-by-state variations in victim eligibility and payouts. For example, in FY 2019, average payouts per approved application for an individual ranged from $514 in Hawaii to $6,938 in Missouri.
Gaps in Victim Awareness
Victim advocates who typically work within law enforcement agencies in the state often connect with survivors of crime and assist with victim compensation applications. State victim compensation administrators then field these applications and determine eligibility. However, the majority of crimes are not reported to law enforcement, and research shows that victims who do not report to law enforcement are less likely to receive vital support. One survey of state compensation directors and law enforcement executives found that many believe that eligible victims are not receiving compensation. The authors of a study of a victim compensation outreach and assistance program in California concluded that “the primary barriers to filing a claim are lack of information about victim compensation and difficulty navigating the application process, not lack of interest or reluctance to access the system.”
Victim Eligibility
Victim compensation funds are eligible to survivors of “criminal violence,” which includes gun violence. Federal guidelines encourage states to prioritize victims of violent crime, but do not prohibit states from providing compensation to victims of nonviolent crimes or those who witness a violent crime.
In addition, the federal guidelines allow states to impose more restrictive criteria, which has resulted in wide variation in claim eligibility from state to state. For example, some states have chosen to prohibit individuals convicted of certain crimes at the state level, even if the crime was committed years earlier. As illustrated in Dion’s story, such policies have caused families to be denied compensation if their loved one had a prior conviction. This disproportionately affects Black people, who are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. In Florida, in 2015 and 2016, Black people made up 30 percent of applicants for victim compensation, but were 61 percent of the applicants who were denied due to a criminal record.
And while federal law requires that a crime victim compensation program “promotes victim cooperation with the reasonable requests of law enforcement authorities,” some states have interpreted that to mean a victim is required to report the crime to law enforcement. Other states, however, have acknowledged that—for a variety of reasons, including fear of retaliation, mistrust in law enforcement, the age of a victim, or the dynamics of an intimate partner relationship—victims may choose not to report the crime to law enforcement. Several states have opted to compensate survivors who did not report the crime to law enforcement or who reported it to a government agency instead of law enforcement. In FY 2019, 46 percent of denied applications in Georgia were due to a failure to cooperate with law enforcement. Under Georgia’s victim compensation law, the victim compensation board has discretion to determine whether a victim cooperated with law enforcement or not.
3.5k
“Contributory misconduct,” a finding that a survivor played a role in their own victimization, accounted for 3,513 denials in FY 2019, across all states.
In addition, compensation may be denied if the victim’s actions played a role in their death or injury or if the compensation would “unjustly enrich” the offender. For example, if law enforcement or victim compensation administrators believe the claimant was engaged in illegal activity at the time they were victimized, they could be denied. And if an offender lives with a victim and the compensation could be used to substantially support the offender, the claim could be denied. This “contributory misconduct” accounted for 3,513 denials—less than one percent of all denials— in FY 2019, across all states. The circumstances surrounding what constitutes contributory misconduct are not always clear-cut, and in some states the misconduct does not even have to be causally related to the victimization. In Mississippi, a victim can be denied compensation if the victim “engaged in conduct unrelated to the crime upon which the claim for compensation is based that either was (i) a felony, or (ii) a delinquent act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a felony.” By this standard, someone engaged in a brawl leading up to their gun assault victimization, or who happened to be in possession of illegal drugs at the time of their gun homicide, could be deemed ineligible due to contributory misconduct. In either case, state laws should better account for the nuanced contexts of gun crime victimization.
Timeline
The federal statute is silent on a timeline for reporting a crime, filing for compensation (or an appeal), or reimbursing victims. This also has resulted in wide variation at the state level with states adopting time frames for reporting a crime as short as 72 hours, or for filing a request at one year. Further, reimbursements take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. In FY 2019, nearly 38 percent of California’s victim compensation denials were due to a failure to report to police. States should ensure that victim compensation administrators are adequately staffed to ensure that claims are processed in a timely manner.
Costs Covered
Federal law mandates that expenses related to medical care, lost wages, mental health counseling, and funeral expenses be eligible for reimbursement under victim compensation programs. Beyond mandated expenses, other allowable expenses may include property damage and loss, travel and transport to secure bodies of the deceased, temporary lodging, building modification to accommodate disabilities, reimbursement for items held as evidence such as clothing or bedding, window and lock repair or replacement, crime scene cleanup, attorneys’ fees, dependent care, financial counseling, pain and suffering, or annuities.
At the state level, survivors of homicide rightfully receive the majority of funeral expenses paid by compensation programs, but receive less mental health support than other victim categories. A total of $52,635,431 was allocated for funeral expenses for all homicide applications nationwide in FY 2019. Illinois ranked highest in their funerary payout for homicides in FY 2019, paying an average of $6,097 per homicide claim. The majority of mental health reimbursements are paid to assault survivors. In FY 2019, 74.2 percent of all medical expenses and 48.9 percent of mental health expense payouts were paid to assault survivors.
Last Payer Requirement
Victim compensation funds are considered a payer of last resort, so families must first use other sources, including health and life insurance, before being eligible for reimbursement. Some states have expanded this requirement to include collateral sources, such as crowdfunded donations. In such cases, a family who received donations through a GoFundMe campaign to pay for upfront funeral expenses could be denied reimbursement for that specific expense. Furthermore, many families do not have the resources to fund costs upfront and thus be eligible for later reimbursement, which in itself presents a barrier.
In the time since Dion received the victim compensation denial letter for his father’s funeral costs, he has poured his heart into victim support and advocacy for VOCA victim compensation reform: “I’m going to share my story and be a voice for the voiceless.” And he’s been effective: In 2021, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 36, a bill to expand victims’ access to compensation.
The new law expands compensation for counseling to family members of victims, expands the definition of a victim to include a family member who was a witness to a crime, and removes restrictions based on past criminal convictions. The law goes into effect March 2022.
There are several ways to improve the administration of, and access to, victim compensation. At the urging of advocates, lawmakers and fund administrators at the federal and state levels have taken steps to ensure that survivors and families can easily and quickly obtain the financial support they need.
Advocacy groups worked at the federal level to fix VOCA victim compensation restrictions, increase eligibility, and grow the overall pool of money available to survivors. Advocates also proposed increasing the federal contribution to states in order to (1) counter decreasing state contributions to victims’ compensation funds, and (2) decrease states’ reliance on traditional prosecutions to resource funding for victims. Congress members introduced and passed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 (VOCA Fix Act), which amended the VOCA statute to incorporate these fixes. President Biden signed the VOCA Fix Act into law on July 22, 2021.
At the state level, solutions to the challenges that gun violence survivors, like Dion, face in receiving victim compensation exist through both improved administration and legislative advocacy. States must continue to dedicate robust state funds to supplement the federal contributions to their victim compensation programs. Under the federal statutory formula, states receive increased federal aid when they spend increased state resources on victim compensation. As states consider criminal justice reforms, they can no longer rely on traditional prosecutions to generate fines and fees to resource state contributions to victim compensation. States must diversify their contributions to ensure survivors have the resources they need.
Bureaucratic hurdles at the state level can be improved through administrative fixes like increased staffing to process claims in a timely manner, improved training for state administrators, a streamlined application process, and extended periods for those seeking to appeal a denial. Because the application process for these funds can be complicated for survivors, substantial technical assistance for applicants could be piloted at the state level, and could increase the overall number of approved applications for compensation. compensation. Improving information flow to survivors could also help spread the word that victim compensation even exists. Resources on how to apply could be provided at various points beyond law enforcement interaction, including in health care settings and community-based violence intervention programs. Since federal VOCA compensation funding allocations are based on the state’s previous year’s reimbursements, not only would increasing the flow of victim compensation funds benefit the lives of the survivors, but it would also help ensure that the state continues to receive adequate federal funding in years to come.
Far too many gun violence survivors are left without compensation that could radically affect their lives in the aftermath of traumatic victimization and/or a loved one being taken from them. Expanding eligibility, easing last payer requirements, and increasing compensation caps could be addressed through state-level legislation. Other legislative fixes include increasing caps on total reimbursement and allocating more federal funding for states to administer to victims.
Illinois Signed Criminal Justice Reform Bill into Law, 2021
In February 2021, Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker signed sweeping criminal justice legislation into law. Included among the criminal justice reforms, which ranged from improved police transparency, use of force restrictions, and the elimination of cash bail, is a reform to the state’s administration of victim compensation. Under the new law,
- Reimbursement caps for:
- Transport of a deceased victim are increased from $7,500 to $10,000;
- Funeral expenses are increased from $7,500 to $10,000; and
- Loss of earnings or support are increased from $1,250 to $2,400 per month.
- Language was added to affirm that a victim’s criminal history does not automatically prohibit them from accessing compensation.
- Compensation awards must be determined within 28 days.
- The application filing period increased from two years to five years.
- Language was removed that would prohibit eligibility based on the contributory misconduct or provocation by the victim.
In Illinois, removing barriers to victim compensation funds, increasing reimbursement caps, and expediting eligibility notifications are considered criminal justice issues that must be considered alongside other systems-based reforms. Other states should follow their lead.
In the aftermath of gun violence, survivors and families require physical, emotional, and financial support. Access to this support is complicated by debilitating trauma, limited resources, and in the case of victim compensation, administrative obstacles and restrictions. Survivors and victim advocates have been working for years to incorporate federal and state fixes to victim compensation statutes and administration. As federal fixes to victim compensation funding are under way, states must also take action to increase victims’ awareness of compensation, ease the application process, and adequately fund the needs of gun violence survivors. As Illinois’ Criminal Justice Reform Bill demonstrates, these reforms are possible—and they are needed. The struggle to cope with short- and long-term effects of a shooting or threat with a gun should not be exacerbated by a fight to navigate and receive victim compensation.
Victim compensation funding data by state
| STATE | Average Length of Time to Process Application for Claim Eligibility in FY 2019 | Total Applications Denied/Closed (Not Approved) in FY 2019 | % Application Denied Due to Incomplete Information in FY 2019 | Average Amount Paid for Funeral/Burial for Homicide Applications in FY 2019 | Avg. Amount Paid for All Applications in FY 2019 | Mental Health Support Paid for Assault Applications as a Percentage of All Annual Mental Health Support Paid in FY 2019 |
| Alabama | 67 | 437 | 27.0% | $2,655 | $1,550 | 16.6% |
| Alaska | 58 | 417 | 39.0% | $1,310 | $1,768 | 12.1% |
| Arizona | 34 | 157 | 0.0% | $1,449 | $1,512 | 28.8% |
| Arkansas | 90 | 378 | 11.9% | $4,793 | $1,413 | 47.4% |
| California | 49 | 5,013 | 0.0% | $2,299 | $1,439 | 48.2% |
| Colorado | 21 | 2,855 | 78.2% | $981 | $993 | 28.3% |
| Connecticut | 135 | 225 | 0.0% | $1,265 | $2,125 | 18.1% |
| Delaware | 19 | 186 | 8.6% | $1,730 | $1,438 | 35.9% |
| District of Columbia | 42 | 13 | 76.9% | $3,893 | $1,442 | 22.1% |
| Florida | 23 | 7,148 | 7.1% | $4,433 | $1,441 | 34.3% |
| Georgia | 36 | 926 | 0.0% | $3,154 | $1,363 | 39.6% |
| Hawaii | 81 | 73 | 4.1% | $2,947 | $514 | 3.1% |
| Idaho | 67 | 388 | 4.6% | $1,562 | $1,076 | 28.6% |
| Illinois | 132 | 1,122 | 18.6% | $6,097 | $3,271 | 13.4% |
| Indiana | 90 | 587 | 39.3% | $5,095 | $2,937 | 62.5% |
| Iowa | 25 | $1,059 | 0.0% | $1,059 | $1,006 | 29.7% |
| Kansas | 60 | 572 | 66.6% | $2,010 | $2,364 | 32.3% |
| Kentucky | 1,080 | 776 | 37.3% | $2,261 | $1,118 | 7.6% |
| Louisiana | 205 | 93 | 10.7% | $2,682 | $1,337 | 19.4% |
| Maine | 105 | 17 | 0.0% | $1,043 | $2,117 | 29.9% |
| Maryland | 55 | 538 | 28.8% | $3,704 | $5,076 | 35.0% |
| Massachusetts | 28 | 228 | 0.0% | $4,164 | $2,721 | 32.7% |
| Michigan | 56 | 256 | 12.5% | NT | $1,501 | NT |
| Minnesota | 131 | 752 | 2.2% | $2,361 | $1,947 | 19.8% |
| Mississippi | 88 | 328 | 19.5% | $4,697 | $3,120 | 17.0% |
| Missouri | 111 | 602 | 34.5% | $3,451 | $6,938 | 11.2% |
| Montana | 60 | 64 | 3.1% | $1,613 | $1,509 | 31.8% |
| Nebraska | 192 | 78 | 24.3% | $3,533 | $5,544 | 8.0% |
| Nevada | 1 | 790 | 28.2% | $2,012 | $1,527 | 67.5% |
| New Hampshire | 47 | 62 | 66.1% | $1,140 | $1,070 | 24.7% |
| New Jersey | 42 | 2,170 | 81.7% | $3,955 | $3,117 | 23.0% |
| New Mexico | 81 | 1,112 | 51.8% | $2,719 | $1,675 | 37.2% |
| New York | 103 | 3,859 | 32.0% | $3,554 | $2,029 | 20.3% |
| North Carolina | 70 | 898 | 3.9% | $4,099 | $2,445 | 38.9% |
| North Dakota | 18 | 88 | 2.2% | $2,850 | $819 | 5.9% |
| Ohio | 93 | 2,444 | 24.8% | $3,063 | $1,182 | 25.7% |
| Oklahoma | 32 | 784 | 2.3% | $3,746 | $1,521 | 15.9% |
| Oregon | 90 | 383 | 3.6% | $1,117 | $588 | 25.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 89 | 291 | 0.0% | $2,842 | $1,258 | 20.4% |
| Rhode Island | 13 | 403 | 5.4% | $5,066 | $1,838 | 25.3% |
| South Carolina | 60 | 169 | 1.7% | $4,432 | $1,432 | 34.3% |
| South Dakota | 91 | 27 | 0.0% | $2,885 | $2,091 | 21.0% |
| Tennessee | 47 | 1,326 | 15.2% | $3,049 | $2,682 | 13.0% |
| Texas | 21 | 12,226 | 30.9% | $3,254 | $2,765 | 28.7% |
| Utah | 56 | 2,821 | 27.3% | NT | $1,082 | NT |
| Vermont | 61 | 39 | 0.0% | $528 | $1,005 | 13.2% |
| Virginia | 202 | 210 | 28.5% | $3,069 | $1,447 | 26.6% |
| Washington | 21 | 1,419 | 0.0% | $1,972 | $1,589 | 1944.9% |
| West Virginia | 180 | 273 | 2.2% | $3,689 | $1,676 | 43.2% |
| Wisconsin | 53 | 448 | 14.9% | $1,963 | $1,815 | 10.3% |
| Wyoming | 6 | 81 | 12.3% | $1,380 | $1,264 | 31.8% |
| Total | | 57,611.30 | | | | |
| Average | 90.53 | 1,129.63 | 19.4% | $2,829.08 | $1,931.33 | 65.6% |
Data is based on each state’s FY 2019 Victim Compensation Formula Grant Program Annual Performance Measures Report, October 01, 2018 – September 30, 2019. See Appendix: 2019 Annual Report VOCA Compensation Survey for additional data and links to FY 2019 state reports.
Everytown Research & Policy is a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to understanding and reducing gun violence. Everytown Research & Policy works to do so by conducting methodologically rigorous research, supporting evidence-based policies, and communicating this knowledge to the American public.
