VOCA Fact Sheet

Why Congress Needs to Save the Crime Victims Fund

The Administration’s proposed FY 2007 budget would wipe out VOCA funds that support future Federal, state and local victim services by removing $1.255 billion from the Crime Victims Fund. That would mean no money will be available for victim services at the beginning of FY 2008.

The VOCA provides critical funding that helps millions of victims of all types of crime every year.The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is the only federal grant program supporting direct assistance services to victims of all types of crimes. Some 4,400 local programs depend on VOCA assistance grants annually to provide services to nearly 4 million victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, drunk driving, elder abuse, robberies, and survivors of homicide victims, etc. VOCA also supplements state funds that provide financial compensation assistance to hundreds of thousands of victims of violent crime and supports victim advocates and services for those involved in the Federal criminal justice system.

The Crime Victims Fund comes from the collection of Federal criminal fines; not taxpayer revenues.The money used by VOCA programs comes from the Crime Victims Fund that is made up entirely of collections from Federal criminal fines, forfeitures, and special assessments. Since its inception in 1984, the amount deposited into the Fund in one year is distributed for victim services the next year. IT DOES NOT RELY ON TAXPAYER GENERATED REVENUE.

Congress has repeatedly said that all amounts deposited into the Fund would remain available for victim services.Both the VOCA statute and, since FY 2000, in annual appropriations, Congress has repeatedly expressed its commitment to keeping all the offender-generated monies deposited into the Fund for the use of victim services “to ensure that a stable level of funding will remain available for these programs in future years.”

Rescinding $1.255 billion means there will be no funds available to support victim services at the start of FY 2008.While the Administration is proposing VOCA spending in FY 2006 of $625 million, it also wants to remove all the amounts remaining in the Fund that were pledged for future victim services PLUS amounts deposited during FY 2007—funds that would otherwise be available in FY 2008 and subsequent years—and begin FY 2008 with a zero balance. Since nearly 90 percent of VOCA funds are distributed by a formula in grants to States, the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime must know how much is available at the beginning of each year. Beginning FY 2008 with nothing in the Fund means there will be no money available for State victim assistance and crime victim compensation grants (or to pay Federal personnel providing victim services).

The Administration’s attempt to zero out the Crime Victims Fund will create a disastrous situation for crime victim service providers and their clients. Congress is considering the FY 2007NOWbudget so immediate action is needed!

Call, email or fax your Congressional delegation and urge them to SAVE THE FUND by opposing the Administration’s proposal to rescind the Crime Victims Fund.*

Find out how to contact your Senator and Representatives (often just by entering your zip code) by going to these web sites:

Senators:

Representatives:

CSPAN:

Congress Merge: