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The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission's (ACJC)
Crime Victim Services area oversees and administers two key programs: the Crime
Victim Compensation and the Crime Victim Assistance programs. The Crime Victim
Assistance program provides grants to private non-profit or government agencies
that deliver direct services to crime victims. The Crime Victim Compensation
program is administered through ACJC but resides locally in each of Arizona's
15 county attorney's offices.
Crime Victim Assistance Program
The purpose of the Crime Victim Assistance Program, established
in 1988, is to provide grant funding to government agencies and private
non-profit organizations to support delivery of direct services to crime
victims. Though ACJC does not provide direct services to victims of crime, it
does establish program rules for the administration of the program. Funding for
the Crime Victim Assistance Program comes from community supervision fees
collected by the Arizona Department of Corrections. Direct services eligible
for funding through the Crime Victim Assistance program include:
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Crisis intervention services
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Emergency services such as temporary shelter, petty cash, or temporary repairs
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Support services including counseling and referrals to other assistance
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Court-related services including escorting victims to criminal justice-related
interviews and court proceedings
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Notification services
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Training for staff
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Printing and distribution of brochures
Crime Victim Compensation Program
The purpose of the Crime Victim Compensation
Program is to assist innocent crime victims in Arizona with out-of-pocket
expenses for crime-related medical treatment, mental health counseling,
funerals, and wage loss. Unlike the Crime Victim Assistance Program, which is a
competitive grant program, the Crime Victim Compensation Program is a state
program administered at the county level by the 15 county attorneys. All 50
states have a crime victim compensation program, but Arizona is only one of two
states that operate a decentralized program. Under the Crime Victim
Compensation Program Rules, a victim must file a compensation claim at the
county attorney's office within the county where the crime occurred. The county
attorney's office in each county investigates the compensation claims which are
then presented to the county's Crime Victim Compensation Board for review. Each
Board is comprised of appointed volunteers selected from citizens of the
respective county who approve or deny of the compensation claim in accordance
with the program rules. The maximum award for a claim is $20,000.
Funding to support the program comes from penalty
assessments on fines, inmate work fees collected by the Arizona Department of
Corrections, and unclaimed victim restitution monies. In addition to these
sources, the State of Arizona annually receives a federal Victims of Crime Act
(VOCA) formula grant which is based on the certified amount of state monies
spent to compensate victims of crime.
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