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Financial Assistance for Victims of Crime

NCJ Number
146081
Date Published
1993
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video provides information to Native Americans on the nature of victim compensation benefits available to victims of violent crime, eligibility criteria, and how to apply for the benefits.
Abstract
The video first presents a case study of the financial and emotional costs to a Native American family of an older family member's gunshot death. The primary financial loss was the cost of the funeral. One family member saw information about the victim compensation program on a poster in the reservation post office. The family applied to the program and received the amount of the funeral costs. In another case, a Native American woman was stabbed by her husband. She received her medical costs from the victim compensation board in her jurisdiction. The video advises that compensation is provided for victim costs due to physical and emotional injuries from a violent crime, but victim losses from property crimes are not covered. The director of Washington State's victim compensation program describes that program's benefits. The narrator advises that all Indian reservations have victim compensation benefits from which their residents can draw when they become violent- crime victims.