The main findings of this analysis were: (1) Victim compensation programs are an attempt to rectify the relative neglect of the victim in the criminal justice system; (2) Uncertainty about the costs of victim compensation programs has led to some disinclination to enact such programs; (3) There is a great deal of similarity among the provisions of existing State victim compensation statutes; (4) the National Crime Survey (NCS), using victimization surveying, has produced much information relevant to program costs; (5) NCS findings indicate that eligibility restrictions in existing programs are not very relevant to the types of people most likely to be victimized; (6) injury and need for medical attention are relatively rare outcomes in personal victimizations and the costs of medical attention are unequally distributed among victims; (7) losses resulting from time lost from work are also unequally distributed among victims; and (8) three total cost estimates for a national program range from about $144 million to $261 million, depending on the particular minimum loss criteria used. Notes, tables, figures, references, questionnaires