The commission held 38 meetings, including 12 hearings with victims on contested administrative or commission decisions. The administrative staff made 911 of the 1,050 decisions; only 4 percent of the applicants contested the decisions. The commission made the remaining 139 decisions; 11 percent of these applicants requested reconsideration. One thousand twenty-two new claims applications were received and 959 payments were issued during fiscal year 1997; these included 140 supplemental awards. The commission continued to work with law enforcement and victim assistance agencies in notifying victims of their rights to compensation. Funding for the commission's activities and victim compensation came from State appropriations, Federal grants, inmate wages, and court-ordered restitution. Appended case summaries