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OVC Report to Congress, December 1999

NCJ Number
178933
Author(s)
Jennifer Elcano
Date Published
December 1999
Length
117 pages
Annotation
This report covers activities undertaken by the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and its grantees with Crime Victims Fund revenues during fiscal years 1997-1998, as well as some important initiatives that extend into fiscal year 1999.
Abstract
OVC facilitated and funded unmet needs for Federal crime victims. This included support for the development of telemedicine and other technologies to meet the needs of crime victims in remote areas; assistance in creating a national automated victim information system, which will provide timely notice to victims about their offenders' status within the Federal criminal justice system; and grant programs and publications designed to inform, protect, and otherwise recognize the unique needs of fraud victims, a previously neglected group of crime victims. OVC also developed long-term funding strategies with States to help provide for local crime victims' programs. This was possible because of a record year of deposits into the Crime Victims Fund ($529 million, up from a previous high of $363 million deposited in fiscal year 1996). With unprecedented resources, OVC amplified its program development and policymaking responsibilities to the field by establishing the Technical Training and Assistance Center to provide the field with a central access point for a range of crime victim resources, as well as helping States develop integrated crisis response plans and enhance their current response protocols to provide long-term services to communities experiencing multiple-victim crimes. OVC also developed more partnerships and technologies and increased public awareness of crime victim issues. Information is provided on promising practices and demonstration programs and providing international leadership and responding to victims of terrorism. 13 figures and appended tables