The board, created in 1968, determines three types of awards: lump sum payments for claimants who return to work with no loss of earnings, protracted claims involving monthly payments during a period of disability and reduction in earnings, and death claims providing an award for the period up to the time of the decision and subsequent monthly payments to dependents. The number of applications for awards increased over the previous year, indicating continuing public awareness of the program. A total of 597 claims were accepted and investigated. The 697 decisions involved 548 awards and 147 denials of awards. Assaults and shootings were the most common types of crimes involved in the cases. Monthly payments are currently being made for 73 death claims and 81 personal injury claims. Awards during the year totaled over $1.5 million, of which about four-fifths was awarded in lump sum payments. The program is based on the philosophy that helping innocent victims of crimes promotes the administration of justice. Claimants included a woman injured on a Baltimore street by two boys who threw a can of acid on her, the wife of a man who was shot to death by an unknown assailant on a Baltimore street, and the aunt of a woman who was shot and killed in her home by an unknown assailant. It is expected that the program's workload and budget needs will increase in the future. A description of procedures for filing and handling claims and summaries of each claim handled during the year are provided.