The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), enacted in 1984, established the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) to provide a stable, non-taxpayer source of support for crime victim services nationwide. Born out of recommendations from President Ronald Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, VOCA transformed how the nation responds to victims by ensuring criminal fines, penalties, and assessments from federal offenders are directed toward victim assistance and compensation programs. Administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), VOCA funding flows to state, territorial, and tribal agencies, which in turn support thousands of local programs.
These resources help survivors of violent crime access counseling, shelter, advocacy, legal assistance, and other critical services, strengthening communities and advancing justice for victims across the country. In FY24, $2,188,380,972 was allocated in VOCA federal grant funding, which supported 6,080 organizations and provided over 50 million services to more than 7 million individuals.
Individuals who receive victim services report an increased sense of safety, improved sense of hope, reduced emotional distress, increased understanding of criminal justice processes or options, increased knowledge of how to stay safe physically, and increased knowledge of victims’/survivors’ rights. They felt supported.
