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VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT STATE COMPENSATION PROGRAM 2002 ARIZONA STATEWIDE COMPENSATION PROGRAM Prepared By: Arizona Criminal Justice Commission 1110 West Washington, Suite 230 Phoenix, AZ 85007-0000 tel: (602)230-0252
CLAIMS DATA
1. NUMBER OF NEW CLAIMS RECEIVED DURING REPORTING PERIOD a. Total claims, if only one claim is usually counted per crime: 1,970 OR b. Total claims, if victims and indirect victims generally count as separate items: 0 2. NUMBER OF CLAIMS APPROVED AS ELIGIBLE: 1,498 (a) Number of Victims 17 and Under 446 (b) Number approved for victims 18 - 64 991 (c) Number approved for victims 65 and Older 39 3. NUMBER OF FORENSIC SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION CLAIMS RECEIVED DURING THE REPORT PERIOD. IF SUCH CLAIMS ARE HANDLED THROUGH SEPARATE CLAIMS PROCEDURE. (See Instructions) 0
PAYMENT STATISTICS BY CRIME CATEGORY:
a. b. c. TYPE OF CRIME NUMBER OF CLAIMS NUMBER OF DOMESTIC TOTAL AMOUNT PAID PAID DURING VIOLENCE RELATED BY CATEGORY REPORTING PERIOD CLAIMS PAID DURING Including all supple- Includes Column b REPORTING PERIOD mental payments
1. ASSAULT 458 205 1,123,647 2. HOMICIDE 229 32 937,871 3. SEXUAL ASSAULT 69 5 110,436 4. CHILD ABUSE (Including sexual & physical abuse) 174 154,593 5. DWI/DUI 57 168,376 6. 0THER VEHICULAR CRIMES 20 123,646 7. STALKING 5 0 2,592 8. ROBBERY 22 1 27,320 9. TERRORISM 0 2,209 10. KIDNAPPING 10 1 6,995 11. ARSON 1 1 412 12. OTHER 52 19 71,621 TOTAL 1,097 264 2,729,718
INDICATE TOTAL EXPENSES PAID BY SERVICE
1. MEDICAL/DENTAL (Except Mental Health) 1,116,126 2. MENTAL HEALTH 291,544 3. ECONOMIC SUPPORT (Lost Wages, Loss of Support) 632,028 4. FUNERAL/BURIAL (Including all Funeral Related Expenses 690,020 5. CRIME SCENE CLEAN-UP 0 6. FORENSIC SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMS 0 7. OTHER 0 8. TOTAL 2,729,718
Please respond to the following questions additional 8x11 sheets may be attached if necessary 1. DESCRIBE THE IMPACT THAT VOCA FUNDS HAVE HAD ON YOUR PROGRAM'S ABILITY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF CRIME VICTIMS. Section II 2 Unknown age 22 ====== VOCA funds enabled the State of Arizona to compensate additional crime victims for medical, mental health, wage loss and funeral expenses that otherwise would not have been possible. Awards in FFY02 paid with VOCA funds totaled $483,174. These funds benefit not only the victims but also the service providers in our communities who deliver essential services to victims. Like most of the nation, Arizona’s economy continues to suffer from the effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the VOCA funds are increasingly critical to our ability to assist innocent crime victims.2. HOW DO YOU MEASURE YOUR PROGRAM'S EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN REDUCING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTH OF CRIME ON VICTIMS? WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? One of the means used to determine the efficiency of the program is the amount of time it takes to process claims. The State of Arizona administers a decentralized Crime Victim Compensation Program within each of the fifteen county attorney’s offices. At the end of each quarter, the counties submit a quarterly performance and financial report to the Commission listing the average number of weeks required for processing the claims. This data is compiled by the Commission to determine a statewide average. For FFY02, the average processing time statewide was 6 weeks. The program rules require Boards to hear claims within sixty (60) days of submission, and we are within this requirement. Arizona continues to seek means to streamline the processing of claims. Effectiveness in reducing the financial impact of crime on victims is measured through the proportion of awards compared to the amount of funds available. Due to a rule change in November 2000 which increased the award cap from $10,000 to $20,000, the program is awarding nearly all available funds to crime victims. As we expand our outreach efforts, more crime victims are filing claims and we continue to look for additional revenue sources.
3. DID YOUR STATE USE VOCA ADMINSTRATIVE FUNDS? YES IF YOUR STATE USED VOCA ADMINSTRATIVE FUNDS, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE IMPACT THESE FUNDS HAVE HAD ON YOUR STATE'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE COMPENSATION OR IMPROVE VICTIM SERVICES. VOCA administrative funds are critical for Arizona’s ongoing effort to improve victim services. The VOCA administrative funds allowed the state of Arizona to pay a portion of the salary and employee-related expenses for a financial compliance auditor. This position is particularly important to Arizona since our program is decentralized. The financial compliance auditor has improved our ability to ensure that the county programs are accurately and consistently tracking and administering the state and federal Compensation funds in compliance with federal financial guidelines. Administrative funds were also used to support on-site technical assistance and program compliance reviews at the fifteen county programs. Additionally, the administrative funds allowed staff to attend the national training conference which provides a forum to meet with OVC staff, increase our knowledge of victim issues, and network with other states on victim compensation issues.