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VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT STATE COMPENSATION PROGRAM 2002 TEXAS STATEWIDE COMPENSATION PROGRAM Prepared By: Texas Office of the Attorney General PO Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711-2548 tel: (512)936-2932
CLAIMS DATA
1. NUMBER OF NEW CLAIMS RECEIVED DURING REPORTING PERIOD a. Total claims, if only one claim is usually counted per crime: 25,877 OR b. Total claims, if victims and indirect victims generally count as separate items: 0 2. NUMBER OF CLAIMS APPROVED AS ELIGIBLE: 22,644 (a) Number of Victims 17 and Under 6,915 (b) Number approved for victims 18 - 64 15,363 (c) Number approved for victims 65 and Older 366 3. NUMBER OF FORENSIC SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION CLAIMS RECEIVED DURING THE REPORT PERIOD. IF SUCH CLAIMS ARE HANDLED THROUGH SEPARATE CLAIMS PROCEDURE. (See Instructions) 4,011
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 6,088 1,994 26,462,070 2. HOMICIDE 1,259 225 6,378,067 3. SEXUAL ASSAULT 531 105 1,073,821 4. CHILD ABUSE (Including sexual & physical abuse) 1,647 2,566,547 5. DWI/DUI 455 2,795,461 6. 0THER VEHICULAR CRIMES 585 3,785,966 7. STALKING 72 48 193,399 8. ROBBERY 636 8 2,666,733 9. TERRORISM 0 0 10. KIDNAPPING 42 15 105,372 11. ARSON 11 11 40,427 12. OTHER 120 29 420,771 TOTAL 11,446 2,425 46,488,634
INDICATE TOTAL EXPENSES PAID BY SERVICE
1. MEDICAL/DENTAL (Except Mental Health) 27,081,334 2. MENTAL HEALTH 2,035,782 3. ECONOMIC SUPPORT (Lost Wages, Loss of Support) 9,292,407 4. FUNERAL/BURIAL (Including all Funeral Related Expenses 4,438,728 5. CRIME SCENE CLEAN-UP 24,588 6. FORENSIC SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMS 704,069 7. OTHER 3,615,795 8. TOTAL 47,192,703
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 III Other: Physical Abuse - Elderly 11 (1 DV) $8,577.70 and Other 109 (28 DV) $412,193.10. Section IV Other: Relocation Expense $2,464,499.04; Child Care $877,384.90; Travel $214,987.65; Evidence Replacement Costs $ 15,744.08; Attorney's Fees $26,502.70; Emergency Awards $10,677.00; Final Settlements $6,000.00. ===== VOCA funds were an integral part of the success of the Texas Crime Victims' Compensation program's most productive year. The program received more than twenty-five thousand applications from victims and more than four thousand applications for sexual assault examination reimbursements from law enforcement agencies. In all, the program paid out nearly $46,5 million in the last federal fiscal year. We very much appreciate the use of VOCA funds to help us make these awards. In recent state legislative sessions, benefits were broadened to provide financial assistance to family violence and sexual assault victims for relocation expenses, compensation limits were increased for victims who sustained catastrophic injuries, and a new category of payments were created to allow the program to reimburse law enforcement agencies for sexual assault examination costs. Our partnership with OVC in this effort is crucial and we appreciate not only the funding that is available, but the ease with which the funding is provided to the states.2. HOW DO YOU MEASURE YOUR PROGRAM'S EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN REDUCING THE FINANCIAL IMPACTH OF CRIME ON VICTIMS? WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? The Texas Crime Victims' Compensation program utilizes numerous management reports to measure claims processing at different points in the workflow. One key measure for Texas is the number of days required to analyze and make the first payment on a claim. This measure is defined as the average number of days required to make a payment on a bill for a benefitted claim from the date an application is received to the date the first voucher for payment is produced. The program uses data from automated weekly and monthly mainframe reports to compute the measure, in the last state fiscal year (September 1, 2001 through August 31, 2002) the program averaged 105 days, and in the first state fiscal quarter the average has dropped to 81 days. This measure includes the time required to obtain are necessary documentation, such as offense reports from law enforcement to substantiate the crime, itemized bills with collateral source information, and employment verification forms.
3. DID YOUR STATE USE VOCA ADMINSTRATIVE FUNDS? NO 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. No.