What is VOCA?
VOCA stands for “Victims of Crime Act.”
The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 12, 1984, establishing the Crime Victims’ Fund. Millions of dollars are deposited annually into the fund from criminal fines, penalties, forfeited bail bonds, and special assessments collected by the federal government. Crime Victims Fund dollars don’t come from taxpayers. They come from people or corporations convicted of federal crimes.
The Crime Victims’ Fund releases a set amount each year based on a cap set by the federal appropriations bill. States apply each year for these funds via the VOCA Formula Grant Program. States then re-grant VOCA Victim Assistance funds to eligible public and nonprofit organizations/victim service providers within their state. These are the available funds discussed in this toolkit.
My Organization Is Not a “Victim Service Provider,” Is It?
Historically, VOCA funding has been vital in its support of traditional victim service providers, particularly within domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse cases, and justice system-based Victim/Witness Assistance Programs. That is what we mean by “traditional victim service providers.”
However, as you may know, many people who have been victimized do not access services through traditional victim service providers. This is especially true in communities of color, where people are at greater risk of victimization, but may be less likely to have access to victim services or to identify themselves as crime victims.
Organizations working with people of color across many areas typically have a social and cultural competence to address the various immediate and ongoing needs in the community, including victimization.
If you are supporting an underserved community, there’s a good chance many of your clients are crime survivors. While VOCA will not fund services to people who are not crime survivors, they can certainly fund the subset of your work that provides direct services to those clients who are crime survivors. If you can identify them, and you are serving them, you should consider applying for VOCA funding.
Why Now?
In December 2014, the federal government increased VOCA funds. That means there are additional funds that can support groups like yours. There is a growing awareness that VOCA funds need to address underserved crime survivors and families of victims. This is a perfect opportunity for groups like yours to enhance your impact by funding your services to crime survivors, expand your reach to more survivors, hire new staff, and better address the challenges you and the community may face.
In addition, the new VOCA rule may impact many underserved populations, including people of color, tribal/indigenous populations, incarcerated survivors, and LGBTQ survivors.
Categories of Funding
By law, VOCA funds are very explicit in how they can be distributed. A minimum of 10% of each state’s annual VOCA assistance grant must go to victim services in three priority areas: domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault. Another 10% or more must go to “previously underserved” survivors of violent crimes other than domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault. This category of “previously underserved” is defined by each state. It includes certain types of crimes, like attempted homicide, homicide, or robbery, and could potentially also include demographic characteristics of communities that may be marginalized due to ethnicity, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identification, geography, etc.
Your organization may be serving a community that you consider underserved, but it may not fit the description of “underserved” as defined by your state. That’s ok. There are funds that aren’t restricted to priority areas that may cover other types of crime or demographics. Talk with your VOCA Administrator about how your community fits your state’s definition.