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Victim Services Support Program

​​​​​​VOCA Fix 2021 UPDATE. 

The following is an email sent July 26, 2021, from Kris Rose, OVC Director:

Dear Colleagues:

First, allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Kris Rose and I am delighted to be the new Director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).  Having worked as a Deputy Director at OVC in the past, I am well aware of the wonderful work you do to ensure that victims are supported in your states through VOCA compensation and assistance. In the days and months ahead, it is my goal to be as straight forward and transparent as I can be in sharing information with all of you, especially as it pertains to the administration of VOCA funds.

To that end, I am writing to you about the historic moment we witnessed last week as President Biden signed the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 in an effort to stabilize the Crime Victims Fund and provide enhanced support to survivors and victim-centered programs.  I would like to congratulate and thank the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, the National Criminal Justice Association, and all the other national stakeholders for their collective vision, advocacy, collaboration, and persistence in ensuring that these critical changes to VOCA were recognized and enacted through the VOCA Fix. 

This new law will allow us to continue supporting the essential and lifesaving assistance to crime victims that you provide.

Effective immediately, the specific provisions of the Act—

  • Require monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements to go into the Crime Victims Fund, to stabilize this funding resource.
  • Provide the Attorney General with the authority to provide no-cost extensions to all VOCA award recipients.
  • Allow state VOCA Administrators to waive, or requires them to waive, subgrantee match requirements.
  • Increase the federal grant calculation for funding to victim compensation programs to 75 percent of state-funded payouts. We are currently recalculating the new formulas for both VOCA compensation and assistance funds.  More to come on this.
  • Instruct OVC not to deduct restitution payments recovered by state victim compensation funds when calculating victim compensation awards.
  • Clarify that state programs may waive the requirement to promote victim cooperation with law enforcement in order for victims to receive compensation.

We understand the urgency around implementing these provisions and are working diligently to develop a process to successfully execute them.  OVC anticipates providing additional flexibility regarding project period extensions for expiring VOCA formula funds. 

I know the process for implementing this law will generate many questions and we do not yet have all the answers.  However, you will receive more detailed information about next steps from us in the coming weeks. 

I echo President Biden’s sentiments last week when he thanked “those angels working on the frontlines to help these victims.” The work you do is vital and the signing of this bill into law reinforces your efforts to support crime victims and survivors every day. 

With gratitude,

Kristina Rose
Director
Office for Victims of Crime

Iowa Talking Points from the VOCA Fix Push

  1. Iowa VOCA Factsheet
  2. Iowa FFY20 VOCA Impact Infographic
  3. Iowa VOCA Talking Points
  4. Iowa VOCA Talking Point updated March 2021 
  5. VOCA Graphic 1 (for social media use)
  6. VOCA Graphic 2 (for social media use)
  7. VOCA Fix Act 2021 Final Bill Text  

 

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General Grant Funding, Application and Review Process

The Crime Victim Assistance Division of the Iowa Attorney's Office generally awards their victim services grant funds for three-year grant cycles. Due to the uncertainty of  VOCA funding, CVAD delayed releasing their competitive application by one year. CVAD's victim service funding is concentrated into two  focus areas: criminal justice grants and victim services grants. CVAD anticipates releasing the next round of funding in two phases. The request for criminal justice funding applications/grant solicitation is expected to be released in November 2022. The request for victim services funding applications/grant solicitation is expected to be released in January 2023. 

Criminal Justice Grants

Criminal justice grants are awarded to non profit organizations, law enforcement agencies, courts, victim witness coordinators and prosecutors. The majority of funding for criminal justice grants is STOP and VOCA; the projects funded include violence against women prosecutors, victim witness coordinators, DART and SART teams, violence against women law enforcement efforts and community coordinated response teams. 

Victim Services Grants

Victim services grants are awarded to non profit organizations, governmental agencies and institutes of higher education. Victims services grants fund projects and programs designed to assist crime victims with healing after victimization.  These grants are for comprehensive victim services agencies, culturally specific agencies and organizations who serve victims in specific capacity.  

 CVAD is transitioning to a new grants management system and will update this page as we complete our transition to the new system. 

Grant Review

The submitted proposals are reviewed and evaluated by a volunteer grant review committee. The committee is made up of persons with expertise in victim services, grant management, and public policy.

The review committee and CVAD staff submit their recommendations for funding to the Crime Victim Assistance Board. The Board determines final grant awards to the extent funds are available and to the extent the applicants meet eligibility criteria.

Click here for more information on grant eligibility, required grant certificates, and required grant reports.

Click here for administrative rules governing the VSS Program.

The VSS Program administers grant funds that provide partial funding to local and statewide crime victim service programs in Iowa.

 

Grantee Resources and Recordings

 

Meeting Recording from May 2021, Access Passcode: &Chn?KB0:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/zHaZBHtptxvcNLtSjLNcKzY-gJKSYLWV3D902iRNXUU6xfk6cGElLaq2gYMvOzg.1PKLL7d3fuYmrsMF

 

Contact Information

Office of the Attorney General of  Iowa
Crime Victim Assistance Division
Lucas State Office Building
321 East 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319

Phone: 515-281-5044
Toll-Free: 800-373-5044
FAX: 515-281-8199

For more information contact Victim Services Support Program Administrator Lori Miller.

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