In 1984, the General Assembly created the victim/witness grant program and designated DCJS as the administering agency. The federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was also enacted by Congress in 1984, and it established the Crime Victims Fund and authorized the Director of the federal Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to make annual VOCA victim assistance and compensation grants to states. Currently, DCJS is using federal VOCA funds, as well as state Special Funds and General Funds, to support Victim/Witness Programs.
The Victim/Witness Grant Program is open to local units of government and certain state agencies. Local units of government may subcontract with private, non-profit service providers. Localities may submit joint applications to support regional victim/witness programs serving multiple localities.
Grantees must comply with grant award conditions including the applicable provisions of: the DCJS Victim/Witness Grant Program Guidelines, the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Final Rule, and the federal Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide. Grant funded Virginia Victim Witness Programs are also mandated under §19.2-11.01A to provide victim assistance services. Specifically, the Code of Virginia indicates:
Unless otherwise stated, it is the “responsibility of a locality’s crime victim and witness assistance program to provide the information and assistance required by this chapter,” including verification that the standardized form listing the specific rights has been received.
(Note: Links to the resources described are provided in the “Helpful Links” section)
A new rule addressing the use and administration of VOCA funds became effective in the summer of 2016. As appropriate the Codebook has been updated to incorporate applicable changes resulting from the new rule and changes in data collection and reporting required by the federal Office for Victims of Crime. Most provisions in this final rule are substantively the same as the corresponding provisions of the previous Guidelines. See the New OVC Performance Measure and Service Objectives section for further details.