VCCO-Fact vs. Fiction

Compensation benefits may be awarded up to a maximum of $25,000 per claim ($10,000 for crimes before December 5, 1982) and may include the following:

• Medically related expenses
• Loss of earnings in personal injury cases
• Loss of support from the victim for dependents in homicide cases
• Loss of earnings for surviving spouse whose earning capacity has been reduced in case of victim/spouse’s death
• Loss of support from the offender in domestic violence cases
• Limited transportation costs
• Mental health counseling for victim and immediate family members
• Limited domestic service, child care, day care and after school care costs up to $6,500
• Funeral allowances of up to $5,000
• Loss of prescription eyeglasses
• Crime Scene Cleanup of up to $3,000
• Relocation expenses of up to $2,500
• Emergency financial assistance of up to $1,500, if you are employed and unable to work and face undue hardship as a result of crime-related injuries
• For crimes committed after June 26, 1995, if you are at least 60 years old or determined to disabled and meet financial guidelines, you may be eligible for reimbursement for up to $200 in stolen cash resulting from the assault and robbery.
• The VCCO will pay legal fees only if it awards compensation. Attorneys are limited to receiving fees that are set by statute and by the Office. Attorneys who represent victim in the criminal justice system may be eligible to receive up to $1,000 in related legal fees.

The VCCO can arrange for translation services to assist you in processing your claim. Please call ahead for an appointment to ensure the services of a translator.

The Victims of Crime Compensation Office is the payer of last resort. The VCCO will award compensation for the balance of crime-related expenses not reimbursed first from other sources such as medical insurance or disability benefits.

“Source or sources” means a source of benefits or advantages which you have received as reimbursement for medical or economic loss which is available to you from, but not limited to the following sources:

• Restitution from the offender which is payment made by assailants to their victims, as ordered by the court in a criminal proceeding. It may include compensation for property loss or damage, or for medical expenses. Restitution is now mandatory where the offender has the ability to pay. Please consult your County Victim-Witness Coordinator, in your County Prosecutor’s Office.
• The government or any agency of the United States, the State of New New Jersey or its political subdivisions, or of any two or more states
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
• State disability insurance
• Workers Compensation
• Employer or Union Local disability programs
• Insurance payable to the victim for a loss sustained because of the crime
• A contract providing prepaid hospital and other health care services or benefits for disability
• Moneys received from any civil or related third party actions. However, the first $1000 recovered is not to be included as money received from another source. This applies even though a settlement or any other resolution of the action is worded to recover any economic loss, such as pain and suffering and property loss, which the VCCO does not compensate.

Eligibility Phase: After a police report is received, the Office’s eligibility investigators will review all the circumstances surrounding the incident, including, but not limited to, direct discussion with police and prosecutorial personnel, securing trial related information from the courts, and speaking with witnesses. The investigator will provide the Office’s commissioners with a recommendation either that the claim is eligible for compensation or to deny compensation because there has been a failure to comply with one of the statute’s provisions.

Compensation Phase: Once determined eligible for compensation, your claim enters the compensation phase. The Office’s investigator will verify losses by communicating directly with providers of medical services, securing insurance benefit statements, and gathering loss of earnings and disability payment information.

You are required to show a minimum loss of at least $100 unreimbursed medical expenses or two continuous weeks loss of earnings or support. For incidents occurring on or after June 26, 1995, the minimum loss requirement no longer applies. Accordingly, please respond to the Office’s requests as quickly as possible.

If additional information comes to the VCCO’s attention which requires the VCCO to change its determination of eligibility, you will be notified and you will be given an opportunity to respond to the Office’s new decision.

The VCCO provides referral services for emergency crisis counseling and therapy to victims of violent crime. A listing of statewide resources is used to help victims obtain the services of various agencies, organizations and licensed psychotherapists in the victim’s immediate geographic area.

To obtain counseling services you must file a completed claim form and comply with VCCO regulations which are explained in the instructions. To specifically ask for counseling services, check the counseling request box and provide a phone number where you can be reached during our office hours.

You must have a police report or letter from the prosecutor’s office describing the incident and highlighting the victim’s innocence to be eligible for VCCO authorized mental health counseling. Cooperation with law enforcement officials is also necessary. A compelling health or safety reason for your lack of cooperation may excuse such failure to cooperate.

If you are a minor you must apply for assistance through a parent or guardian. You may apply on your own within two years after reaching the age of eighteen. Parents of minor victims may be eligible for counseling where it helps in child or family therapy.

The psychological needs of immediate family members of crime victims may also be met.

The VCCO can arrange for translation services to assist you in processing your claim. Please call ahead for an appointment to ensure the services of a translator. Applications are also available in Spanish.

If you are visiting or traveling through another state and are injured as a result of a crime in that state, you may be eligible for victim’s compensation in the state where the incident occurred. Each of the 50 states and Washington, DC have a victim compensation program to meet your crime victimization needs.

You must make application for compensation in the state where the injury incurred. If the that state compensation program does not fully compensate you for your out of pocket expenses, you may then file an application with the NJ VCCO for the payment of any crime related expenses incurred which were not paid by the first state’s program.

If you are visiting or traveling outside the country and are a victim of a crime, there are a number of countries that have victim compensation programs. The U.S. State Department’s Overseas Citizens Services should be contacted immediately at 1-888-407-4747 (Monday-Friday, 8 AM – 8 PM) or 202-647-4000 (after hours and weekends). Their website is Travel Site

If the foreign nation’s compensation program does not fully compensate you for your crime related out of pocket expenses or where there is not victim compensation program in that country, you may then file an application with the NJ VCCO for the payment of any crime related expenses incurred which were not paid by the first state’s program.

If you are a victim of international terrorism, there is a special victim compensation program now being established by the US Department of Justice, Office of Victim of Crime. Please contact OVC directly at 202-307-5983. However, until such time as the program is established by OVC, the previous paragraph provides the appropriate answer to the question.