25th Anniversary of VOCA

In 1984, the federal government passed the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and took a big step forward in not only providing services to survivors of crime, but in finding ways to fund these services. Since then, VOCA has provided a source of federal money that goes to each state to fund survivor services in system-based programs (such as information and referrals from prosecutors’ offices), community-based programs (such as domestic and sexual violence programs), and victim compensation programs.

Steve Derene, Executive Director of the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, states the importance of VOCA this way: “When I surveyed the states [about VOCA], the common response was ‘we would not have anything if it was not for VOCA.’ It was not only the financial resources it provided, it was the formal recognition of the importance of victim services.”

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, “2009 NCVRW Resource Guide”