Legislation and Career Opportunities
Erin Buell
Concordia University
Policy, Programs and Services
HS 514
Jean Elliott
June 26, 2014
LEGISLATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES1
Legislation and Career Opportunities
The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 established the Crime Victims Fund, also referred to as The Fund (Office for Victims of Crime [OVC],n.d.). The Fund is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) for the purpose of offering support services and financial compensations to victims of violent crime. The fund also goes toward projects, training, and technical support for victim service providers and helps improve processes of criminal investigations, prosecution, and other areas of criminal justice. The website for The Fund ( offers expansive information about funding sources, budget, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), and the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as how to access funds and what programs and services victims can obtain based on region and state. Victims of criminal acts may benefit from assistance that includes counseling, crisis intervention, funeral and burial expenses, emergency shelteror transportation, and criminal justice advocacy.
Funds for this program are generated by monies collected through fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders and forfeited bail bonds, as well as gifts and donations from private donors and special assessments from individual agencies. Tax dollars do not contribute to The Fund. Although The Fund was reported to have over 9 billion dollars in September 2012, Congress mandates that there is a cap on annual expenditures so that the fund remains sustainable. While the cap has been set at different levels throughout the years, the fiscal year 2013 cap was 730 million dollars.
Although these funds are distributed between many services and throughout all states, including the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, the robust budget also allows for many opportunities for employment, including professional careers. Since the implementation of The Fund in 1984 thousands of community based direct service providers have been put into positions that support crime victims across the nation (Newmark, Bonderman, Smith, & Liner, 2003). In addition, each state is eligible to receive annual VOCA grants and can make determinations about how the funds are to be used based on prior data, victim assistance guidelines and specific needs of that state. Discretionary funds are utilized for both professional training and federal crime victim support and services (OVC, n.d.).
Career opportunities exist within OVC Fellowships. A fellowship recipient could be assigned a position in training activities and improving outreach within a jurisdiction or a state agency or within an agency at a national level. This position is paid through OVC grants and the professional would be expected to adhere to guidelines mandated by the grant to manage and administer funding and resources for crime victims (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Training activities could help other service providers in learning the scope of care where gaps exist or current needs present due to criminal trends or incidents. Training elements might include the creation and implementation of online modules, courses and seminars, technical support, and agency specific trouble shooting.
Professional grant writing and funding strategizing are also important roles and career opportunities for managing and allocating The Fund. The Fund must be sustainable at the national level and within each state. This role would involve a thorough understanding of the federal funding sources and the processes for access. This professional would work to locate funding sources, align funding needs with an agency mission, know how to write proposals, content, and evaluations, and manage budgetary requirements (Office for Victims of Crime, 2014).
There are also career opportunities at each state agency or council for crime victim assistance. For example,Idaho’s crime victim agency is called The Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance (icdv.idaho.gov/victims.html). The website lists four staff members including an executive director, two grants/contracts officers, and an administrative assistant. Executive directors would have the responsibility for oversight of the agency as well as the integration of the larger federal organizational structure and mandates. In 1990 Celia Heady was the executive director of the Idaho Council (Idaho Official Website of the Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance, n.d.).and she sought funding for resources for the Native American VOCA grant. She also asked for an increase in the fee for marriage licenses, which was denied; instead, she was allowed to create a $20 fee for divorce filings to be deposited into an account specifically for domestic violence resources. The executive director can take a look at specific needs of the region and organize a strategic plan for funding, operations and review, and would thus need to have the education, vision, expertise, and professionalism to be an effective leader.
When legislation brings in a new program such as The Crime Victims Fund, many layers of opportunities should come to fruition for the people the legislation is intended to help, as well as for many service professionals.
References
Idaho Official Website of the Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance.(n.d). History of the council. Retrieved from
Newmark, L., Bonderman, J., Smith, B., & Liner, B. (2003).The national evaluation of state victims of crime act assistance and compensation programs: Trends and strategies for the future. Retrieved from
Office for Victims of Crime [OVC].(2014). Grant writing and other funding strategies for victim service providers.In [Training and technical assistance center]. Retrieved from
OVC. (n.d.).Crime victims fund. In [OVC fact sheet]. Retrieved from ojp.gov/ovc/pubs/crimevictimsfundfs/intro.html
U.S. Department of Justice.(n.d.). Office of Justice programs. Retrieved from