VOCA Allowable Services, Activities, and Costs

Those services which immediately respond to the urgent emotional and/or physical needs (excluding medical care) of crime victims such as:

1. Crisis intervention services 
2. Accompaniment to hospitals for medical examinations 
3. Hotline counseling 
4. Safety planning
5. Emergency food, clothing, transportation, childcare, rent, shelter, and limited medical costs
6. Window, door, and lock repair
7. Emergency legal assistance such as filing restraining orders and obtaining emergency custody/visitation rights when such actions are directly connected to family violence cases and pertain to the health and safety of the victim 

Personal advocacy and emotional support services include:

1. Working with the victim to assess the impact of the crime
2. Identify needs
3. Case management
4. Manage practical problems created by the victimization
5. Identify resources
6. Provide information, referrals, advocacy, and follow-up contact for continued services as needed
7. Traditional, cultural, and/or alternative therapy/healing 
8. Trained, support animals used by agencies to assist victims in crisis 

Such facilitation generally involves the provision of services and payment of costs that help victims participate in the criminal justice system, and includes:

1. Advocacy on behalf of crime victims
2. Accompaniment to criminal justice offices and court
3. Transportation, meals, and lodging to allow victims who are not witnesses to participate in the criminal justice system
4. Interpreters for victims who are hearing-impaired, or with limited English proficiency, when they are not witnesses
5. Child care and respite care to enable a victim who is a caregiver to attend criminal justice activities related to the case
6. Notification to victims regarding trial dates, case deposition, incarceration, and parole hearings
7. Assistance with victim impact statements
8. Assistance in recovering property that was retained as evidence and projects devoted to restitution advocacy on behalf of crime victims

Costs for legal assistance services where the needs for such services arise as a direct result of victimization.

1. Legal services (including but not limited to, those provided by pro bono legal clinics) that help victims assert their rights as victims to protect their safety, privacy, or other interests, in a criminal proceeding directly related to the victimization
2. Civil legal services for victims where the need for such services arises as a direct result of the victimization
3. Legal assistance with the following matters: 
   1. Protective orders, stalking injunctions, and restraining orders; 
   2. Immigration assistance for victims of human trafficking and domestic abuse victims;
   3. Intervention with creditors, law enforcement (e.g. to obtain police reports), and other entities on behalf of victims of identity theft and financial fraud;
   4. Intervention with administrative agencies, schools/colleges, tribal entities, and other circumstances where legal advice or intervention would assist in addressing the consequences of a person’s victimization
4. Legal assistance with: family, custody, contract, housing, and dependency matters for victims of intimate partner violence, child abuse, sexual assault, and elder abuse. 
5. In general, legal services for divorce proceedings, alteration of child support payments, criminal defense, and tort lawsuits are not an appropriate use of VOCA funding

Forensic medical evidence collection examinations for adult and child victims are allowable to the extent that other funding sources are insufficient. These costs may be covered if the examination meets standards established by UOVC, and appropriate crisis counseling and/or other types of victim services are offered to the victim in conjunction with the examination.

VOCA funding may be used for forensic interviews of children and adults only when-

1. Results of the interview will be used not only for law enforcement and prosecution purposes, but also for identification of needs such as social services, personal advocacy, case management, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services;
2. Interviews are conducted in the context of a multidisciplinary investigation and diagnostic team, or in a specialized setting such as a child advocacy center;
3. The interviewer is trained to conduct forensic interviews appropriate to the developmental age and abilities of children, or the developmental, cognitive, and physical or communication disabilities presented by adults; and
4. VOCA victim’s assistance funds are not used to supplant other State and local public funding available for forensic interviews, including criminal justice funding.

Activities that facilitate the provision of direct services are allowable, including but not limited to, statewide coordination for victim notification systems, crisis response teams, multidisciplinary teams, and other such programs. VOCA funds may be used to support the salaries and benefits of such coordinators. 

Activities in support of opportunities for crime victims to meet with perpetrators, including, but not limited to, tribal community-led meetings and peace-keeping activities, if such meetings are requested or voluntarily agreed to by the victim (who may, at any point, withdraw) and have reasonably anticipated beneficial or therapeutic value to crime victims. SAAs that plan to fund this type of service should closely review the criteria for conducting these meetings, and are encouraged to discuss proposals with OVC prior to awarding VOCA funds for this type of activity. At a minimum, the following should be considered:—

1. The safety and security of the victim;
2. The cost versus the benefit or therapeutic value to the victim;
3. The procedures for ensuring that participation of the victim and offenders are voluntary and that the nature of the meeting is clear;
4. The provision of appropriate support and accompaniment for the victim;
5. Appropriate debriefing opportunities for the victim after the meeting; and
6. The credentials of the facilitators.

Examples of allowable operating costs include but are not limited to-

1. Supplies;
2. Equipment use fees (when supported by usage logs);
3. Prorated cost of property insurance;
4. Printing, photocopying, postage, brochures which describe available services;
5. Books, and other victim-related materials;
6. Computer backup files/tapes and storage;
7. Security systems

Administrative time spent performing the following activities-

1. Completing VOCA-required time and attendance sheets and programmatic documentation, reports, and statistics; 
2. Collecting and maintaining crime victims' records; 
3. Conducting victim satisfaction surveys and needs assessments to improve victim services delivery;
4. Pro-rated share of audit costs.