Frequently Asked Questions

OVC provides five types of assistance to respond to incidents of terrorism and mass violence under the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP).

• Crisis response grants (emergency, short-term, and up to 9 months) help victims build adaptive capacities, decrease stressors, and reduce symptoms of trauma immediately following an incident;
• Consequence management grants (ongoing, long-term, and up to 18 months) help victims recover and regain their ability to function;
• Criminal justice support grants (ongoing, long-term, and up to 36 months) facilitate victim participation in investigations or prosecutions directly related to the incident;
• Crime victim compensation grants (available during or after the crisis phase) reimburses victims for out-of-pocket expenses related to their victimization through state crime victim compensation programs; and
• Training and technical assistance (available during or after the crisis phase) helps federal, state, Tribal, and local authorities identify victim needs, coordinate victim services, develop response strategies, and address related issues. OVC may also provide consultants to draft the AEAP application and perform related tasks.

Please note that, on a case-by-case basis, the OVC Director may approve a limited amount of funding for administrative purposes deemed essential to the delivery of services and assistance to victims.

Eligible applicants for the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) include state victim assistance and compensation programs; public agencies, including federal, state, and local governments; federally recognized Indian Tribal governments, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior and published in the Federal Register; U.S. Attorney’s Offices; public institutions of higher education; and nongovernmental and victim service organizations.

NOTE: Funding is not available for foreign governments or individual crime victims.

AEAP grants are available by OVC invitation only. Shortly after an event, OVC will contact officials in the state or jurisdiction where the incident occurred to discuss the scope of victims’ needs and explain what resources may be available. OVC encourages potential applicants to coordinate victim-related activities with organizations such as state emergency preparedness agencies; state mental health agencies; local chapters of the American Red Cross and United Way; and federal, state, local, and/or Tribal law enforcement and prosecutors’ offices.

In most instances, OVC will make only one award for each incident with the grantee assuming overall responsibility for coordination of grant activities with subgrantees.

You are encouraged to view the AEAP solicitation to learn more about eligibility requirements.

If you’re interested in conducting legal research relating to crime victims, visit the VictimLaw and the National Crime Victim Law Institute websites.

You may also visit a state, county, or local law library for legal research assistance.

Additional research assistance may be obtained through the Ask a Law Librarian page on the Library of Congress website.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey Victimization Analysis Tool provides victimization data by victim/offender relationship (stranger vs. non-stranger). Additional information is available on the Stranger and non-stranger crime section of the Bureau of Justice Statistics website.

Missing and exploited children statistics are available in resources from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Statistics section of the Office of Justice Program's Missing Children Special Feature.

For additional information, visit the Child and Youth Victimization section of our website and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.

The U.S. Department of State's Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program works to prevent international parental child abduction. The program allows parents to register their U.S. citizen children under the age of 18. If a passport application is submitted for that registered child, the U.S. Department of State will contact and alert the parent(s).

To learn more and to register a child, visit the Passport Issuance Alert Program website.

Visit the Get Posted section of the OVC Directory of Crime Victim Services for information on how to add your program or organization to the Directory.

Statistics on homicides committed with a handgun are available in the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Firearm Violence, 1993-2011 and in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Crime in the United States reports. See the "Expanded Offense Data" section of each year's Crime in the United States report to view available data on weapons used in homicides, including data specific to murders committed with a handgun.

The Directory of Crime Victim Services is an Office for Victims of Crime resource that includes contact information for thousands of victim service providers. The Directory is designed to help service providers and individuals locate victim services in the United States and other countries.