Advocacy Background
An important part of the advocacy work NFDA does is building relationships with federal departments like the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In March 2024, NFDA Senior Vice President, Advocacy, Lesley Witter, MPA, CAE, presented during the DOJ annual meeting of State Administrators in Washington, D.C. on “Forging Relationships with Community Partners: Funeral Service”. In April 2024, Lesley and NFDA President Douglas R. “Dutch” Nie, II, CFSP, CCO, joined the “Funeral Director Roundtable” hosted by the DOJ, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) in Chicago.
These engagements give NFDA the opportunity to educate the department about the important work our members perform in their communities and demonstrate that NFDA is their strategic partner in the funeral service community. You’ll continue to hear more about the ways NFDA and federal departments are working together to create awareness for the information and programs available to help grieving families and their deceased loved ones.
This reposted article gives a good overview of crime-victim compensation programs, what OVC is doing to improve access to these programs and how funeral professionals can help families access programs and resources.
Connecting Homicide Victims’ Families With Victim Compensation
(From the April 11, 2024 NFDA Memorial Business Journal, a weekly electronic publication for NFDA members)
By Kristina Rose
Director, Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Program, U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. – Imagine a distraught, grieving mother must bury her firstborn son – a 17-year- old killed by gunfire. She cannot afford funeral and burial services so she reaches out to a funeral home in her community to learn about her options. The funeral director listens to her with empathy and, among various options, mentions the state’s victim-compensation program, which might be able to provide reimbursement of up to $10,000 for the burial costs. This reimbursement can be made directly to the funeral home. The funeral director offers to provide the funeral – carrying the upfront costs – and assists the mother with completing the state’s victim-compensation application.
Given this situation, one of two possible scenarios result:
• First scenario: Within a few months, the funeral home is reimbursed for its costs.
• Second scenario: After months of waiting for a response, a letter arrives in the mail from the state victim-compensation office. The mother’s request has been denied because of her son’s previous criminal history.
Do these scenarios sound familiar to you? Unfortunately, we hear the second scenario play out with surprising frequency in communities across the country, especially in communities that have been historically marginalized or where help is scarce. It is my office – the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), a division of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs – that provides funding to U.S. states and territories to supplement their crime-victim compensation programs.
There are barriers that keep some crime victims and their families from accessing victim compensation. Many crime victims are completely unaware that they might be eligible for crime-victim compensation, so they never apply. Some victims are denied compensation because of their previous criminal history or “contributory conduct” (an often-subjective determination that the individual was engaged in the commission of a crime when he or she was victimized). Some victims are denied for unknown reasons. For some that apply, it takes far too long to receive their reimbursement. And, for many, the application process is just too cumbersome and complicated.
Addressing Barriers
OVC is addressing these barriers through a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking”. As part of this initiative, we believe that developing meaningful partnerships with funeral directors can help OVC break down these barriers and expand access and equity for all victims of crime.
Moreover, we hope that knowing about these available resources can help you expand your impact. You might be a co-survivor’s (anyone impacted by the homicide death of a loved one) first contact for services. The care and support you provide a homicide co-survivor, and the information you share about victim compensation and services, can help emotionally and financially soften the impact of their loved one’s death.
Help for Victims, Survivors and Their Families
The mission of OVC is to provide support for services that help victims, survivors and their families heal in the aftermath of violent crime. OVC is charged by Congress (through a 1988 amendment to the Victims of Crime Act of 1984) with administering the Crime Victims Fund. Deposits into this fund come primarily from fines and penalties from convictions in federal cases – not from taxpayer dollars. Through OVC, the fund supports a broad array of programs and services that help victims in the immediate aftermath of crime, and then supports them as they rebuild their lives.
One such program is the Crime Victim Compensation Program, which was created to provide funding to states and territories to reimburse individuals for the out-of-pocket expenses that might result after experiencing a violent crime. The program can reimburse expenses such as medical care, counseling, lost wages, funeral expenses, and other services that victims and their families might need. Millions of dollars are awarded annually through this program. We recently had a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking out for public comment to clarify existing Crime Victim Compensation Program provisions and to modernize the rule to enhance equity and accessibility for all victims.
At OVC, our work is informed by the voices and wisdom of crime survivors and those who serve them. For years, we have heard about the significant barriers faced by victims in accessing crime-victim compensation, especially for costs associated with funeral and burial services for victims of homicide. As mentioned earlier, the reasons for this vary, but we never want it to occur because they weren’t told about it, or for reasons that unfairly punish the surviving family.
We know that the key to successfully administering the compensation program and providing support to all survivors of crime is by establishing relationships and sharing information. In fact, this is the theme of our annual National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 21-27. This year’s theme – “How would you help?” – implores all of us to create an environment in which victims and survivors feel safe talking about what happened to them (as much or as little as they feel appropriate) because that can be the first, and for some survivors the only, step in finding justice.
Connecting with Funeral Professionals
The theme also underscores the important fact that you don’t have to be a victim-service professional to offer help, support or resources to a victim. At OVC, we are expanding to non-traditional community partners that come in frequent contact with crime victims and survivors, such as funeral service professionals. For some families of murdered loved ones, funeral homes might be the only community service they connect with after the tragedy. This creates a significant opportunity for funeral directors to ensure that families are aware that they can apply for crime-victim compensation and seek services for healing.
Aside from possible reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses, other support offerings are available. For example, if there is a known suspect in the case, victim-advocacy services are available to help the surviving family navigate the complexities of the criminal justice system. Connecting funeral directors with resources on crime-victim services for homicide co-survivors has the potential to transform the survivor experience and enhance your relationships with the people you serve.
During the past year, we have had many discussions with funeral directors about their experiences helping families apply for crime-victim compensation. We appreciate the candidness of these conversations. While we are heartened by the awareness about compensation by many funeral service professionals, we understand there are many who would like to know more.
That is why we attended NFDA’s annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the first time in 2023. We enjoyed sharing information about our office and potential resources with attendees. We also look forward to presenting at the 2024 NFDA convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, we plan to discuss the importance of self-care for funeral directors and their staff. We believe that self-care is especially important for individuals who serve families of homicide victims.
We hope that by continuing to deepen our relationship with the funeral service community, the first scenario at the beginning of this article can become the norm, rather than the exception, going forward. By equipping you and other nontraditional partners with information about these vital resources – which will be strengthened by the anticipated final rule – we hope more crime victims can access these much-needed resources and services.
As a funeral director, the assistance you provide to grieving families is vital and enables you to actively participate in the healing of others. I am grateful for your service and look forward to working with all of you as we continue our efforts to help crime survivors find their justice.
Kristina Rose is director of the Office for Victims of Crime, located within the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she oversees programs and services that support crime victims and survivors. President Biden appointed her to this position, and she was sworn in July 12, 2021. At OVC, she oversees nearly $9 billion in grant funding to provide vital compensation and assistance to persons impacted by crime. OVC also invests in new, innovative approaches to improving the criminal justice and community response to crime victimization, and raises awareness of crime-victim rights. ovc.ojp.gov
She will also present Vicarious Trauma and Self- Care for Funeral Directors at the NFDA Leadership Conference, July 29-August 1 in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Learn more about NFDA member publications and OVC resources.