Being
an innocent victim of violence is a traumatic event in
your life, and is one that no one is prepared for. In
addition to the physical pain inflicted upon you by the
criminal, you as well as your family may experience confusion,
frustration, and heartache, not to mention having to deal
with the financial aftermath. The Nolan County Sheriff's
Office would like to help you prevail over the trauma
of victimization by providing you with the following information,
assistance, and support.
Crime Victim Compensation
Program
The Crime Victim Compensation Program is administered
by the Office of the Attorney General and is dedicated
to ensuring victims receive every possible assistance.
The Crime Victims Compensation Program is a financial
assistance program that helps eligible victims of crime
with certain expenses related to the crime. Money for
this program comes from court costs that are paid by criminals
and deposited by each Texas County into the Crime Victims
Compensation Fund. It is a "payer of last resort"
after primary sources of payment such as health insurance,
Medicaid, Medicare, auto insurance or Texas Workers' Compensation
have been exhausted.
The Crime Victims Compensation Program will assist victims
of domestic or family violence in applying for and obtaining
benefits from Crime Victim Compensation, will send the
claim form and required documentation to Crime Victim
Compensation, and will notify service providers that a
claim has been applied for and is pending.
Victims of domestic or family violence are eligible to
have electric and telephone service deposit waived. To
qualify, the deposit waiver certification letter must
be filled out by family violence center personnel, treating
medical personnel, law enforcement personnel, a Texas
District Attorney or County Attorney, Office of the Attorney
General personnel, or a grantee of the Texas Equal Access
to Justice Foundation. The letter must be submitted directly
to the Retail Electric Provider using the REP's toll-free
FAX number.
A deposit waiver certification letter can be obtained
here in English
or Spanish.
Victims of domestic or family violence may also receive
one-time-only assistance with rental
and relocation expenses.
What Crimes Are Covered?
Crimes covered by Crime Victims Compensation are those
in which the victim suffers substantial threat of physical
or emotional harm or death. These may include sexual assault,
kidnapping, robbery, assault, homicide and other violent
crimes.
Vehicular crimes that are covered include
failure to stop and render aid, DWI, manslaughter, criminally
negligent homicide, aggravated assault, intoxication
manslaughter and intoxication assault.
Crime Victims Compensation may
be available to pay the amount of expenses reasonably
and necessarily incurred for:
- Hospitals, doctors, dentists, surgical,
prescriptions, optometry, chiropractic, crutches,
artificial appliances, eye glasses or dental devices
that are broken, physical therapy, up to $25,000.00
- Psychiatric / psychological care
counseling, up to $3,000.00
- Loss of earning because of a disability
resulting from the personal injury, not to exceed
$200.00 per week
- Child care for minor children, at
a rate not to exceed $125.00 per week for any number
of children, so that the victim or spouse can work
- Funeral and burial expenses not to
exceed $4,500.00
- Emergency funds not to exceed $1,500.00
in order to qualify for the Crime Victim Compensation
Program:
- The crime must
be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours of
the commission of the crime unless there
justified extraordinary circumstances;
- Claim must be filed within one
year unless good cause can be shown as to why the
claim wasn't filed;
- The victim must be cooperating
with law enforcement and prosecution efforts;
- The victim must be the innocent
victim of a violent crime;
Please let the Victim Assistance Program
assist you in obtaining these benefits.
For more information about the Crime Victims Compensation
Program, call 325.235.2338 or download a copy of the
Crime Victims Assistance Application here in English
or Spanish.
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