Office for Victims of Crime
The Office for Victims of Crime administers grant programs and services to serve and protect Missouri crime victims, at-risk youth and their families. Through collaborative partnerships with other state agencies, statewide organizations and local service providers the OVC promotes access to information, resources and services to protect at-risk youth, victims of crime and their families. The OVC administers a menu of state and federal funding opportunities, initiatives and programs.
The Crime Victim Services section provides funding and resources to the citizens of Missouri, not-for-profit agencies and local and state government related to practices and policies that impact crime victims and their families. Visit here for more information on funding opportunities, training and technical assistance, and consultation for crime victim services.
The Crime Victims' Compensation section administers an application program designed to financially assist people who have sustained physical, emotional, mental harm or trauma resulting from certain violent crimes through an application process. Eligibility for the program is not guaranteed and cannot be determined until a thorough review is conducted of the crime and expenses for which compensation is being sought. The program is a payor of last resort and only considers crime related out-of-pocket expenses not covered by other sources. Other programs administered by this section include the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Program (SAFE) and the Child Physical Abuse Forensic Exam Program (CPAFE).
The Missouri State Constitution guarantees that crime victims have many rights; these rights are defined in the Missouri Revised Statutes, Section 595.209. The Missouri Victim Automated Notification System (MOVANS) is a fully automated system that notifies registered users upon a change in the status of an offender, such as incarceration, court status or the status of a protection order.
The Juvenile Justice Protections section administers federal grants to support the state and local communities in the development and implementation of juvenile delinquency prevention and juvenile justice intervention programs and to improve the juvenile justice system. In order to receive this funding Missouri must maintain compliance with federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. This section is responsible for verifying compliance with certain criteria, which includes Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO); Jail Removal; Sight and Sound Separation and Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED).