Crime Victims Compensation in Maryland
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RESEARCH REPORT Crime Victims May 2003 Compensation in Maryland: Accomplishments and Strategies for the Future Lisa Newmark Megan Schaffer Report to the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention The Urban Institute Justice Policy Center 2100 M St., NW Washington, DC 20037 This project was funded by the state of Maryland Governor‘s Office of Crime Control and Prevention under a Byrne Memorial Grant (2002-DB-MU-0024), awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of any agency. Any questions or comments can be forwarded to the first author at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center ([email protected] or 202 261-5566). For an electronic version (Adobe Acrobat) of the report, send an e-mail to [email protected] and specify “CICB report.” Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................................1 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................5 COMPENSATION FOR CRIME VICTIMS IN MARYLAND................................................................9 Our Assessment of the Compensation Program ....................................................................................... 9 The Costs of Crime ................................................................................................................................ 10 Public Financial Assistance for Crime Victims........................................................................................ 11 Federal Regulations.........................................................................................................................................11 Maryland’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.................................................................................12 State Regulations ............................................................................................................................................13 The Claim Process...........................................................................................................................................15 How Does Maryland’s Program Compare with Other States’ Programs? ................................................ 20 Plans For Future Development ............................................................................................................... 27 Developments to Expand Services....................................................................................................................27 Developments to Improve Operations...............................................................................................................28 A Felony Exclusion Rule ...................................................................................................................................28 CLIENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH COMPENSATION ......................................................................29 Characteristics of Claims ....................................................................................................................... 30 Claimant and Victim Demographics .................................................................................................................30 Characteristics of the Crimes...........................................................................................................................31 Claim Processing ............................................................................................................................................32 Claim Outcomes..............................................................................................................................................35 What Do Claimants Say? ........................................................................................................................ 36 The Crime .......................................................................................................................................................36 Learning About Compensation .........................................................................................................................37 Compensation Policies and Claimants’ Needs ..................................................................................................37 Filing for Compensation...................................................................................................................................39 Processing the Claim.......................................................................................................................................39 The Claim Outcome.........................................................................................................................................40 Satisfaction with the Compensation Program ...................................................................................................40 What Makes a Satisfied Client? ........................................................................................................................41 AWARENESS AND ACCESS BARRIERS FOR VICTIMS ................................................................43 Who Are the Victims and the Crimes?..................................................................................................... 45 Crime-Related Services and Expenses.................................................................................................... 46 Victims’ Knowledge of Compensation .................................................................................................... 48 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STRATEGIES ....................................51 Expanding to New Clients ...................................................................................................................... 51 Relax the Physical Injury Requirement .............................................................................................................51 Continue Outreach to Diverse Groups...............................................................................................................52 Explore Access to Compensation by Potentially Underserved Groups of Victims ................................................53 Enhance Program Materials.............................................................................................................................53 Assure Reporting and Filing Deadlines Do Not Chill Claims...............................................................................53 Meeting Claimants’ Needs More Fully .................................................................................................... 54 Reduce or Eliminate the Minimum Requirement for Lost Work..........................................................................54 Raise the Cap for Funeral/Burial Expenses.......................................................................................................54 Analyze the Use of Mental Health Counseling Benefits ......................................................................................54 Allow Additional Types of Benefits....................................................................................................................55 Clarify Payer of Last Resort Requirements........................................................................................................55 Serving Clients More Efficiently.............................................................................................................. 55 Continue to Streamline Verification Procedures................................................................................................55 Reduce the Requirement for Board Members’ Approval ....................................................................................56 Improve Communications With Claimants Who Are Being Denied......................................................................56 Paying for Program Expansion............................................................................................................... 56 Steps to Maximize Federal Allocations .............................................................................................................57 Steps to Maximize Subrogation Revenues ........................................................................................................57 Monitoring and Evaluating Program Developments................................................................................ 57 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................59 APPENDIX A: CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD LEGISLATION ............................61 APPENDIX B: CICB WEBSITE MATERIALS, INCLUDING APPLICATION AND INSTRUCTIONS ...67 APPENDIX C: CLAIMANT SURVEY SAMPLING AND SURVEY METHODS ...................................79 Survey Representativeness..................................................................................................................... 80 Sampling Methods ..........................................................................................................................................80