Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission says backlog has been reduced
A police car behind crime scene tape. (Getty Images)
The Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission (ACVCC)will receive $1.5 million from the General Fund budget next year as it continues to reduce a backlog of claims.
The amount represents level funding for the agency, which first received General Fund money last year as its traditional revenue sources – fines and fees – declined and its services suffered.
“We are playing catch up from the COVID years, when our court systems were down and a lot of crime victims were not getting their payments,” said Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, the chair of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee. “Now that court systems are back running 100%, our caseloads are up for example. Madison County is up 38%, so they needed the money to provide compensation.”
The agency was established by the Legislature in 1984. Its purpose is to provide funds to victims of violent crime to pay for resources they need, from funeral expenses for loved ones to compensation for lost income resulting from the crime. The agency also pays for testing for victims of sexual assault.
Money for the agency comes primarily from fines and fees paid to the court.
Before this year, the ACVCC got funding from fines and court fees, as well as restitution paid to courts and the agency. But a years-long decline in court fees hurt the agency’s bottom line.
The decreased dollars left the agency with fewer staff to handle claims submitted by victims of violent crimes and their loved ones while also decreasing the amount that applicants received after experiencing violent crimes.
A backlog formed that last year led to protests over slow processing times. Everette Johnson, the executive director of the ACVCC, said Thursday they had cut the number of claims awaiting processing.
“As of this week, we are down to about 660 claims that are still in the backlog status,” he said.
Johnson said that the agency had requested slightly more than $3 million from legislators in the most recent session. Money from the General Fund will pay for operations and staff costs, as well as pay the claims to eligible victims and their families.
The agency received about $1 million from the governor’s office through a special appropriation that will go toward addressing the backlog situation.
Reynolds didn’t commit to funding the agency long-term and said that he will base his decision on the money the agency receives from the courts before deciding on how much money to provide ACVCC next year.
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