§ 10603. Crime victim assistance
(a)
Grant authority of Director; chief executive of States; amount; insufficient funds
(1)
Subject to the availability of money in the Fund, the Director shall make an annual grant from any portion of the Fund made available by section
10601
(d)(2) [1] of this title for the purpose of grants under this subsection, or for the purpose of grants under section
10602 of this title but not used for that purpose, to the chief executive of each State for the financial support of eligible crime victim assistance programs.
(2)
Such chief executive shall—
(A)
certify that priority shall be given to eligible crime victim assistance programs providing assistance to victims of sexual assault, spousal abuse, or child abuse;
(B)
certify that funds shall be made available for grants to programs which serve previously underserved populations of victims of violent crime. The Director, after consultation with State and local officials and representatives from private organizations, shall issue guidelines to implement this section that provide flexibility to the States in determining the populations of victims of violent crimes that may be underserved in their respective States;
(4)
If the amount available for grants under paragraph (1) is insufficient to provide the base amount to each State, the funds available shall be distributed equally among the States.
(6)
An agency of the Federal Government performing local law enforcement functions in and on behalf of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States may qualify as an eligible crime victim assistance program for the purpose of grants under this subsection, or for the purpose of grants under subsection (c)(1) of this section.
(b)
Eligibility of program; factors; limitation on expending of sums
(1)
A victim assistance program is an eligible crime victim assistance program for the purposes of this section if such program—
(A)
is operated by a public agency or a nonprofit organization, or a combination of such agencies or organizations or of both such agencies and organizations, and provides services to victims of crime;
(B)
demonstrates—
(C)
utilizes volunteers in providing such services, unless and to the extent the chief executive determines that compelling reasons exist to waive this requirement;
(c)
Grants: purposes; distribution; duties of Director; reimbursement by Director
(1)
The Director shall make grants—
(A)
for demonstration projects, program evaluation, compliance efforts, and training and technical assistance services to eligible crime victim assistance programs;
(3)
The Director shall—
(A)
be responsible for monitoring compliance with guidelines for fair treatment of crime victims and witnesses issued under section 6 of the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 (Public Law 97–291) [18 U.S.C. 1512 note ];
(B)
consult with the heads of Federal law enforcement agencies that have responsibilities affecting victims of Federal crimes;
(C)
coordinate victim services provided by the Federal Government with victim services offered by other public agencies and nonprofit organizations;
(D)
perform such other functions related to the purposes of this title [2] as the Director deems appropriate; and
(d)
Definitions
As used in this section—
(1)
the term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States; and
(2)
the term “services to victims of crime” includes—
(3)
the term “services to victims of Federal crime” means services to victims of crime with respect to Federal crime, and includes—
[1] See References in Text note below.
[2] See References in Text note below.