The newly finalized state budget will bolster New York’s victims’ compensation program. But will it matter if people don’t know it exists at all?
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget raised maximum reimbursement for burial expenses from $6,000 to $12,00 and lifted barriers to claim compensation. Notably, the reforms removed contributory conduct denials — which weighs whether the victims “contributed to their own injuries — from homicide cases.
For context, victims and survivors can file a claim with the state for compensation as “a last resort” through the Office of Victim Services (OVS) to recoup out-of-pocket expenses used for a crime they experienced. The wide range of costs covered include lost earnings, medical care and employment-related transportation due to an injury sustained from a crime-related incident.
Tahirih Anthony, the senior policy director for Common Justice, says the Survivor’s First Act serves as an important next step to the budget, which was finalized two days after she spoke to the AmNews. The bipartisan-backed bill would expand on gains made by the budget, including the elimination of contributory conduct assessments for all crimes rather than just homicide.
“The big piece is that it would get rid of contributory conduct for all cases,” said Anthony. “We just feel like you can’t talk about public safety without talking about what survivors need to actually be safe in the first place. This is something that survivors have it asking for, which is kind of why we nicknamed it the Survivors First Act, because we should be putting survivors first and putting their needs first.”
She says their data based on different research and public records requests found Black victims made up roughly half of contributory conduct denials. Anthony adds that she does not believe it is a coincidence that “the same communities that are over policed and under protected are the same ones that are likely to be denied compensation.”
“The idea of [a] perfect victim and and when we let biases decide who needs help, we basically turn victim services into gatekeeping,” added Anthony. “That’s not justice either. Being in the wrong place or making a mistake [shouldn’t] cost them their access to healing.”
The bill also stops “private donations as a collateral source that the Office of Victim Services may consider when determining the amount of a victim compensation award,” allowing survivors to fundraise, including over GoFundMe, without impacting their claim.
And the Survivors First Act would ramp up outreach by amending executive law language with a “duty of publicization” mandating OVS to promote the agency’s existence toward the public. Past research from Common Justice found just 11,000 claims were filed between Oct. 2018 and Sept. 2019 despite around 70,000 violent crimes recorded. Few qualifying individuals were aware or made aware of victims services.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle back the Survivors First Act, which was introduced by State Senator Julia Salazar, a democratic socialist representing Brooklyn and proponent for criminal justice reform. Dean Murray, a Republican state senator from Long Island, says an understanding for the needs of victims unites the electeds.
“We don’t do a good enough job letting victims know what type of help [and] what type of services are available to them,” said Murray. “At the time of a crime, it’s a very difficult time. It’s a very hectic time for them. They don’t want you handing them a little packet. We must do a better job of letting them know what’s available, what types of services [and] what types of programs are available to them. And I think this bill goes a long way in doing that, but I don’t think we took those steps in the budget.”
Last year, the AmNews reported on how gun violence survivors lacked a safety net while recovering for their injuries and unable to work. Victim services often pitched in for their costs when they could not claim disability.
Some overlap exists between the bill and budget, most notably raising the burial reimbursement cap from $6,000 to $12,000, which Anthony says is fair based on other states and average funeral expenses. $3.8 million from the budget will cover the increase.
A spokesperson for Hochul pointed to the budget including sexual assault survivor services including a funding increase to rape crisis centers for the first time in a decade. $9.2 million will go towards increasing funding for New York State Child Advocacy Centers for younger survivors.
In 2023, Hochul signed another bill championed by Common Justice into law allowing victims to claim compensation without reporting to law enforcement if they could produce alternative evidence proving the crime occured. The legislation goes into effect at the year’s end.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.