The California Victim Compensation Board can
provide compensation for intimate partner and child abuse survivors when a
crime or threat of injury has occurred. This includes medical and mental health
treatment, dental, home security, income loss and more. CalVCB may also reimburse
a claimant up to $2,000 per household
for expenses incurred in relocating. An
applicant may request an emergency
award for reimbursement
of any eligible expense if the Board determines that such an award is
necessary.
We also work directly
with 59 Victim Witness Assistance Centers —
one in each county and one more in the City of Los Angeles —to assist victims with completing and submitting an application and navigating the criminal
justice system. CalVCB also provides grants to 15 Trauma Recovery Centers that provide mental health
and case management services to victims of crime, their families and loved
ones.
In April of 2019,
CalVCB launched an online portal, allowing victims to apply for compensation
digitally. The application site features a Quick
Escape button, so applicants can quickly exit if needed. Since the state’s shelter in place order began in March, nearly half of
all applications have been submitted through CalVCB Online. However, we have
seen a drop in the number of intimate partner and child abuse claimants
applying for compensation. In Fiscal Year 2018-19, CalVCB received nearly
10,000 child abuse applications and more than 12,000 domestic violence
applications. In April of 2019, nearly 900 child abuse compensation
applications were submitted – that number dropped to just under 500
applications in April of 2020. For domestic violence compensation applications,
more than 1,200 applications were filed with CalVCB in April of 2019, compared
to slightly more than 800 in April of 2020. That downward trend continued in
May, June and July.
A 2015 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found about one in four women and one in seven men experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. That same survey found about 33% of California women—about 4.5 million—have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.
Additional help and
resources can be found on California’s COVID-19 website and the Department of Public
Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Branch for
those experiencing, or suspect, abuse.
