The National Center works to advance laws and policies that create resources and secure rights and protections for victims at the federal and state levels.
Our 2011-2012 policy priorities include:
Resources for Victims of Crime
The National Center is working to protect federal funding for crime victims in both the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budget processes. Read our update.
The National Center opposes the proposed earmarking of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund for additional support
for domestic violence and sexual assault programs. Read our statement to learn why.
Find out more about VOCA. See the 10 Things
You Should Know About VOCA.
Crime Victims' Rights
The National Center supports meaningful rights for crime victims in the criminal, juvenile, civil, and administrative justice systems.
Restitution
One area of focus has been improving the collection of crime victim restitution. We support federal legislation to allow the collection of overdue victim restitution from an offender's income tax refunds. Read the bill, Senator Wyden's statement,
and Representative Paulsen's press release.
Federal Crime Victims' Rights
The National Center also supports efforts to strengthen the rights of federal victims of crime. Read our testimony.
Response to Violence against Women
The National Center is working with our partners to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
We are also working to reduce the backlog of untested DNA evidence in sexual assault cases. Read our testimony.
Emerging Issues and Underserved Crime Victims
The National Center is committed to improving our nation's response to underserved crime victims.
Read our report, Why It Matters: Rethinking Victim Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Victims.
Read our full
2011-2012 Policy Agenda.
Read the results of our
Policy Poll.