Financial squeeze could limit money for Florida crime victims
The proposal means that certain crime victims who want financial aid for out-of-pocket expenses like medical bills, lost wages or mental health counseling, will hit a lower cap on reimbursements from the fund.
"In order to keep this essential fund solvent and continue to pay out claims to victims, a temporary rule was necessary," said
To get reimbursement from this fund, called the
The proposed change, which is not expected to require legislative approval, was made public last week through the administrative rule-making process. It will temporarily target nearly all categories of victims' compensation.
In some cases, the maximum benefit amounts victims can receive will be reduced by 50 percent, such as reimbursements for victims who suffered a "catastrophic disability," people who sustained wage losses or minors who have had to pay for mental health treatment.
Not all benefits will be impacted, though. Compensation caps for funeral costs, property losses, sexual-battery forensic examinations and emergency-responder death benefits will remain intact.
"Attorney General Moody is committed to helping victims recover, and she is taking action to ensure victims of crimes, including sexual assault survivors, continue to receive compensation," Schenone said. "As soon as the attorney general took office, she recognized this issue and directed her staff to meet with judges, clerks of courts and prosecutors to address to decreased funding."
One main reason for the trust fund running out of money, according to Moody's office, is fewer dollars coming in from judicial circuits across the state during the past decade. Officials say that is a problem because the trust fund's lone source of revenue comes from
If a defendant is ordered to pay restitution for a crime, the
During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the fees paid by criminal defendants contributed
Meanwhile, the number of crime victims claiming money from the trust fund ticked up in that same period. In the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the amount distributed to victims totaled
In 2008, the Legislature swept
That's the only time lawmakers have dipped into the fund, according to
Bradley, a former prosecutor, said Monday was the first time he heard about the trust fund struggling to stay solvent, adding that no one in Moody's office reached out to him during the 2019 legislative session to fix the problem. But that could change next session.
"This is a very serious issue that I would like to address," Bradley said.
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