| How
Can We Help?
MADD Advocates
Can Help You By:
• Offering
emotional support and providing information by phone or in person.
• Providing free publications for victims of alcohol-related
crashes.
• Explaining how to obtain the crash report and the offender’s
driving record.
• Informing you about drunk driving laws and victim rights
in Texas.
• Assisting you in obtaining and filling out an application
for Crime Victims’ Compensation.
• Providing a list of professional counselors skilled
in working with crash victims.
• Offering victim support groups where you can meet other
families who share your experience.
• Accompanying you to court to offer support and to inform
you about legal procedures.
• Assisting you in preparing a Victim Impact Statement
to present at the sentencing of the offender.
• Informing you of your rights to assist with the development
of conditions of probation if the offender does not go to prison.
• Assisting in placemen t of a roadside memorial marker
once case has been adjudicated.
• Referring you to a list of civil attorneys skilled in
handling wrongful death and personal injury cases.
• Assisting you in preparing statements for parole hearings.
Compensation
Assistance
What is Crime Victims’
Compensation?
Crime Victims’
Compensation is a financial assistance program that helps eligible
victims with certain expenses related to the crime. It is administered
through the Texas office of the Attorney General.
The Crime Victims’
Compensation program is “the payer of last resort.”
Primary sources of payment may include health insurance, Medicaid,
Medicare, auto insurance or Texas Workers’ Compensation.
Who is Eligible?
• Victims who
suffer bodily injury, death, or emotional harm.
• U.S. residents who become victims of crime in Texas
and Texas residents who become victims of crime in a state or
country without comparable compensation.
• Family members of victims.
• People who legally or voluntarily assume expenses related
to the crime.
• Peace officers and firefighters who are injured or killed
during a crime.
To be eligible,
the victim must not share responsibility for the crime, and
must report the crime and cooperate with law enforcement and
prosecution officials.
Cost That May Be
Compensated
Reimbursement for
property damage or loss is not an eligible expense. Approved
claims may be awarded compensation for the following expenses:
• Medical,
prescription and rehabilitation expenses
• Lost wages and travel costs incurred during the justice
process and for seeking medical treatment related to the crime
• Mental health counseling for victims and family members
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of earnings or support
• Child care or dependent care
• Attorney fees for legal assistance in filing the application
and in obtaining benefits
• Crime scene cleanup
• Replacement costs for items taken as evidence or made
unusable as a result of the criminal investigation.
To Apply For Compensation Assistance:
Call your local MADD chapter; or
Call the Office
of the Attorney General, Crime Victims’ Compensation Division,
at 1(800)983-9933.
Texas
Crime Victims’ Rights
For
a complete listing of victims’ rights in Texas, contact
your local MADD chapter.
A Victim of violent
crime is:
• Someone who
is the victim of sexual assault, kidnapping, or aggravated robbery
or who has suffered bodily injury or death because of the criminal
conduct of another;
• The close relative (spouse, parent, adult brother or
sister, or child) of a deceased victim; or
• The guardian of a victim.
These rights also
apply to victims of juvenile crime, including victims who suffer
property loss.
Victims of crime
have the right to:
• Advance notification,
on request, of relevant court proceedings, including cancellations
and rescheduling;
• Information about the Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation
Fund and, on request, referral to social service agencies that
provide other types of assistance;
• Provide pertinent information concerning the impact
of the crime to the probation department conducting the pre-sentencing
investigation;
• Information, on request, about parole procedures, notification
of parole proceedings and of the inmate’s release and
the right to participate in the parole process by submitting
written information to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for
inclusion in the defendant’s file for consideration by
the Board prior to parole;
• Be present at all public court proceedings, with the
presiding judge’s consent;
• A safe waiting area at all public court proceedings;
• Prompt return of any property that is no longer needed
as evidence;
• Complete a Victim Impact Statement, detailing the emotional,
physical, and financial impact of the crime on the victim and
to have the statement considered by a judge at sentencing and
by officials prior to the release of the offender(s).
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