For Advocates

Information for advocates who assist survivors with Crime Victims' Compensation (CVC)

CVC Updates (new as of 8/1/23):

2023 Oregon Legislature House Bill 2676 resulted in several important updates to the program. These updates apply to applications received after August 1, 2023. We are revising the CVC application to include the new benefits.

Join us for a live question and answer session on these changes on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 9:00 am or 2:00 pm. Register here. 

Changes to Eligibility

  • Hit and Run crimes that causes injury are compensable.
  • Reporting the crime to a medical or mental health provider satisfies the requirement to notify law enforcement officials. We will require verification from the provider.
  • Incarcerated victims may apply for CVC but are not eligible to receive compensation until their release from custody. We can pay providers for outstanding bills. We can pay the victim for out-of-pocket and loss of earnings after their release.
  • Domestic violence and human trafficking claims are exempt from disclosure by CVCP when providing records or testifying. This is in addition to the current exemption for sexual assault claims and those involving minor children.

Changes to Benefits

  • $2,500 for crime scene clean-up.
  • $800/week for loss of support benefit.
  • $5,000 counseling benefit for witnessing a crime resulting in a victim’s death.
  • $5,000 for lost wages for parents or guardians of a minor victim who provide care to the victim while they heal from the abuse. Intermittent leave for doctor appointments does not qualify.
  • Hospitals can bill for strangulation kits.
  • Additional funeral benefit CVC may be able to pay additional funeral expenses, at the discretion of the Department. These expenses may include but are not limited to, transportation of the deceased victims remains, memorial or celebration of life expenses, headstone or grave marker, urn, and travel expenses for immediate family members to attend the funeral service or make funeral arrangements.
  • $5,000 counseling benefit for victims and survivors who apply for a compensable crime but do not report the crime to law enforcement or a medical provider, have a SANE or SKIT exam (for sexual assault or strangulation), or obtain a protective order.

Other Changes

  • The Release of Information includes the District Attorney’s Office allowing us to communicate with their office regarding a claim. They no longer need to provide a claim number when calling our office.
  • Use the new Law Enforcement Verification form. When you submit this form with an application, CVC does not request official investigative reports. This expedites the claim and reduces processing time. You may want assistance from the lead investigator to complete this form. Upload this form as a “police report” in the portal.
    Law Enforcement Verification Form

You will notice we made several changes to CVC applications in the portal.

  • CVC Homicide Application: applicants on homicide claims should use this new application (rather than the full CVC application).
  • CVC Application: this application is shorter because we removed fields related to homicide. This application includes new fields:
    * Crime Information: victims and survivors will indicate how the crime was reported and complete required fields based on their response. The date the crime occurred is now a required field.
    * Loss of Earnings: additional information provided by victims and survivors makes it easier for CVC to pay loss of earnings.
    * Counseling: victims and survivors can add their therapist’s information.
  • Counseling Only Application: victims and survivors can now start using the regular CVC application. This benefit continues to be available for those who do not report the crime, have a SANE/SKIT exam done or obtain a restraining order. The Counseling Only application will not be available after 11/1/23.

If you have questions, please attend the September 28th question-and-answer session or email Christy.A.Simon@doj.state.or.us.

CVC Portal

Helpful Links

CVC Portal »

Victim Assistance Program Toolkit »

Advocate Privilege and Confidentiality Requirements »

Address Confidentiality Program» 

 

 

 

 

Please submit applications through the CVC Portal for a more efficient process. You can also use the CVC portal to check the status of the application, request information from CVC, and upload documents.

Setting Up Your Portal Account

  1. Visit the CVC Portal registration page.»
  2. Use your agency email address and choose “advocate” as your role.

Check out the CVC Portal Tutorial for Advocates (PDF)»

Report technical difficulties with the portal at cvssdportal@doj.state.or.us.

CVC Training

Need CVC training?

All CVC trainings are online. You can access them at your convenience. We recommend taking the training every 2 years so that you have the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding CVC.

If you have not already done so, please complete the following two trainings:

You will need a Workday Learning account to complete these courses. Instructions for creating your Workday Learning account »

Once you’ve completed the training, download, or print your training certificate for your records. If you have additional questions after you complete the training, feel free to email cvssd@doj.state.or.us.

Questions

For questions related to the Compensation Program, please email cvssd@doj.state.or.us.

CVC Contact list (PDF) »

Helpful Materials

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Applications:

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