DPS Victim Support Services will assist you in applying for and obtaining benefits from Crime Victims' Compensation, a program through the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Office (OAG). Please call 512-424-2211 for more information to speak to a DPS Victim Support Services Professional. Or you may go directly to the OAG website.
Apply for Crime Victims' Compensation
The Crime Victims' Compensation program is available to assist victims of violent crime with expenses associated with the crime. In order to receive financial assistance from the fund, victims must complete an application for benefits. The fund is able to pay for a variety of expenses including:
- Medical, hospital, physical therapy, or nursing care
- Psychiatric care or counseling
- Loss of earnings or support
- Loss of wages due to participation in, or attendance at, the investigation, prosecutorial and judicial processes, and travel
- Care of a child or a dependent
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Crime scene clean-up
- Replacement costs for clothing, bedding, or property seized as evidence or rendered unusable as a result of the investigation
- Reasonable attorney fees for assistance in filing the Crime Victims' Compensation application and in obtaining benefits, if the claim is approved
- Loss of wages and travel to seek medical treatment
- One time relocation/lodging expenses for domestic violence victims or for those sexual assault victims attacked in their own residence
In the case of catastrophic injuries resulting in a total and permanent disability, the victim may be eligible for additional benefits to assist with:
- Making a home or car accessible
- Job training and vocational rehabilitation
- Training in the use of special appliances
- Home health care
- Reimbursement of lost wages
Reimbursement for property damage or theft is not an eligible expense
What victims may qualify?
- An innocent victim of crime who suffers physical and/or emotional harm or death
- An authorized individual acting on behalf of a victim
- A person who legally assumes the obligations or voluntarily pays certain expenses related to the crime on behalf of the victim
- A dependent of a victim
- An immediate family member or household members related by blood or marriage who require psychiatric care or counseling as a result of the crime
- An intervenor who goes to the aid of the victim or a peace officer
- A peace officer, fire fighter, or individual whose employment includes the duty of protecting the public
For more information you may contact:
Texas Attorney General
Crime Victim Services Division
1-800-983-9933