State money for Nebraska’s Crime Victim’s Reparations program comes from multiple places, including about $20,000 from the state’s general fund, plus court fees and a percentage of the wages of inmates on work release.
The fees and work release money are deposited into a cash fund with a balance of about $1.4 million as of mid-2022, according to the Crime Commission’s most recent budget request.
The federal government allots money for crime victim compensation programs like this one, in all 50 U.S. states, via a formula: Currently, the formula is 75% of state money spent on victim claims two years prior.
So, the amount of state money spent on claims affects the federal funding the program is eligible to receive down the road.
An example of how that can play out: In Nebraska’s fiscal year 2021, federal funding dipped to $46,000, down from $151,000 in 2020.
That award was based on state money spent during federal fiscal year 2018, according to the program. The next year, federal funding rose again, to $159,000.
