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State commission A victim of an assault three years ago called the Crime Victim Compensation Commission a "godsend."
helps compensate
crime victims
A program gives up to
Funding and awards
$10,000 to those "most in need"
-- the victims of violent crimesBy Debra Barayuga
Star-BulletinWithin 48 hours of being sucker-punched by another surfer at the beach, the Kauai man had accumulated a $25,000 hospital bill. He required extensive facial reconstruction surgery and dental work.
Although he was working, he didn't have medical insurance and didn't have the resources to pay for treatment.
"I honestly believe that without the help of the Crime Victim Compensation, I would never have been able to pay that bill," he wrote the Legislature earlier this year when the commission's funding was in jeopardy.
The man received $10,000 -- the maximum the commission can award to victims -- to help him pay his medical bills and for taking time off from work to recover.
He is just one of the hundreds of crime victims across the state who have been victimized a second time when socked with unexpected medical bills, funeral expenses or loss of support, through no fault of their own.
"It's really devastating -- psychologically, physically and financially for many people," said Pamela Ferguson-Brey, executive director of the Criminal Victim Compensation Commission -- a state agency that helps victims and their dependents deal with the aftermath of crime.
"If you were sexually assaulted tomorrow and had no health care insurance, the defendant won't step up to help," she said. "We're very fortunate to have an agency so that people most in need have a chance at compensation."
The commission last week awarded the families of the seven men killed by convicted murderer Byran Uyesugi a total of $70,000.
"It's hard to believe a group more deserving of the maximum compensation," City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said. "While nothing we can do either in the courthouse or compensation will get these people whole again, we're doing everything humanly possible to let them know how much we know they've been hurt."
While the criminal justice system seems to focus more on the rights of the accused, the Crime Victim Compensation Commission focuses on the victim's needs, Carlisle said.
The award not only assists victims financially but also validates that what happened to them was unjust, particularly in some cases when an offender is not arrested or convicted, said Diana Gausepohl-White, program coordinator for Kauai County's victim-witness program.
"It says someone believes me, recognizes that something happened to me wasn't my fault," she said.
And while it may not necessarily restore the victims' faith in the criminal justice system, the award is a message from government that it believes something has happened and wants to help, she said.
The commission provides compensation for victims of certain violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, drunken driving, assault, domestic abuse and sexual assault. As a result of a federal mandate, victims of international terrorism are also covered.
Victims may receive compensation for medical or mental health counseling not paid by insurance, funeral expenses, lost wages or support -- after all other sources have been exhausted. The commission is the "payer of last resort," Ferguson-Brey said.
A significant number of sexual assault victims have benefitted from the program. For sexual assault victims, particularly children, continuing treatment is essential, especially since issues may resurface at developmental stages in their lives, Gausepohl-White said.
In the year ended June 30, 1999, The Crime Victim Compensation Fund received $1.6 million in funding from the state and federal grants, inmate wages, fees from those¡ convicted of certain crimes who are able to pay, or restitution from convicted persons.
In Uyesugi's case, he was ordered to pay restitution of $70,000 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
In the wake of the Xerox shootings, the Legislature this year passed a bill allowing the commission to provide for mental health counseling for "mass casualty" victims -- people who are in the same building where a crime has occurred and may need some type of assistance.
To assist the commission in achieving self-sufficiency, the Legislature established a special fund, effective July 1998, and the courts began assessing all defendants convicted of certain crimes a mandatory compensation fee to be deposited into the special fund.
Other deposits include 10 percent of inmate wages, fees and restitution from convicted defendants and civil recoveries. The commission hopes that by 2001, 41 percent of its total costs will be paid by the special funds.
Every state has a victim compensation program. Hawaii was one of the first to enact one, in 1967, after New York and California.
Here is a breakdown on funding and who received funds from the Crime Victim Compensation Commission in the year ending June 30, 1999 -- the latest year for which figures are available. Compensating victims
Sources of funding for special fund
(Total $1,656,408)
for crime victim compensation
State general funds: $1,029,427 (62 percent)
Percentage of claim awards by crime
Victim applicants by age
Victim applicants by sex
Source: Crime Victim Compensation Commission
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