Tennessee’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund helps crime victims rebuild
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Becoming a victim of a crime can not only be painful, but pricey. Luckily, there's a resource available to qualifying Tennesseans to help with the latter, and changes made during the last legislative session are aimed at expanding access.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund , available through the Tennessee Department of Treasury, was established through state law in 1982. Since then, the state has distributed more than $350 million to crime victims to help pay for costs associated with becoming a victim of a crime that insurance and other measures don't cover, including funerals, medical bills, crime scene cleanup, and even moving fees.
"We actually receive payments from courts, both federal and state. They're fees paid by criminals that help victims recover," Shelli King, the director of communications for the TN Dept. of Treasury said. "Our goal is just to make sure we can help them recover in any way we can."
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When Rodney Armstrong, 29, was shot and killed while hosting a pool party at his Murfreesboro home in July 2020, his mother, Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick was not only left suffering from the loss, but she was also forced to pay for costs associated with his death that she never could have predicted.
"Those costs are insurmountable," Muhammad-McCormick said. "Having to go pull from savings and I had to pull money out of my retirement to pay for his funeral, so that was hard."
Muhammad-McCormick eventually discovered Tennessee's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, which she managed to apply for just before the two-year deadline. However, she learned as many as 90% of crime victims don't even apply because they're either not aware of the program, or they find the application process to be too complicated and/or traumatizing.
"You know what it's like during IRS time, so multiply that times, 'I'm not just providing you proof of my wages, but I'm providing you proof that my person is no longer here and that I have suffered financially because of that,'" Muhammad-McCormick said.
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Last legislative session, Muhammad-McCormick worked with other advocates and lawmakers to draft a bill that made multiple changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund program, including extending the deadline one must file a police report to qualify for the funds and broadening eligibility to include individuals beyond immediate family members.
"Although I was blessed that I had some money in a retirement fund that I was able to pull from, that's not the case, especially in areas where people are disproportionately impacted by crime," Muhammad-McCormick said. "Most of those people don't have 401K plans to go pull from, so they are dependent on extended family members to help with those financial costs to bury their loved one."
Now, those extended family members can be reimbursed under the new changes to the law. The legislation also allows those who lived with the victim to be reimbursed for mental health services following the crime.
Muhammad-McCormick told News 2 Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Mothers Over Murder are hosting the Healed People Heal People campaign across Tennessee, which in part, will educate crime victims about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund and train them how to apply for the money.
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The group will hold its next workshop in Chattanooga on Nov. 15 and 16, and in Nashville next Jan. For more information on the workshops,.
To apply for money through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, or to find out if you qualify,.
