The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is offering the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant to support victims of mass violence and terrorism.

For Assistance: other eligible applicants include the federal government and state victim assistance programs.

For Compensation: eligible applicants are limited to state crime victim compensation administrative agencies.

OVC does not provide Antiterrorism Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) funding directly to individual crime victims. AEAP applications will be accepted only from the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, unless a federal statute establishes a special authorization and appropriation supporting allocations to other jurisdictions or a compelling justification can be provided to the OVC Director supporting requests from other jurisdictions. In the case of terrorism and mass violence outside the United States, OVC will make a determination regarding which organizations or agencies within the United States may apply for funding.

This is a restricted invitation because the program is intended to respond to specific cases of terrorism and mass violence. Only after OVC has consulted with an eligible organization can an application be submitted. Further program guidance is set out in the AEAP Guidelines (available from OVC, or at in the Federal Register at 67 Fed. Reg. 4822 (Jan. 31, 2002) and 79 Fed. Reg. 59298 (Oct. 1, 2014)). (See
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2002-01-31/pdf/02-2299.pdf for details.)

AEAP grants are a mechanism by which the Director of OVC may award supplemental crime victim compensation and assistance to eligible entities responding to acts of mass criminal violence or domestic terrorism. The event must be sufficiently large that the jurisdiction cannot provide needed services to victims of the incident with existing resources, while also supporting victims of other crimes, in a timely and comprehensive manner.

AEAP funds may be used to provide emergency relief to benefit victims such as crisis response efforts, help victims adapt to and cope with the consequences of the event over the longer-term, and facilitate victim participation in the judicial process. AEAP can also supplement state crime victim compensation administrative agencies that reimburse victims for out-of-pocket expenses related to their victimization. Funding provided under this program is retroactive to the date of the incident. Justification for all funding must demonstrate that AEAP funds will support victims of the incident and are supplemental to existing resources. OVC may provide a no-cost consultant(s) to help the prospective grantee with the AEAP application process.

Statutory Authority: AEAP is authorized by 34 U.S.C. §§ 20101(d)(5) and 20105(b).