Victim Assistance Program

The Victim Assistance Program maintains 24 advocates in the Attorney General and State's Attorneys ' offices throughout Vermont’s fourteen counties to guide victims through the criminal justice process and to act as liaison with the State's Attorneys and other criminal justice agencies.  Many of these are "specialized advocates" who focus on cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse. 

Victim advocates provide information on the status of court cases, notify victims of hearings, prepare victims to testify, and assist victims with applications for Victims Compensation, completing impact statements, determining restitution, and requesting notification of their offender's release.  In addition, advocates provide counseling and emotional support to victims, accompany them to court, and help to ensure that they are not re-victimized by the criminal justice process.  Advocates are also involved in local task forces; they provide outreach and training to other state and community agencies working with crime victims.  Through their hard work and dedication, the advocates of Vermont's Victim Assistance Program have been instrumental in creating many positive changes impacting our state's victims of crime.

The Victim Assistance Program is funded through State Special Funds (a surcharge on court fines and traffic tickets).  When these funds are insufficient to cover program costs, they are supplemented through the U.S. Department of Justice's VOCA Victim Assistance Grant Program.

To view the Vermont statute relating to the Victims Assistance Program, please click the following link:

Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Chapter 165: VICTIMS

13 V.S.A. § 5304. Victims assistance program