- Click here to view FAQ flyer
- Click here to view Anonymous Reporting Protocol for Victims 18 years old or older FAQ's
Who may file an application for Crime Victims' Compensation?
State law permits persons who have been emotionally and/or physically injured in a reported
crime to receive certain benefits from SOVA. Individual victims, immediate family members, or their legal representatives can apply on behalf of the victim. An agency or medical facility should not file for a victim, even if the victim is in its care or custody.
Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC):
The Victim can file for counseling, medical, lost wages, mileage reimbursement, and medication.
The victim’s spouse and minor children can file for counseling. Also, the children of an adult victim may be considered for counseling benefits, but the adult victim must file on behalf of the child and follow all of the guidelines outlined herein.
Criminal Domestic Violence:
The Victim can file for counseling, medical, lost wages, mileage reimbursement, and medication.
The victim’s minor children can file for counseling benefits, but the adult victim must file on behalf of the child and follow all of the guidelines outlined herein.
Assaults - (all types):
Only the Victim can file for counseling, medical, lost wages, mileage reimbursement, and medication.
Homicide:
The parents, children, spouses, and siblings can file for counseling.
If the deceased victim is an adult, the victim’s spouse may file for medical expenses; if the deceased victim is a minor, the parents may file for medical expenses.
Who should sign the application?
The actual person filing for benefits should sign the application, if he or she is 18 years of age or over. If not, the parent with physical custody or the person who legally represents the victim must sign as the "Claimant."(SC§16-3-1110) This should be the person who is assuming responsibility for the victim's crime related bills. Persons under 18 years of age are ineligible to file SOVA requests as a claimant.
How much time do I have to file my claim with SOVA?
In order for a claim to be deemed eligible, SOVA guidelines state that the incident must be reported to law enforcement within 48 hours of the crime. Guidelines also state that the compensation claim must be filed with our office within 180 days of the crime. Both requirements can be waived if SOVA is provided an explanation as to why these time constraints were not met.
Do I automatically get paid as a crime victim?
No. When your application is sent to SOVA, eligibility is determined by the laws governing the Compensation Fund.
Other Eligibility Criteria:
- The crime must have happened in South Carolina.
- The crime must have caused physical injury or emotional trauma.
- The victim must not have been engaged in illegal activity during the incident or have contributed to his/her injury.
- The application must be submitted to SOVA within 180 days from the date of the discovery of the crime
(may be waived depending on extenuating circumstances).
Will law enforcement be involved in my claim?
Yes. Law enforcement will be contacted to confirm the facts of the case and provide additional information. Your claim cannot be processed without a copy of the law enforcement incident report.
I was the victim of a DUI auto accident and there is not enough insurance to cover my injuries.
Can SOVA help me?
Your claim will be reviewed and considered for eligibility upon receiving supportive documentation that your bills exceed the amount of the insurance settlement. Supportive documentation includes the settlement statement and copies of your bills.
What doesn’t SOVA pay?
Cannot pay for property damage, property replacement cost, crime scene clean up or “pain and suffering.”
Anonymous Reporting Protocol for victims 18 years old or older
What do you need to know about the new Anonymous Reporting Protocol for victims 18 years old or older?
- When an adult victim of sexual assault (age 18 or older) presents at a hospital or discloses to a victim advocate that she/he has been sexually assaulted, the individual will be presented with all options for reporting the sexual assault.
- Victims are offered a sexual assault/forensic evidence collection examination regardless of their decision to participate with the criminal justice system. (Law enforcement authorization for forensic evidence collection kit is no longer required).
- As far as law enforcement is concerned, no crime has occurred and there is no investigation until the victim chooses to make a full report and initiates law enforcement investigation.
Is there a difference between an anonymous report and traditional report forensic evidence collection kit and exam?
- The only difference between the new anonymous reporting protocol and the traditional law enforcement involved protocol is that law enforcement approval to use the kit and to perform the forensic evidence collection exam is no longer required.
- A full forensic evidence collection exam will be performed in the same manner and completeness as with a traditional law enforcement involved sexual assault forensic evidence collection exam.
Who will collect the evidence?
- A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) _or other qualified medical provider at a Hospital Emergency Department shall perform the forensic evidence collection exam.
When the victim elects not to report the crime to law enforcement, what happens to the evidence?
- Following the completion of the medico-legal exam the SANE nurse or other hospital medical provider (performing the exam/collecting the evidence) will turn over the sealed forensic evidence collection kit and all physical evidence to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction without providing any personal indentifying information on the victim.
- The local rape crisis program, serving the county in which the sexual assault occurred, will receive a sealed envelope (with no identifying information on the outside containing the anonymous reporting protocol victim contact information) for purposes of contacting the victim to advise of the one year storage expiration date if no report/investigation has been initiated after 11 months of storage.
How long will the evidence be stored?
- The evidence will be stored for a period of one (1) year. Evidence will be stored in an environmentally controlled storage until such time as the victim desires to move forward with law enforcement investigation or a period of one (1) year, whichever comes first.
- Forensic evidence collection kits and other evidence collected for victims whose identity is unknown to law enforcement shall be maintained in the same manner as any other forensic evidence collection kit and evidence.
- NO evidence shall be destroyed prior to the one year time period.
If the perpetrator was the victim’s legal spouse, how long will she/he have to report the crime?
- Under South Carolina’s law, if the victim reports that the individual perpetrating the sexual assault is the victim’s legal spouse, the victim has only thirty (30) days to report the crime to law enforcement.
How are the anonymous reports and forensic kit being tracked?
- The hospital patient account number will link the evidence and sexual assault kit to the victim for future reference.
- A sticker identifying the date the forensic evidence collection kit was performed, and a sticker indicating the one-year storage period end date will be placed on the outside of the forensic evidence collection kit in addition to the hospital account number.
- No information linking the victim to the crime will be placed on the outside of the SLED kit.
What are SOVA’s payment requirement/criteria?
- The assault must have occurred in South Carolina;
- SLED approved Sexual Assault Protocol kit must be used;
- SOVA Sexual Assault Protocol (SAP) Billing Statement must be submitted;
- SOVA Medical Examination Release Form must be submitted: NOTE: a) For anonymous reporting: when providing law enforcement information, write in ‘ANONYMOUS’ instead of the name of law enforcement agency. b) To establish that the crime/incident occurred in SC, for anonymous reporting, the incident location (county and state) will be required.
- SOVA Sexual Assault Protocol (SAP) Billing Statement and SOVA Medical Examination Release Form are found in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) (Sexual Assault Evidence Collection) approved kit.
- Payment must be requested within 180 days from the date of service.
