Black families are most likely to file claims and are more likely to be denied assistance, a Rutgers Health study finds
Families of Black homicide victims are more likely to file victim compensation claims but face disproportionately high denial rates,according to a Rutgers Health study.
The study, published in Race and Justice, examined racial disparities in the approval of victim compensation claims among families of homicide victims across 18 U.S. states from 2015 to 2023. Using administrative data from nearly 60,000 homicide victim compensation claims submitted in 18 states between 2015 and 2023, researchers analyzed approval rates and reasons for denial by race. They used regression models controlling for gender, state and application year to identify whether racial disparities persisted even after accounting for these factors.
Although victim compensation programs were created to support victims and families after violent crime, researchers found that these systems often perpetuate racial inequities in access to financial assistance.
"Families of Black homicide victims file the most victim compensation claims, but their claims are disproportionately denied," said lead author Daniel Semenza, director of research at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and Rutgers University-Camden.
Victim compensation programs were established under the 1984 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to provide financial relief to individuals and families affected by violent crimes, including homicide. Compensation can cover expenses such as medical care, counseling, funeral costs, relocation and lost wages.
Despite these intentions, advocates have long raised concerns about unequal access to these funds. Prior investigations suggested racial disparities in how states process and approve claims, but little systematic evidence has quantified these differences across states and specifically for families of homicide victims.
"Victim compensation was designed to help grieving families, but current practices reinforce racial inequities instead of alleviating them," said Semenza. The researchers found that "contributory misconduct" or the victim's involvement in a criminal act was often cited as a primary reason for denying compensation, particularly for Black claimants. This punishes families and prevents them from receiving support when a loved one has died, despite the family having nothing to do with any criminal activity.
This study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from Rutgers University, Gun Violence Research Center postdoctoral fellow Kimberly Burke and doctoral student Brielle Savage, along with Jeremy Levine from the University of Michigan and Tanya Sharpe from the University of Toronto.
