Homicides

Benefits may be available to assist you for the loss of your loved one. This section will explain the Crime Victims Compensation Program (CVCP) and what benefits can be provided to family members of homicide victims. Some assistance may be available to help meet expenses incurred as a result of a homicide.

Additional information

• Benefits available.
• Program requirements.
• Applying for benefits.
• Resources.

Benefits available

Payment of funeral costs up to a maximum based on the date of the homicide. Funeral expenses include such costs as burial, cremation, cemetery plots, headstones, and funeral services.

• CVCP will reimburse these expenses to the family member who paid for the services or the person who is responsible for payment.
• Payment can be made directly to the service provider if we receive written authorization from the family member.
• RCW 51.32.050 (1) (www.leg.wa.gov) allows L&I to pay funeral expenses up to 200% of the state's average monthly wage. For homicides occurring on or after July 1, 2009 the maximum funeral benefit is $7,709.32.

As with other CVCP benefits, payment is secondary to other insurance benefits. However, the first $40,000.00 of life-insurance proceeds are exempt from the provision.

Counseling for immediate family members of the homicide victim. Insurance coverage for counseling must be used if available.

Limited pension payments to the spouse or dependent children or parents of a deceased victim. Payments are based on a percentage of the victim's wages or a lump sum amount if the victim wasn't employed.

Program requirements

The CVCP must receive an application for benefits within 2 years of the date the crime was reported to police or within 5 years in certain extenuating circumstances.

The following information will be needed to determine eligibility for benefits. The information doesn't need to be submitted at the same time as the application but payment of benefits can occur sooner if the following is sent in along with the application.

• Copy of marriage certificate.
• Copies of birth certificates for any dependent children (or proof of paternity for any dependent children).
• Documentation of the victim's wages if employed. CVCP can obtain the documentation needed if the name, address, and phone number of the victim's employer is provided.
• Documentation of social security benefit eligibility for surviving spouse and children.
• Information regarding any life insurance available.
• Copies of bills or receipts for funeral and burial expenses incurred.
• Copy of death certificate.

Applying for benefits

The Application for Benefits - Crime Victims (F800‑042‑000) is available from the CVCP, your local Victim and Witness Office, and health-care providers.

Call the telephone number below to have an application mailed to you or if we can assist you in completing the application or answering any questions.

Call us between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday:
1-800-762-3716
360-902-5797 (TTD users)
360-902-5333 (fax)
Interpreters available.

Resources

The Washington Violence Against Women Network (WAVAWNet) (www.wavawnet.org).

Homicide Victim's Family Benefits may be available to assist you for the loss of your loved one. This section explains the Crime Victims Compensation Program (CVCP) and what benefits can be provided to family members of homicide victims. Some assistance may be available to help meet expenses incurred as a result of a homicide.

Burial and funeral

Funeral directors are required to give customers a price list of goods and services. For consumer concerns regarding burial and funeral expenses we have included a link to some Web sites that may be of interest.

• Visit "Dealing with Death" at the Washington State Office of the Attorney General (www.atg.wa.gov) or by call 1‑800‑551‑4636.
• Another resource is the Funeral and Cemetery Licensing Unit (www.dol.wa.gov) at the Washington State Department of Licensing; you may call at 360-586-4905.
• Federal Trade Commission - Funerals: Consumer Rights Under the Funeral Rule (www.ftc.gov).

Grief and loss

There are a number of books available on grief and loss for adults and children. We have listed only a few and our list is by no means exhaustive. However, the first book listed below specifically addresses the concerns of survivors and victims of traumatic loss such as homicide.

• What To Do When the Police Leave: A Guide to the First Days of Traumatic Loss, Second Edition, by Bill Jenkins. WBJ Press: Richmond, VA 1999.
• A Journey Through Grief, by Alla Renee Bozarth. Hazelden: Center City, MN 1990.
• When Good-Bye is Forever: Learning to Live Again After the Loss of a Child, by John Bramblett. Ballentine: New York, 1991.
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold S. Kushner. Avon: New York, 1983.
• A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis. Bantam: New York, 1983.
• No Time For Goodbyes, Forth Edition, by Janice Harris Lord. Pathfinder: Ventura, CA 1991.
• Don't Take My Grief Away From Me: How to Walk Through Grief and Learn to Live Again, by Doug Manning. In-Sight Books: Oklahoma City, OK 1999. Also reprinted by HarperCollins as Don't Take My Grief Away.
• How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies, by Therese A. Rando. Bantam: New York, 1988.

Helping children and teens understand

• When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death, by Laurie K. Brown and Marc Brown. Little, Brown and Co.: Boston, 1996. (Elementary and middle school ages).
• The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages, Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D. Slack: Thorofare, NJ 1982. (Elementary and middle school ages).
• Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child, by Earl A. Grollman. Beacon Press: Boston, 1991.
• Help for the Hard Times: Getting Through Loss, by Earl Hipp. Hazelden: Center City, MN 1995 (For teens).