Help that exists, explained plainly
Victim Assistance Programs in Indiana
After a violent crime touches your family, Indiana has real programs that help with real costs, and almost nobody explains them at the moment they matter. This page does, plainly and accurately, because our crime scene cleanup crews meet families at exactly that moment, and pointing you to help beyond the cleanup is part of doing our job right.
01 / The state fund
The Indiana Violent Crime Victim Compensation Fund
Created by the Indiana General Assembly in 1978 and administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), this fund exists to ease the financial weight a violent crime drops on victims and their families. It is a fund of last resort, meaning it helps with eligible costs that insurance and other sources do not cover, and eligible victims or their dependents may receive assistance with costs such as medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, loss of support to legal dependents, and outpatient mental health counseling, subject to the program’s limits and requirements.
Who may be eligible
Victims and their dependents
Generally: an innocent victim who suffered bodily injury from a violent crime committed in Indiana, or the surviving spouse and dependent children of a victim who was killed, including deaths caused by impaired drivers. Full eligibility rules live in Indiana Code and the program’s requirements.
How to apply
Through people already helping you
Applications are available through local law enforcement and the victim services division of your county prosecutor’s office, in Lake County, ask the officers or the advocate on your case, and they route to ICJI in Indianapolis. Filing deadlines apply, so ask about them early rather than late.
Reaching the program
ICJI Victim Services
Toll free: 1-800-353-1484. Online: in.gov/cji/victim-compensation, and ICJI’s victim resource portal at HopeAndHelpIN.org, which gathers support and services for Indiana crime victims in one place.
Two honest notes. First, what the fund covers in your specific case, including whether costs like professional cleanup are compensable, is a question for your advocate and the program itself, and asking costs nothing. Second, applying does not require waiting for an arrest or a conviction; the process runs on the crime, not the court calendar.
02 / Closer to home
Lake County victim services
The Lake County Prosecutor’s office operates victim assistance services that walk victims and families through the court process, notifications, protective options, and available help, including the state compensation application above. The introduction is simple: ask the officers or detectives on your case to connect you, it is part of their job, or contact the prosecutor’s office directly. For support beyond the legal process, our community resources page carries crisis lines, grief support, and recovery organizations serving Northwest Indiana.
03 / Where we fit
Our part, and how it works with the rest
Our part is the property: crime scene cleanup coordinated with investigators so work starts the hour a scene releases, complete decontamination, and documentation built for insurance claims, the same photographed, itemized files that also serve families pursuing compensation for crime-related costs. We handle the claim mechanics with your carrier so a grieving family is not translating between companies, and when what you need is not cleanup at all, we say so and point you to the right door. That is the arrangement, and it starts at (888) 629-1222, any hour.
County note
Applying from Porter County
Indiana’s Violent Crime Victim Compensation Fund is statewide, and Porter County families apply the same way every Indiana family does: through law enforcement or county prosecutor victim services, with the fund reachable at 1-800-353-1484. Death investigations in Porter County run through the Porter County Coroner’s Office in Valparaiso (155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 101, 219-548-0208), and the advocate handling your case is the right person to ask about what your situation qualifies for. As everywhere: ask your advocate what’s covered, and let the answer come from them.
Help exists
Use every door that opens. (888) 629-1222 is ours.
The property is our job. The rest of the help on this page is yours to claim, and you should.
Call (888) 629-1222