New assistance available for crime victims

New benefits will soon be available for Iowa crime victims. Crime Victim Assistance Bureau director Marti Anderson says victims can get payments for wages lost while helping prosecutors develop a case and also for time spent in court.Anderson says in some instances, the crime victim assistance program will cover lost wages for a crime victim’s family.Ed Origer’s four-month-old baby boy was severely shaken by a babysitter who was prosecuted for the crime, and he says his family was hamstrung by all sorts of financial concerns. He says his wife had to quit her job to stay home with their son and on top of that their insurance costs increased.Origer, who’s from Ankeny, says the criminal justice system was a haze. He says it seemed like he was victimized twice. Origer says once he found out about the program they were able to use it for various medical needs.Another victim benefit recently passed by the legislature and approved by Governor Vilsack allows victims to get financial help to clean up their home when a violent crime occurs. Such clean-up assistance is limited now to homicides. The crime victims assistance program covers all sorts of expenses for victims, from replacing clothes used as evidence in a criminal trial to paying for the burial of a murder victim.