13957
. (a) The board may grant for pecuniary loss, when the board
determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation, as
follows:
(1) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2,
reimburse the amount of medical or medical-related expenses incurred
by the victim for services that were provided by a licensed medical
provider, including, but not limited to, eyeglasses, hearing aids,
dentures, or any prosthetic device taken, lost, or destroyed during
the commission of the crime, or the use of which became necessary as
a direct result of the crime.
(2) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2,
reimburse the amount of outpatient psychiatric, psychological, or
other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the
victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling services
provided by a rape crisis center as defined by Section 13837 of the
Penal Code, and including family psychiatric, psychological, or
mental health counseling for the successful treatment of the victim
provided to family members of the victim in the presence of the
victim, whether or not the family member relationship existed at the
time of the crime, that became necessary as a direct result of the
crime, subject to the following conditions:
(A) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
ten thousand dollars ($10,000):
(i) A victim.
(ii) A derivative victim who is the surviving parent, grandparent,
sibling, child, grandchild, spouse, fiancé, or fiancée of a victim
of a crime that directly resulted in the death of the victim.
(iii) A derivative victim, as described in paragraphs (1) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, who is the primary
caretaker of a minor victim whose claim is not denied or reduced
pursuant to Section 13956 in a total amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) for not more than two derivative victims.
(B) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of
their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000):
(i) A derivative victim not eligible for reimbursement pursuant to
subparagraph (A), provided that mental health counseling of a
derivative victim described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of
Section 13955, shall be reimbursed only if that counseling is
necessary for the treatment of the victim.
(ii) A minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct result of
witnessing a violent crime and who is not eligible for reimbursement
of the costs of outpatient mental health counseling under any other
provision of this chapter. To be eligible for reimbursement under
this clause, the minor must have been in close proximity to the
victim when he or she witnessed the crime.
(C) The board may reimburse a victim or derivative victim for
outpatient mental health counseling in excess of that authorized by
subparagraph (A) or (B) or for inpatient psychiatric, psychological,
or other mental health counseling if the claim is based on dire or
exceptional circumstances that require more extensive treatment, as
approved by the board.
(D) Expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental
health counseling-related services may be reimbursed only if the
services were provided by either of the following individuals:
(i) A person who would have been authorized to provide those
services pursuant to former Article 1 (commencing with Section 13959)
as it read on January 1, 2002.
(ii) A person who is licensed in California to provide those
services, or who is properly supervised by a person who is licensed
in California to provide those services, subject to the board's
approval and subject to the limitations and restrictions the board
may impose.
(3) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.5,
authorize compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of
support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs as a
direct result of the victim's or derivative victim's injury or the
victim's death. If the victim or derivative victim requests that the
board give priority to reimbursement of loss of income or support,
the board may not pay medical expenses, or mental health counseling
expenses, except upon the request of the victim or derivative victim
or after determining that payment of these expenses will not decrease
the funds available for payment of loss of income or support.
(4) Authorize a cash payment to or on behalf of the victim for job
retraining or similar employment-oriented services.
(5) Reimburse the expense of installing or increasing residential
security, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Installing or
increasing residential security may include, but need not be limited
to, both of the following:
(A) Home security device or system.
(B) Replacing or increasing the number of locks.
(6) Reimburse the expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's
residence, or the expense of modifying or purchasing a vehicle, to
make the residence or the vehicle accessible or operational by a
victim upon verification that the expense is medically necessary for
a victim who is permanently disabled as a direct result of the crime,
whether the disability is partial or total.
(7) (A) Authorize a cash payment or reimbursement not to exceed
two thousand dollars ($2,000) to a victim for expenses incurred in
relocating, if the expenses are determined by law enforcement to be
necessary for the personal safety of the victim or by a mental health
treatment provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of
the victim.
(B) The cash payment or reimbursement made under this paragraph
shall only be awarded to one claimant per crime giving rise to the
relocation. The board may authorize more than one relocation per
crime if necessary for the personal safety or emotional well-being of
the claimant. However, the total cash payment or reimbursement for
all relocations due to the same crime shall not exceed two thousand
dollars ($2,000). For purposes of this paragraph a claimant is the
crime victim, or, if the victim is deceased, a person who resided
with the deceased at the time of the crime.
(C) The board may, under compelling circumstances, award a second
cash payment or reimbursement to a victim for another crime if both
of the following conditions are met:
(i) The crime occurs more than three years from the date of the
crime giving rise to the initial relocation cash payment or
reimbursement.
(ii) The crime does not involve the same offender.
(D) When a relocation payment or reimbursement is provided to a
victim of sexual assault or domestic violence and the identity of the
offender is known to the victim, the victim shall agree not to
inform the offender of the location of the victim's new residence and
not to allow the offender on the premises at any time, or shall
agree to seek a restraining order against the offender. A victim may
be required to repay the relocation payment or reimbursement to the
board if he or she violates the terms set forth in this paragraph.
(E) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), the board may
increase the cash payment or reimbursement for expenses incurred in
relocating to an amount greater than two thousand dollars ($2,000),
if the board finds this amount is appropriate due to the unusual,
dire, or exceptional circumstances of a particular claim.
(F) If a security deposit is required for relocation, the board
shall be named as the recipient and receive the funds upon expiration
of the victim's rental agreement.
(8) When a victim dies as a result of a crime, the board may
reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without anticipation of
personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay any of the
following expenses:
(A) The medical expenses incurred as a direct result of the crime
in an amount not to exceed the rates or limitations established by
the board.
(B) The funeral and burial expenses incurred as a direct result of
the crime, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars
($7,500). The board shall not create or comply with a regulation or
policy that mandates a lower maximum potential amount of an award
pursuant to this subparagraph for less than seven thousand five
hundred dollars ($7,500).
(9) When the crime occurs in a residence or inside a vehicle, the
board may reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without
anticipation of personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay
the reasonable costs to clean the scene of the crime in an amount not
to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Services reimbursed
pursuant to this subdivision shall be performed by persons registered
with the State Department of Public Health as trauma scene waste
practitioners in accordance with Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
118321) of Part 14 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(10) When the crime is a violation of Section 600.2 or 600.5 of
the Penal Code, the board may reimburse the expense of veterinary
services, replacement costs, or other reasonable expenses, as ordered
by the court pursuant to Section 600.2 or 600.5 of the Penal Code,
in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(11) An award of compensation pursuant to paragraph (5) of
subdivision (f) of Section 13955 shall be limited to compensation to
provide mental health counseling and shall not limit the eligibility
of a victim for an award that he or she may be otherwise entitled to
receive under this part. A derivative victim shall not be eligible
for compensation under this provision.
(b) The total award to or on behalf of each victim or derivative
victim may not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), except
that this award may be increased to an amount not exceeding seventy
thousand dollars ($70,000) if federal funds for that increase are
available.