Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, November 20, 2001 12:37 PM September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Comments submitted by e-mail to: victimcomp.comments@usdadoj.gov The following are comments filed in response to the Notice of Inquiry and advance notice of rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2001 SUBJECT: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Topics #1 & 2: The Forms To Be Used in Submitting Claims Under This Program and the Information To Be Included on the Claims Form Given the federal streamlining initiatives to encourage electronic filing and payment, the Special Master will be in compliance with the new mandates by ensuring that claimants file claims electronically. The Special Master/U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) should seek to establish an electronic form and populate key fields from current data and databases of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks based on eligibility, as defined in Public Law 107-42 Section 404(c). Basic claimant information might be available from aircraft manifests of flight crew and passengers, employees and beneficiary records of the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and others data of possible victims. Claimants could provide other information to complete the form. An electronic filing format could include prompts and instructions to aid in the completion of mandatory fields. Claimants filing for victims that have not been identified from existing data would be required to provide proof of injury and entitlement to compensation and could also submit information electronically, via Facsimile, or by other means determined by the Special Master and DOJ. Working from a predetermined list of potential claimants could serve as a deterrent to fraud. Issuing a password to potential claimants could also be a means to further prevent and detect fraud. The feasibility of using an electronic form to administer the victim compensation fund is supported by the development of benefit eligibility prescreening software by public agencies and non-profit organizations that have been involved in advancing the innovative use of technology to support service delivery. Of note, the Department of Commerce Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) grant, formerly the Telecommunications Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), has provided matching funds for several eligibility prescreening projects in recent grant cycles. The Special Master can look to these as examples of the applicability of developing an electronic form that can serve claimants across a range of proficiency levels with the use of Internet technology. Topic #4: Procedures to Assist an Individual in Filing and Pursuing Claims Under this Title The Special Master could designate a support network to assist victims and claimants that do not have access or limited proficiency in using the Internet to complete an electronic claim form. The Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) currently administers a program of assistance to victims of violent crimes administered by state agencies. Additionally, a number of faith-based and community-based non-for-profit organizations rallied to offer financial assistance, support services, and comfort to victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The September 11th Fund established by the United Way of New York awarded grants to 69 organizations to provide assistance to victims and their families. The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) granted tax-exempt status under special expedited procedures to 90 organizations to help victims of the September 11th attacks. The existing network of state agencies and faith-based and community-based service providers could be engaged to assist claimants complete the form and pursue allowable claims. These agencies and organizations could be chosen based on their existing service delivery focus and their ability to provide longer-term support to potential claimants. Given the need to limit administrative fees, to insure that the greater percentage of the fund directly benefits the victims, the involvement of state agencies and faith-based and community-based non-profit organizations, that have an established funding source, could be a consideration for selection. In addition to providing assistance to individuals and families with the filing of a claim, the network of non-profit organizations can also support outreach to potential claimants. The recent Washington Post article of Sunday, November 18, 2001, reports stories of paperwork and grief as a deterrent to families seeking benefits that they are entitled to receive. The Special Master will want to ensure that claims are filed timely and within the two-year time frame specified under Section 405 ( a )(3). Families of victims of the Pentagon were greatly aided by the Family Assistance Center in completing the required paperwork during an initial period of grief and expressed an interest in having the support continued to assist in accessing other eligible benefits and services. The Department of Justice could expand the services to victims beyond the role of the Special Master consistent with the range of assistance administered by the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC). In establishing an electronic format for administering the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, DOJ should also establish a central website to inform victims of other benefits and services. The website should integrate information from all the funds established for victims and serve as a central portal to inform claimants of the full range of benefits that they may be eligible to receive. At a time of grief, individuals and families should have an efficient means for accessing the funds that were raised on their behalf and to obtain the services that are available. OVC, for example, considers financial counseling, to assist victims to restructure their financial affairs as an allowable service and compensable expense (Victims of Crime Act Victim Compensation Grant Program, Federal Register, May 16, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 99, page 27158). Individuals and families who are eligible claimants under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund should have easy access to information about all the benefits and services that are available and a method for determining eligibility for receiving benefits. Coordinating information about all the September 11th Funds and charitable services would also comply with Congressional calls for greater federal oversight of the disbursement of charitable funds raised by numerous non-profit tax exempt organizations in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Thank you for your consideration of the above referenced comments. Individual Comment Washington, DC September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000429.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-20