This section sets deadlines and reporting rules for crime victim compensation claims, and it lets the department waive some time limits for good cause.
1. To claim compensation under the crime victim compensation program, a person shall apply in writing on a form prescribed by the department and file the application with the department within two years after the date of the crime, the discovery of the crime, or the date of death of the victim. The department may waive the time limitation if good cause is shown. 2. The department may waive, for good cause shown, the requirement that an emergency relocation must take place within thirty days of the date or discovery of a crime or within thirty days before or after the offender is released from incarceration. 3. A person is not eligible for compensation unless the crime was reported to the local police department or county sheriff department within seventy-two hours of its occurrence. If the crime cannot reasonably be reported within that time period, the crime shall have been reported within seventy-two hours of the time a report can reasonably be made. The department may waive this requirement if good cause is shown. 4. Notwithstanding subsection 3, a victim under the age of eighteen or dependent adult as defined in section 235B.2 who has been sexually abused or subjected to any other unlawful sexual conduct under chapter 709 or 726 or who has been the subject of a forcible felony is not required to report the crime to the local police department or county sheriff department to be eligible for compensation if the crime was allegedly committed upon a child by a person responsible for the care of a child, as defined in section 232.68, subsection 8, or upon a dependent adult by a caretaker as defined in section 235B.2, and was reported to an employee of the department of health and human services and the employee verifies the report to the department. 5. When immediate or short-term medical services or mental health services are provided to a victim under section 915.35, the department of health and human services shall file the claim for compensation as provided in subsection 4 for the victim. 6. When immediate or short-term medical services to a victim are provided pursuant to section 915.35 by a professional licensed or certified by the state to provide such services, the professional shall file the claim for compensation, unless the department of health and human services is required to file the claim under this section. The requirement to report the crime to the local police department or county sheriff department under subsection 3 does not apply to this subsection. 7. The victim shall cooperate with reasonable requests by the appropriate law enforcement agencies in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. 98 Acts, ch 1090, §45, 84; 99 Acts, ch 10, §1; 2015 Acts, ch 135, §21, 42, 43; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1352 Referred to in §235A.15, 235B.6, 622.69, 915.51, 915.93