Section 61.9.28. Application for compensation.

An applicant may file an application for compensation by telephone or in writing within two years of the occurrence or discovery of a crime pursuant to Iowa Code section 915.84(1). For a victim of sexual abuse when the offender has been referred pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 229A, the date of the discovery of the crime shall be considered to be the date when the referral was made. The department may waive the requirements of Iowa Code section 915.84(1) if good cause is shown.

       9.28(1) Application postmarked. An application postmarked within the prescribed time period shall be considered timely filed.

       9.28(2) Good cause. In determining whether there is good cause for waiver of the two-year application filing requirement, the victim’s age, physical condition, psychological state, cultural or linguistic barriers, and any compelling health or safety reasons that would jeopardize the well-being of the victim may be considered.

       9.28(3) Multiple erroneous claims. When two or more applications are filed by or on behalf of an individual applicant during a calendar month and the applications appear on initial review to be erroneous claims based on innocent misrepresentation or circumstances of a similar nature, the claims shall be treated as a single application. Verification shall be investigated for each crime recorded in a file with multiple erroneous applications. If any of the crimes recorded in a combined application are verified as compensable crimes, the applications for compensation for those crimes shall be separated from the combined file and assigned distinct application numbers. The department will notify the applicant whenever two or more applications have been combined as one application.

       9.28(4) Program effective date. The effective date of the crime victim compensation program is January 1, 1983. Victims and survivors of crimes that were committed prior to the effective date are not eligible for compensation.

       9.28(5) Concurrent primary and secondary applications. A victim may be both a primary victim and a secondary victim in the same crime. The secondary victim application shall not be opened until a benefit has been exhausted for the primary application and there is documentation of need for further benefits in that category. The secondary victim application shall be considered timely filed if the primary victim application was timely filed.

       9.28(6) Concurrent secondary victim applications. A victim may be a secondary victim to multiple primary victims in a crime. A subsequent secondary victim application shall not be opened until a benefit has been exhausted in the first secondary victim application and there is documentation of need for further benefits in that category. Subsequent secondary victim applications shall be considered timely filed if the primary victim application was timely filed.