New Jersey Compensation Program for Victims of Church Sexual Abuse of Minors Deadline Extended

Camille S. Biros and Kenneth R. Feinberg, Administrators of the New Jersey state-wide Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) today announced that the Program’s deadline has been extended to January 31, 2020 for the registration of new allegations and to February 15, 2020 for the submission of all claims.
“We have had several requests from individuals who have just recently become aware of the Program and did not submit their registrations or claim forms before the deadlines.  We and the Dioceses want to be as inclusive as possible in allowing victims to file with the Program. Therefore, we are extending the deadlines and are reaching out to those individuals who missed the original filing deadlines to inform them of the extension. We urge anyone who has yet to file to do so,” said Camille S. Biros, co-administrator of the IVCP.
Bishop Dennis Sullivan of the Diocese of Camden is a strong supporter of the extension, which offers more time for victims and survivors to make use of the program.
According to Biros, to date, more than $9.2 million has been paid or authorized for payment by the Program Administrators to claimants determined eligible by the IVCP Program Administrators.
This Program was implemented and supported by all five Roman Catholic Dioceses in the state of New Jersey (the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Trenton, Camden, Paterson, and Metuchen) to provide compensation to eligible victims who were sexually abused as minors by clergy of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Program provides victims with an alternative to litigation providing victims a speedy and transparent process to resolve their claims with a significantly lower level of proof and corroboration than required in a court of law.
The IVCP is the most recent initiative of nearly three decades of constant work by the Diocese of Camden to protect our children and support victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The diocese continues to makes every effort to ensure our schools, parishes and ministries are safe havens for everyone.
In the Diocese of Camden, all compensation paid pursuant to the IVCP will come from Church funds. No public money will be used to pay eligible claims.  Necessary funds are expected to be provided through loans, insurance dividends and the sale of property.
More information about the IVCP can be found at www.NJdiocesesIVCP.com.
Additional information regarding the genesis of the program can be found here: https://www.camdendiocese.org/new-jersey-independent-compensation-program/