Approximately 213 qualify under Eugenics Compensation Program, initial determinations continue

10/6/2014

A portion of the summary file for a 18-year-old girl from Rutherford County who was sterilized during the state’s eugenics program.

As of Sept. 30, 2014, the Office for Justice of Sterilization Victims has forwarded 786 claim forms from potential Eugenics Board sterilization victims to the Industrial Commission. This number is the final count of all claim forms received by the office. To date, the Commission has issued initial determination orders on 731 claims. Approximately 213 claims have qualified for compensation under the Eugenics Compensation Program.

The victims of North Carolina’s 1933 Eugenics Board Program had until June 30, 2014 to submit a claim form to the Office for Justice of Sterilization Victims to be considered to receive compensation under the Eugenics Compensation Program.

From 2010 to present, the Department of Administration worked first to identify sterilization victims through the former N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation, and later to promote the Eugenics Compensation Program under the Office for Justice of Sterilization Victims. The Foundation identified 176 living victims, as of early 2013.

Beginning November 2013, the Office for Justice of Sterilization Victims began promoting the compensation program and providing notice of the June 30, 2014 deadline. The Office sent more than 1,500 direct mail pieces to identified potential victims, placed and responded to hundreds of telephone calls and conducted media interviews on television, radio and print. In addition, the Office has partnered on general outreach with state agencies such as the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, Council for Women, Commission of Indian Affairs, Human Relations Commission, Governor’s Office of Community and Constituent Affairs and the UNC Center for Civil Rights.

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