The state of North Carolina has received 442 applications for compensation from people who say they’re victims of the state’s decades-long eugenics program.
Last year, state lawmakers agreed to set aside 10 million dollars to be divided out among living, verified victims of the program which ended in the 1970s.
About 1,500 victims are estimated to still be alive. Before lawmakers passed the compensation bill, 176 living victims were verified. Since then, the department of administration says it’s received the 442 applications, but that only 281 of them are complete and being reviewed to see if they’re eligible for compensation.
The other applications are missing a piece of information, such as the signature of a notary, and must be completed before they can be reviewed for eligibility. The deadline to submit an application is June 30th, but the state says it will work with the applicants who submitted incomplete forms if they don’t meet that deadline. North Carolina sterilized an estimated 7,600 people during its eugenics program.
