GLOBAL CHALLENGE II: To provide
victims with access to comprehensive, quality services.
Project Name: Federal Victims’ Emergency Fund
Name of Grantee/Recipient: OVC
Problem Statement: At times, victims do not have the funding to pay for certain crime-related expenses caused by a crime. This may include the expenses associated with a victim attending the sentencing or other parts of the criminal trial. Such costs are not covered by state compensation or assistance.
Funding:
FY 2002: $25,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To reimburse crime victims for certain expenses related to their participation in the federal criminal justice system that are not payable by other agencies.
Victim Focus: All victims of federal crimes
Practitioner Focus: Not applicable.
Project Description: OVC will administer a fund that will be available to the various headquarters of those federal agencies involved in the investigation or prosecution of a criminal case involving victims. Approved amounts would be drawn from the fund on a case-by-case basis to reimburse federal crime victims for certain crime-related expenses when other sources do not exist to cover the expense. Guidelines would be developed for identifying such expenses and for establishing basic program policies, practices, and procedures.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Accounting of expenses paid by the program and the number of victims assisted in participating in criminal justice proceedings.
Performance Measure(s): Number of federal crime victims accessing this service to participate in criminal justice proceedings.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Helping Outreach Programs To Expand (HOPE)
Name of Grantee: Open solicitation
Problem Statement: Through a series of roundtable meetings with crime victims and victim advocates OVC has become aware of a growing body of grassroots, nonprofit, community-based victim organizations and coalitions who are not linked to mainstream victim services programs and who do not have access to traditional funding for services, outreach, and networking. Oftentimes, these organizations need only a small amount of money and access to resources to expand and enhance their outreach and services to crime victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $200,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide resources to grassroots organizations to improve outreach and services to crime victims.
Practitioner Focus: Community-based victim service providers and advocates
Victim Focus: All victims of crime
Project Description: OVC will provide up to $5,000 in funding to grassroots, community-based victim organizations and coalitions to support program development, networking, coalition building, and service delivery. Funds may be used for the following types of expenses, such as to develop program literature, train advocates, produce a newsletter, support victim outreach efforts, and recruit volunteers. Interested organizations should submit a letter of request on the agency’s letterhead to the OVC director. The letter should contain the following: (1) the organization’s mission statement, (2) background information about the organization/coalition, (i.e., how long in existence, names and titles of organization’s principals, etc.), (3) description of activities and crime victim services, (4) statement of need, and (5) intended uses of funds. Recipients of funds will be required to participate in roundtable describing how funds were used and the impact of funding on program efforts.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Report documenting how funds were used to further program efforts.
Performance Measures: Number of victims served; types of services provided; number of advocates, volunteers, and service providers trained; number of organizations participating in roundtable discussions; and number of promising practices identified.
Evaluation: Internal, by OVC.
Project Name: Training Scholarship Program for Victim Assistance Providers, Law Enforcement, and Allied Practitioners
Name of Grantee/Recipient: OVC TTAC
Problem Statement: Small community-based crime victim services and advocacy organizations operate with very limited budgets, yet provide significant services to underserved and unserved crime victims by virtue of their location in neighborhoods where victims reside. Their need for training to enhance skills of practitioners and volunteers is significant, but resources are not available to support such training. When training is provided through OVC-sponsored conferences, workshops, and other specialized or general training events, funds are not available to support transportation and per diem to attend these events or to pay registration fees. This program—which supports the attendance of such practitioners—would contribute to enhancing skills of staff of grassroots community-based organizations.
Funding:
FY 2002: None
FY 2003: $500,000
FY 2004: $500,000
FY 2005: $500,000
Objective: To provide scholarships to attend training events to individuals who deliver direct services to victims in community-based victim assistance agencies, and to line-duty law enforcement and allied practitioners in social, mental health, disability, healthcare, faith, or other relevant fields.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Allied practitioners and volunteers in community-based crime victim assistance agencies and organizations and line-duty law enforcement officers.
Project Description: This project will provide scholarships of up to $500 to assist with lodging, conference fees, travel and other requirements associated with attending OVC-sponsored training. A plan for development and implementation of this project will be developed by TTAC in FY 2002, with the first scholarships to be available in FY 2003. Criteria and procedures will be developed for administration of this project as part of the overall plan.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): A plan for implementation of the project in 2002 and an undetermined number of scholarships available to practitioners and volunteers serving crime victims.
Performance Measure(s): Number of persons trained from grassroots, community-based organizations serving crime victims.
Evaluation: Internal, TTAC.
Project Name: Victim Services in Rural Law Enforcement
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: Many crime victims do not receive needed services in the aftermath of victimization, including crisis counseling, advocacy, mental health services, emergency financial assistance, shelter, and information on case disposition. Law enforcement officers are often the first individuals to approach victims after a crime occurs, and often are the only contact victims have with the criminal justice system. Due to the isolation, geographical distances, and limited resources available to law enforcement in rural areas especially, many victims never receive the services vital to begin their emotional, physical, and financial healing. Rural law enforcement agencies need help identifying resources and promising practices to creatively and economically meet this challenge.
Funding:
FY 2002/2003: $500,000
FY 2004: $950,000
FY 2005: $550,000
Objective: To ensure that underserved victims in rural areas receive services and interventions.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Rural law enforcement
Project Description: This project will competitively select and provide funding to a law enforcement agency or organization to develop and administer a 4-year project that integrates a strong victim assistance component into rural law enforcement agencies. In FY 2002/2003, the grantee will competitively select and provide a planning grant of $30,000 each to 10 sites to develop or significantly enhance their ability to provide assistance to crime victims, including the first response to victims by law enforcement. In FY 2004, each subgrantee organization will receive $75,000 to implement its victim assistance strategy and $40,000 in FY 2005. The grantee oversight organization will work closely with OVC to develop criteria for selection of law enforcement agencies eligible for the funding and to develop and disseminate a streamlined application procedure. Core elements of these programs must include close collaboration with system and community-based victim assistance providers and a baseline knowledge of victimization issues. The grantee will be responsible for conducting a performance evaluation of the sites and providing training and direct technical assistance to the sites on strategic planning, building subgrantee financial capacity to sustain the program after OVC funding ends, enhancing knowledge of the impact of victimization and appropriate interventions and services, and providing services to victims from ethnic or cultural minority populations and to victims with disabilities. At the end of the project, the grantee will produce a concise report that covers the development of the program and the evaluation findings, highlighting the core elements and sustaining principles of the programs which were successful.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): A report that highlights innovative practices, core elements, and guiding principles to assist the development of victim assistance provided by law enforcement in rural areas.
Performance Measure(s): Number of organizations able to maintain victim assistance component after OVC funding ends and number of sites that establish or enhance victim services or develop victim assistance components.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Services to Crime Victims
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Sacramento
Problem Statement: As people in crisis frequently seek the aid of the clergy, faith community practitioners are in a unique position to respond to victims’ needs. Their role as crisis responders takes on even greater significance when it is joined with that of law enforcement, the criminal justice system’s first responders to crime. Chaplains in law enforcement agencies are uniquely positioned to guide the law enforcement response to crime victims, but many law enforcement agencies do not use chaplains in this role. Many chaplains are not trained to respond to a broad range of crime victims, including victims of mass violence and terrorism.
Funding:
FY 2002: $100,000
FY 2003: $100,000
FY 2004: $100,000
FY 2005: Transition to TTAC
Objective: To strengthen the law enforcement response to crime victims.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Law enforcement
Project Description: This project will modify an existing curriculum and development of a law enforcement based model for providing chaplaincy services to victims of violent crime. The project is intended to equip chaplains to respond to victims of crime, including crimes of terrorism and mass violence, and particularly to support and improve the law enforcement response to victimization. Its first year will be devoted to modifying and expanding a curriculum for chaplains on responding to crime victims. The curriculum will integrate relevant information from a crisis response manual being finalized by the Center for Mental Health Services. In the second year, the grantee will pilot the curriculum in four to six sites throughout the Nation, and revise the curriculum based on pilot testing results. In the third year, the grantee will provide training and technical assistance to several sites nationwide to help chaplains implement a model for providing chaplaincy services to victims of crime in their communities.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Training curriculum and development of a replicable law enforcement model for providing chaplaincy services to victims of violent crime.
Performance Measure(s): Number of law enforcement agencies which offer chaplaincy services to crime victims, including victims of mass violence and terrorism.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Collaborative Response to Crime Victims in Urban Areas
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: Many crime victims reach out to their clergy and faith-based communities for help in healing and seeking needed resources in the aftermath of crime. Many clergy and faith-based communities wish to serve victims but do not have the resources available to establish viable networks and services.
Funding:
FY 2002/2003: $1,100,000
FY 2004: $1,100,000
FY 2005: $1,100,000
Objective: To assist communities in creating a system of services through their faith-based organizations and network with secular victim service programs.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Clergy, lay persons, and service providers in faith-based communities.
Project Description: This initiative would establish networks of faith-based victim assistance programs within communities that will collaborate with each other and with secular victim assistance programs to provide and enhance services to crime victims. In each community, this would include development of a directory of faith-based victim assistance programs which include faith-based services and the services they provide, such as shelter to domestic violence victims, individual and group counseling, transitional housing, legal and personal advocacy, and the recruitment and training of volunteers from churches, mosques, and synagogues within communities to provide direct services to victims, 24-hour hotline services, information and referral services, transportation, and hospital and court accompaniment. Five urban sites will be chosen with the conduit organization receiving $300,000 per year to provide onsite training and technical assistance and to conduct site evaluations. The remainder of the funding will go to the sites.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Plan five faith-based victim services programs, an evaluation report.
Performance Measure(s): Number of service networks established involving clergy, number of victims served, and number of volunteers in faith-based communities trained to work with crime victims.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: Training for Community-Based Grief Centers
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: Millions of Americans call upon religious leaders for spiritual guidance, support, and information in a personal crisis. One study found that people who have lost loved ones are almost five times more likely to seek the aid of the clergy than all other mental health sources combined. Furthermore, incidents of violent crime and terrorism can extend the reach of trauma to entire communities, perpetuating the need for faith-based counseling and resources.
Funding:
FY 2002: $200,000
FY 2003: $50,000
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To assist communities in establishing grief centers to work with victims of violent crime, including terrorism and mass violence.
Victim Focus: All victims of violent crime, including terrorism and mass violence
Practitioner Focus: Clergy, victim service providers, law enforcement, mental health professionals, social services/social workers, schools, and nonprofit organizations.
Project Description: This project, to be awarded to one organization, will oversee the development of protocols for creating grief centers to work with victims of violent crime, including victims of terrorism and mass violence. During the program’s first year, the grantee will identify five pilot sites that will work independently to identify strategies for setting up grief centers capable of meeting the needs of violent crime victims. Those strategies will be committed to paper in the form of protocols, which will be shared among the sites, with violent crime, terrorism, and mass violence experts, and with communities that have experienced incidents of large-scale violence. While each of the four pilot sites may represent a single faith (Muslim, Jewish, Christian, etc.), they must as a group reflect multiple faith approaches. A fifth site must be ecumenical in nature. The grantee will select and provide technical assistance to the sites and will facilitate the exchange of information between sites and outside experts. The protocols and key players in developing them will be available through OVC’s TTAC in subsequent years.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Protocols and establishment of grief centers to work with victims of violent crime.
Performance Measure(s): Selection of five sites, establishment of council to guide protocol development, and number of written protocols developed.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Preventing and Intervening with Violence Against Children and Adults with Disabilities
Name of Grantee/Recipient: State University of New York (SUNY), Upstate Medical University
Problem Statement: Disability advocates have reported an epidemic of victimization committed against people with disabilities. Research by Sobsey and Doe in 1991 indicated that 83 percent of women with intellectual disabilities had been sexually assaulted, and of those assaulted, nearly 50 percent had been sexually assaulted more than 10 times. Recent research by Sullivan and Knutson in 1998 found that the relative risk for maltreatment among children with disabilities was three times that of other children. Disability service providers, including mental health and healthcare providers, have not traditionally focused on the victimization of individuals with disabilities, yet these practitioners are uniquely positioned to identify and intervene with children and adults with disabilities who have been victimized.
Funding:
FY 2002: $30,000
Objective: To enhance the healthcare provider’s role in identifying and responding to victims with disabilities and to strengthen multidisciplinary community responses to these victims.
Victim Focus: Child and adult victims with disabilities
Practitioner Focus: Healthcare, disability service, and victim assistance providers
Project Description: OVC will transfer funding through an Interagency Agreement to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to supplement its grant funding awarded to SUNY Upstate Medical University to conduct a national-scope conference on violence against children and adults with disabilities. The conference will target healthcare practitioners, researchers, victims, victim service providers, and disability service providers to develop recommendations on needed prevention and intervention strategies to prevent violence against people with disabilities, and to ensure that they have access to the criminal justice system and receive needed victim services and interventions. OVC funding will strengthen the conference focus on coordination among the medical, criminal justice, victim assistance, and disability communities.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Report of conference proceedings and findings
Performance Measure(s): Recommendations for the healthcare, disability, and victim assistance communities that can be implemented.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Predatory Internet Crimes Against Children and Adolescents Training and Awareness Kit
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: Cybercrime committed against the vulnerable
population of children and adolescents is a growing menace that is only
beginning to receive the attention needed to determine the scope and nature
of this victimization. As a result, appropriate public awareness, prevention,
and intervention initiatives for these young victims must be developed.
Funding:
FY 2002: None (Applications will be solicited in FY 2003)
FY 2003: $500,000
FY 2004: TBD
Objective: To disseminate information nationwide to children and adolescents about Internet predators and where to get help.
Victim Focus: Child and adolescent victims
Practitioner Focus: Educators and youth service providers
Project Description: This project would develop sophisticated marketing materials to impart critical information to children and adolescents about the predatory practices of criminals who use the Internet to lure their victims to them and where to turn for help. A separate kit would target educators and youth service providers about their role in fighting Internet crime directed at America’s youth, and resources to support their efforts. During FY 2002, OVC will consult with OJJDP staff to focus efforts around the findings of a current National Academy of Sciences (NAS) research project funded by OJJDP and the U.S. Department of Education on the safe and appropriate use of the Internet by children. In FY 2003, OVC would competitively award funding for the development of a marketing strategy and age-appropriate materials. The grantee would be required to enlist the services of a professional marketing firm to ensure that the products and marketing strategy will appeal to the targeted audience and to enlist the volunteer efforts of a celebrity or celebrities who would appeal to different age groups to launch an advertising campaign for the kits. Based on the NAS research study findings, additional educational and awareness activities may be continued in FY 2004.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Two kits with developmentally appropriate information aimed at children and adolescents to educate them about predators on the Internet and where to turn for help. A separate kit for educators and youth service providers would educate them about the role they can play in fighting Internet crime directed at children and adolescents and resources to aid their efforts.
Performance Measure(s): Number of age appropriate kits requested and disseminated.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Program Training and Technical Assistance
Name of Grantee/Recipient: The National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards (NACVCB) and the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA)
Problem Statement: State agencies are tasked with administering nearly $1 billion in federal VOCA funds at any given time. Multiyear funding, rapidly increasing funding amounts, and the changing landscape of victims’ rights and services necessitates a wide range of training and technical assistance to aid states in identifying unserved and underserved victim populations, to improve the distribution and management of federal funds, and to monitor and measure program performance and service delivery quality.
Funding:
FY 2002: $275,000
FY 2003: $400,000
FY 2004: $125,000
Objective: To develop administrative tools to assist OVC and state and territory VOCA administrators manage VOCA formula grants.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: State and territorial VOCA crime victim compensation and assistance administrators.
Project Description: This project will support separate and joint conferences of the NACVCB and the NAVAA; development of new administrator orientation programs; creation of new data elements and outcome measures for subgrant award and performance reporting; development of subgrantee monitoring protocols; update of the Mass Casualty Protocol; and provide technical assistance on state strategic planning.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Three conferences; two orientation packages; new subgrant and performance reporting instruments; subgrantee monitoring protocols; updated Mass Casualty Protocol; up to six states receiving technical assistance on strategic planning.
Performance Measure(s): Conferences with 85 percent good and higher ratings on satisfaction surveys and number of new state administrators receiving training.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Victim-Related Training Video Development
Name of Grantee/Recipient: IMO Productions
Problem Statement: OVC will develop new training and informational videos and/or update existing videos to provide practical, cutting-edge informational videos for the field and other allied professionals serving crime victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $500,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To support the development of cutting-edge training videos for victim service providers, victim advocates, and allied professionals.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Allied practitioners and volunteers in community-based crime victim assistance agencies and organizations, line-duty law enforcement officers, state VOCA administrators, and OVC staff.
Project Description: This project will develop new training videos that will focus on different victim-related issues, including a comprehensive victims of violent crime video taking the victim step-by-step through the criminal justice system after a violent crime. Other videos developed would be used to train the VOCA administrators and their staff and would include program overviews, processes, and procedures. Drafts of the videos will be developed and issues and topics will, in part, be identified from those in the field working to serve crime victims.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): At least three new and/or updated videos will be developed for training purposes. DVDs and other cutting-edge technology will be used where possible.
Performance Measure(s): Number of persons trained from grassroots community-based organizations and allied federal, state, and local professionals serving crime victims.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Services, Training, and Technical Assistance To Support U.S. Citizens Victimized Abroad
Name of Grantee/Recipient: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Overseas Citizen Services
Problem Statement: U.S. citizens who become victims of crime abroad require assistance and services that may not be accessible through a state/local victim assistance program (e.g., liaison to U.S. Embassy/Consulate office, advocacy with foreign government, etc.).
Funding:
FY 2002: $118,000
FY 2003: $116,000
FY 2004: $118,000
Objective: To fund services provided to U.S. citizens victimized abroad.
Victim Focus: U.S. citizens victimized abroad
Practitioner Focus: Victim advocate at U.S. Department of State
Project Description: OVC will provide funding to the State Department to improve the quality and coordination of services provided to U.S. citizens victimized abroad. This funding will be used to train consular officials assigned abroad. Funding will also be used to have direct service staff and to support the delivery of services.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Enhanced services provided to U.S. citizens victimized abroad.
Performance Measure(s): Number of victims served and number of consular officials trained.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Promising Practices on Serving U.S. Citizens Victimized Abroad
Name of Grantee/Recipient: OVC TTAC
Problem Statement: The State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Overseas Citizens Services, estimates that the number of Americans who travel, study, work, and reside abroad is more than 3 million. According to the Departments of Commerce and Transportation travel and tourism statistics, more than 60 million Americans travel abroad each year. The Department of Education estimates that approximately 114,000 U.S. students study abroad each year. Though most Americans abroad do not become victims of crime, there is a significant number who do and they return to their city/state in the U.S. in need of assistance. State and local victim service providers often lack the knowledge, skills, or resources to respond to U.S. residents victimized abroad once they return to the United States.
Funding:
FY 2002: $50,000
FY 2003: $25,000
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To educate service providers at the state/local level on how to better respond to citizens victimized abroad.
Victim Focus: Victims of crime abroad; transnational crimes (trafficking, torture, etc.)
Practitioner Focus: Victim service providers at the state/local levels
Project Description: Development of a publication and/or training program (e.g., 3 hour workshop) for local victim service providers who come into contact with U.S. citizens who have been victimized abroad or lost a loved one to homicide or other crimes abroad and have returned to the United States. The goal of the project would be to give U.S. service providers the tools they need to assist victims with accessing foreign criminal justice systems, compensation programs, etc., through the proper channels.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Development of a handbook and delivery of training and technical assistance to state and local victim service providers.
Performance Measure(s): Number of practitioners receiving the handbook and/or attending the workshop.
Evaluation: Internal, by TTAC.
Project Name: Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Accessible to federal, state, and local governments and private, nonprofit organizations in the aftermath of an act of terrorism/mass violence
Problem Statement: The threat of terrorism and criminal mass violence against American citizens in the U.S. and abroad has increased in recent years. Such acts leave victims with serious physical and emotional wounds and challenge government officials and communities to respond immediately with appropriate effort. Victim assistance and compensation providers face the daunting task of coordinating effective and timely responses, providing information and assistance to victims, and working closely with other agencies and victim service organizations.
Funding:
FY 2002: $17 million
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide resources for an effective, comprehensive response to victims of terrorism/mass violence.
Victim Focus: Terrorism and mass violence victims
Practitioner Focus: Victim advocates, mental health professionals, state crime victim compensation representatives, law enforcement, etc.
Project Description: Develop and manage a program for providing funding to various government/nongovernmental and community agencies to coordinate and provide services to victims in the aftermath of terrorism and mass violence crimes. Amounts to be determined on a case-by-case basis, up to available amount.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): An effective, comprehensive response to victims of terrorism/mass violence by state victim assistance and compensation programs, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, victim service and nongovernmental agencies, and federal, state, and local governments.
Performance Measure(s): Number and types of agencies requesting assistance and number of victims served.
Evaluation: Internal, by OVC.
Project Name: VAIC Training and Technical Assistance Program
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: The Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) discretionary grant program presently supports 28 victim assistance programs in Indian Country. These programs need intensive training and technical assistance to help them develop, maintain, and sustain their programs. In addition, they require close monitoring to ensure that reported progress and financial expenditures are being accurately reported and to identify problems and issues that need to be resolved. In FY 2002, eight programs have completed their 3-year funding cycle and will need intensive assistance in developing plans to sustain the organization once OVC funding is no longer available. In FY 2003, 20 additional programs will have completed their 3-year funding cycle and will need training and technical assistance to develop sustainability and improve the quality of services provided to victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $350,000
FY 2003: $350,000
FY 2004: $350,000
Objective: To provide high-quality, intensive training and technical assistance to the VAIC programs to help develop, enhance, and sustain the program which will ultimately improve services and assistance to American Indian victims of crime under federal jurisdiction.
Victim Focus: American Indian victims of crime under federal criminal jurisdiction.
Practitioner Focus: VAIC program staff (American Indian victim assistance staff)
Project Description: OVC funding would support a training and technical assistance provider for the VAIC program. The grantee would be expected to provide extensive training and technical assistance to the reservation-based VAIC victim assistance programs through training conferences, regional trainings, site visits, and mentoring meetings. The scope of this project is expected to include assistance with monitoring the VAIC programs and providing technical assistance on the long-term sustainability of programs. FY 2002 would be a competitive solicitation to select the grantee with FY 2003 and FY 2004 as continuation years.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Training and technical assistance, monitoring, a VAIC post awards conference, and coordination of mentoring visits between programs.
Performance Measure(s): Number of the VAIC program staff trained and mentored, number of training and technical assistance requests serviced, number of monitoring visits made, and number of training modules developed.
Evaluation: No.
Project Name: Sexual Assault Training in Indian Country
Name of Grantee/Recipient: TTAC consultants
Problem Statement: American Indian women suffer a very high rate of sexual assault and child sexual abuse is a documented problem in American Indian communities. According to a BJS study on crime in Indian Country, American Indians have the highest rate of rape and sexual assault of any of the demographic groups. Seven out of every 1,000 American Indians are victimized by rape or sexual assault compared with 2 out of 1,000 for all other races. Many U.S. communities have adopted the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)/Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) model for responding to victims and for providing sensitive medical forensic care. Advocates who work with sexual assault victims in Indian Country do not have access to evidence-based training that incorporates key elements of traditional culture as well as the SANE/SART model in responding to victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $100,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To adapt the OVC-funded Sexual Assault Counselor Advocate Training for use in American Indian communities.
Victim Focus: American Indian victims of rape and sexual assault.
Practitioner Focus: American Indian victim assistance programs and IHS medical staff.
Project Description: This project would take the Sexual Assault Counselor Advocate Training currently being piloted by the Sexual Assault Resource Service and adapt it for training advocates and other first responders to victims of sexual assault in Indian communities. This curriculum, which is an evidence-based curriculum, includes key information on the SANE/SART model and the important role that advocates play as part of a SART. The curriculum will be modified based on input from American Indian advocates to incorporate traditional cultural and spiritual elements, pilot tested in several Indian communities, and revised on feedback from the testing. In FY 2002, TTAC would convene a group of American Indian sexual assault advocates to adapt the advocate training to American Indian communities and to pilot test it in one American Indian community under an existing OVC grant Building Skills for Sexual Assault Responders. In FY 2003, this curriculum would be pilot tested in three to five more American Indian communities. After final revision, the curriculum will be disseminated in American Indian communities.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Development and dissemination of a culturally competent curriculum and delivery of training and technical assistance
Performance Measure(s): Number of Indian communities receiving advocate training and the number of Indian communities requesting technical assistance on the implementation of a coordinated community response to sexual assault victims.
Evaluation: Internal, by TTAC.
Project Name: Urban High Crime Neighborhood Initiative
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive
Problem Statement: Some neighborhoods in urban areas experience substantially higher rates of crime such as homicide, robbery, and assault than other urban, suburban, and rural communities, yet services for crime victims in these areas may be inadequate or located outside of the neighborhood, making them inaccessible to many victims. At the same time, these neighborhoods are also struggling with social ills such as poverty, low academic achievement, and high unemployment, and services to victims may not have received adequate attention and funding, particularly when state and local funding decisions are not driven by criminal victimization statistics.
Funding:
FY 2002: $300,000
FY 2003: $750,000
FY 2004: $750,000
FY 2005: $500,000
Objective: To create collaborative models for grassroots, community service, and victim assistance organizations to join together in high-crime, urban settings that will improve the range, quality, and accessibility of services to crime victims.
Victim Focus: Victims in high-crime urban neighborhoods
Practitioner Focus: Victim service providers and community leaders in high-crime urban neighborhoods
Project Description: OVC will fund a victim assistance organization or public agency in five high-crime urban neighborhoods to develop promising practices and collaborative networks to improve victim access to needed services and interventions. These model networks or partnerships should build on existing resources, identify critical gaps in services, and develop collaborative, innovative solutions that improve the criminal justice response to victims and enhance victim services. To assist in institutionalizing these improved responses and services to victims, OVC, through TTAC, will provide ongoing technical assistance to the grantee and its community partners to: (1) conduct a needs assessment that identifies gaps in needed services and interventions and existing resources; (2) develop a plan for addressing these gaps in service delivery that builds on collaboration among local resources such as grassroots organizations, law enforcement, public housing, health, the faith community, social services, parks and recreation programs, and community centers; (3) sustain the project after OVC funding ends by focusing on strengthening organizational capacity, fund-raising capability, and program evaluation activities; and (4) work with the grantee organization to develop and execute a project evaluation, culminating in a final progress report to OVC that outlines the strategies and practices that were effective.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): The first year deliverables are a completed needs assessment and a comprehensive plan to improve the criminal justice and victim assistance response to crime victims in the neighborhood. Deliverables during the second and third years are progress reports that address implementation of and adjustments to the plan; services and interventions for crime victims that are added or improved; number of victims served; and an assessment of expanded collaboration among service providers. The final report will summarize the success of the project, including core principles and practices that were effective in increasing collaboration among community service providers, and lessons learned.
Performance Measure(s): Number of grantees that establish viable victim networks, number of victims served, establishment of an advisory committee, completion of the needs assessment, and development of a preliminary plan for each site.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: Victim Services 2000
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services
Problem Statement: Despite the increase in rights and services for crime victims in the last two decades, many victims still must struggle to discover what rights they have, what services and other resources are available to them, and how to access those services and resources, as victim services are often fragmented or unavailable in the victim’s community. In rural areas, additional obstacles affect the availability, timeliness, and quality of services for victims. These barriers include long distances, geographical isolation, limited funding and resources, and a lack of information about victimization coupled with social attitudes that may discourage victims from seeking the help they need. In many rural areas, the safety net for victims depends on timely communication, resource sharing, and close collaboration among service providers. Victim service agencies in rural areas need information and models for developing effective and comprehensive responses to victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $300,000
FY 2003: $200,000
FY 2004: Transfer to TTAC
Objective: To create collaborative models for rural communities to improve the range, quality, and accessibility of services for crime victims.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Victim advocates, criminal justice system practitioners, allied practitioners
Project Description: During FY 2002, OVC will support the fourth year of a 5-year demonstration project that is developing integrated victim service systems to ensure that victims receive a continuum of coordinated, accessible services to meet their needs. In this year of the project, the grantee will support the Vermont Victim/Survivor of Crime Council to facilitate information sharing between and support for victims and survivors; deliver training at the Vermont Victim Assistance Academy on victims telling their stories; reach out to underserved populations to improve services, particularly for victims with disabilities; conduct public education on victims’ issues and victim assistance resources; continue meetings of the VS2000 Advisory Group (a consortium of 38 organizations); and evaluate victim/survivor satisfaction with the Crime Council.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Four OVC bulletins outlining the evolution and implementation of specific aspects of their service delivery model. Site-specific technical assistance will be available to jurisdictions interested in replicating aspects of the VS2000 model through OVC TTAC in FY 2004 and beyond.
Performance Measure(s): Number of publications for victims and victim assistance programs, needs assessment and plan for addressing victim needs in an isolated, rural county in northeastern Vermont, and a training curriculum.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: 2002 National Crimes Against Children Conference
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
Problem Statement: Research indicates that each year close to 1 million children are victims of abuse and neglect, and as many as 10 million children are witnesses to violence in their homes and communities. Research also indicates that the rate of crime against children is two to three times higher than crimes against adults. Because of their age, size, and dependency, children are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. At the same time, a national survey of prosecutors found that of all cases child abuse and adult sexual assault cases require the most time and resources. While some adults have a natural ability to relate comfortably and effectively to children, many do not; however, with training and guidance, most professionals can develop skills that enhance their ability to work with young victims and witnesses.
Funding:
FY 2002: $25,000
Objective: To educate front-line personnel charged with investigating, prosecuting, and treating child victims of abuse and neglect about special factors in serving this vulnerable victim population. These special considerations include child development and cognitive ability, the impact of victimization and trauma on child victims, and the value of a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to addressing child victimization.
Victim Focus: Child abuse and neglect victims and children otherwise exposed to violence
Practitioner Focus: Law enforcement, prosecutors, social workers, mental health and medical professionals
Project Description: This project supports multidisciplinary and victim-sensitive training for criminal justice and related professionals engaged in the detection, investigation, prosecution, and victim advocacy functions of child physical and sexual abuse, child fatality, and child neglect cases.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Three-day national training conference with an overall emphasis on multidisciplinary and victim-sensitive approaches to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse, including several victim-focused workshops.
Performance Measure(s): Number of appropriately trained criminal justice professionals to promote effective and victim-sensitive responses to victims of child abuse and neglect.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Victims of Trafficking Service Coordination Project
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Coalition To Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST)
Problem Statement: This grant has three components. Problem for first component: There is a dearth of information and training available for victim service professionals and law enforcement on trafficking in persons to the United States. The lack of training results in less effective services being provided to victims when cases are detected. Problem for second component: Trafficking victims do not understand the legal process and are often not aware of resources they may be able to access. Problem for third component: Despite the intensive service needs of trafficking victims, they often face greater obstacles (e.g., language barriers) to getting needed services.
Funding:
FY 2002: $75,000
Objective: To support CAST in delivering direct services to trafficking victims and training to trafficking victim service providers and law enforcement.
Victim Focus: Victims of trafficking in persons.
Practitioner Focus: Law enforcement and trafficking victim service personnel.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Ten training sessions, at least 100 law enforcement and victim service professionals trained, educating 35 victims about the criminal legal system and providing a range of services as needed, coordinating a task force meeting and providing client education sessions, coordination with and referral to law enforcement, HHS, Labor, INS, and BOP, intensive case management of 25 victims of trafficking resulting in clients progressing from homelessness to having shelter, food, and basic health care.
Project Description: CAST is one of a few victim service organizations in the United States dedicated to providing direct services to victims of trafficking in persons. OVC supports this program which includes funding for training, advocacy and case management of victims of trafficking.
Performance Measures: Number of persons trained, types and number of services provided, and number of victims served.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Determining Legal Interventions, Policies, and Services To Assist Adult Survivors of Childhood Maltreatment: A National Needs Assessment and Planning Grant
Name of Grantee/Recipient: University of Iowa
Funding:
FY 2002: $150,000
FY 2003: TBD
Objective: To examine and describe the unmet needs of adult survivors of childhood maltreatment and to recommend more comprehensive policy and practice initiatives to meet these needs.
Problem Statement: Research shows that adults who were abused as children by family members experience long-term consequences, including greater risk for developing depression and posttraumatic stress disorder and of being victimized or perpetrating violent crimes. Although the long-term impact of child maltreatment on adults is increasingly clear, the development of interventions and public policies to help this group lags far behind.
Victim Focus: Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and maltreatment
Practitioner Focus: Policymakers and funders, victim advocates
Project Description: In the first year of this project, the grantee conducted a literature search and a survey of service providers to determine what relevant research exists on the needs of adult survivors and what services are available to them. The grantee held two focus groups that examined this collected information to further inform its usefulness. This 2nd and final year of funding will support two focus groups where recommendations for additional research, interventions, and services will be made. A report encompassing the research, survey, and the recommendations will be generated. In FY 2003, OVC will review the findings and disseminate information to target audiences.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): A final report on the research, survey findings, and recommendations
Performance Measure(s): Recommendations to OVC and the victims’ field.
Evaluation: No.
Project Name: Interagency Collaborations To Address Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment: The Greenbook Technical Assistance Project
Name of Grantee/Recipient: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) in partnership with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF)
Problem Statement: Historically, most communities have treated the abuse of women and the maltreatment of children as two separate events having little to do with each other. Services for battered women and those for abused and neglected children have been and largely continue to be delivered from separate arenas, with distinct historical frameworks and primary constituencies. Communities now are being asked to confront a new and compelling set of facts: (1) adult domestic violence and child maltreatment often occur together; and (2) new responses are required at primary points of intervention to ensure the safety and well-being of battered mothers and their children. In a national survey of more than 6,000 American families, researchers found that 50 percent of men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children.
Funding:
FY 2002: $300,000
Objective: To provide technical assistance to six demonstration sites funded under an interagency initiative of the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement the recommended guidelines in Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice (Greenbook)
Victim Focus: Victims of domestic violence and children who are victims of, or witness, family violence
Practitioner Focus: Child protective services workers and domestic violence victim advocates
Project Description: This is the final year of a 3-year multi-agency project on implementation of the Greenbook. OVC funding supported technical assistance to the six pilot sites funded by a partnership of eight federal offices within DOJ and HHS. The technical assistance partnership (NCJFCJ, APHSA, and FVPF) will (1) establish and maintain a technical assistance structure; (2) coordinate technical assistance and consulting services; (3) provide linkages among national partners, demonstration sites, and other Greenbook efforts; (4) assess needs and develop/refine a plan of action; and (5) host all-sites conferences.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Technical assistance provided to six demonstration sites
Performance Measure(s): Number of technical assistance requests handled.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: INS Victim Service Project
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
Problem Statement: The INS deals with victims every day. Most significantly, INS often holds convicted offenders from the state and federal systems in custody pending removal or deportation proceedings. In addition, in the area of trafficking, the INS has contact with many victims who entered the country illegally and are seeking visas. A process needs to be established when victims are notified by the INS of the release or deportation of offenders so victims are protected.
Funding:
FY 2002: $119,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
Objective: To maintain a notification program so that the INS can notify victims about any release or deportation of offenders from INS custody and to train INS personnel on victims’ rights and services.
Victim Focus: Victims whose perpetrators are in INS custody and victims who come into contact with the INS in their pursuit of visas or as part of an investigation.
Practitioner Focus: INS personnel who come into contact with crime victims.
Project Description: OVC funding would support efforts to maintain the victim notification program and train INS staff on victims’ rights and services.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Direct notification service for victims whose offender is being held by INS.
Performance Measure(s): Development of functioning victim notification program, number of victims served, and number of INS personnel trained.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) Discretionary Grant Program
Name of Grantee/Recipient: 21 tribal programs in the 2nd and 3rd year of their grant cycle
Problem Statement: The high rate of crime in Indian Country reflected in numerous recent studies demonstrates the need for victim assistance programs in Indian Country to help victims cope with and heal from crime. Many reservations are impoverished, isolated, and lack any victim assistance services. VAIC programs frequently are the only source of victim services on the reservation. OVC has made discretionary funding available for tribal-based programs on reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction.
Funding:
FY 2002: $1,304,285
FY 2003: $2,000,000
FY 2004: $2,000,000
FY 2005: $2,000,000
Objective: To develop high-quality, sustainable, victim assistance programs on all reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction.
Victim Focus: All victims of crime on reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction.
Practitioner Focus: Victim assistance programs on reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction.
Project Description: OVC funds the VAIC discretionary grant program to support the development of high-quality, sustainable victim assistance programs on Indian reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction. FY 2002 funds will support the 3rd year (and 2nd year for one program) funding for 21 reservation-based programs. OVC will also provide “transition” funding to eight existing VAIC programs that have completed their 3rd year of funding, but have been unable to secure funding to sustain their programs; funding for these programs will be at 50 percent of the previous year funding amount.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): FY 2002: High-quality, sustainable victim assistance programs on the 21 reservations receiving existing VAIC grants. FY 2003 and beyond: The development of additional reservation-based victim assistance programs on reservations with federal criminal jurisdiction.
Performance Measure(s): Number of victims served, range of services provided, and the number of staff.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities
Name of Grantee/Recipient: 2 grantees in their first year, 12 grantees in their 2nd year, 5 in their 3rd year, and 1 in its 4th year.
Problem Statement: Numerous studies have documented significant incidents of child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse among American Indian children. Congress created the Children’s Justice Act (CJA) grant program and apportioned 15 percent of the funding available for American Indian programs. The program is intended to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases and to minimize the trauma to child abuse victims as they participate in the criminal justice system. Many Indian tribes have many incidents of child abuse but do not have laws, programs, or services to investigate and prosecute cases and assist victims. The needs of these vulnerable victims have been ignored in the past and have only recently received recognition.
Funding:
FY 2002: $1,721,500
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To establish rights and services for American Indian child abuse victims and to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases, particularly child sexual abuse cases.
Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse victims
Practitioner Focus: Child abuse victim service providers, law enforcement, and prosecutors handling American Indian child abuse cases.
Project Description: The CJA grant program provides funds directly to tribes and nonprofit tribal agencies to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse, particularly cases of child sexual abuse. Funding is provided for a 3-year period with goals for each of the years. At the conclusion of the 3-year funding, the tribe should have in place a criminal code that addresses child abuse, a training curriculum for investigators and prosecutors of child abuse cases, a multidisciplinary protocol for conducting child abuse investigations and prosecutions, and a service delivery plan for child abuse victims. In FY 2002, one tribe that has finished its 3 year grant cycle is receiving 50 percent funding for a fourth year to encourage its program’s sustainability.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Functioning child abuse victims assistance
programs at the tribal level.
Performance Measure(s): Number of child abuse victims identified;
number of child abuse prosecutions at tribal, state, and federal levels;
increased scope of services provided to American Indian child abuse victims.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Children’s Advocacy Centers in Indian Country
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Western Regional Child Advocacy Center and National Children’s Alliance
Problem Statement: There is a serious child abuse victimization problem in Indian Country. Services to assist American Indian child abuse victims are scarce in Indian Country. Challenges to providing support for American Indian child abuse victims include remoteness of Indian Country to existing services and cultural issues in using services that are not designed for American Indian children. Children’s Advocacy Centers are increasingly being established in urban areas to assist child abuse victims in recovering from the abuse and in participating in the criminal justice process. There are very few Children’s Advocacy Centers in Indian Country.
Funding:
FY 2002: $250,000
FY 2003: $200,000
FY 2004: $200,000
Objective: To increase the number of American Indian child abuse victims that have access to a Children’s Advocacy Center.
Victim Focus: American Indian victims of child abuse.
Practitioner Focus: Multidisciplinary agencies that work with and assist child abuse victims.
Project Description: OVC will fund three new Children Advocacy Center’s on American Indian reservations. The funding will be used for program development, training and technical assistance, and cross-mentoring.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Three new Children’s Advocacy Centers in Indian Country and training and technical assistance to existing Children’s Advocacy Centers in Indian Country.
Performance Measure(s): Establishment of three functioning Children’s Advocacy Centers on American Indian Reservations, number of child victims that have access to expanded services through CACs, and number of child abuse prosecutions that occur because of better evidence gathering techniques at the CACs.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: VOCA/VAIC Working Group
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Professional and Scientific Associates
Problem Statement: Although crime is a serious problem in Indian Country, which has been documented in the BJS report on crime in Indian Country, there is a lack of victim services in Indian Country and there are unique challenges in providing victim assistance in Indian Country. In the past, tribal victim assistance programs and state VOCA programs have had issues with providing services in Indian Country and there have been complaints on both sides about the handling of funding, compensation, and services. Tribes have stated that Indian victims do not receive appropriate amounts of compensation from state programs and do not receive proportionate amounts of VOCA funding for their victim assistance programs. States have had problems getting paperwork from tribes and dealing with changing tribal governments. Accordingly, there is a need for state VOCA administrators and Indian tribal victim assistance program administrators to better communicate and coordinate.
Funding:
FY 2002: $100,000
FY 2003: $100,000
Objective: To improve the coordination between state VOCA administrators and American Indian victim assistance program managers and to obtain information about victim assistance in Indian Country to guide OVC program decisions.
Victim Focus: American Indian victims of crime both on and off a reservation.
Practitioner Focus: State VOCA victim compensation and assistance professionals and victim assistance professionals who assist American Indian victims of crime.
Project Description: OVC will provide funding to support the continuation of collaborative efforts between American Indian grantees and state VOCA victim assistance grantees through a series of three working group meetings. Attendees at the meetings will be state VOCA administrators and VAIC program managers. One of the three meetings will be scheduled to coincide with the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) national meeting. The working group will offer advice and information to OVC about the following issues: 1) identification of American Indian consultants for the TTAC database; 2) identification of American Indian organizations that have the capacity to deliver training and technical assistance in Indian Country; 3) input about the BIA Regional Victim Assistance Coordinator concept/solicitation; 4) input regarding the Nevada Urban Indians Program; 5) input regarding the American Indian Victim Assistance Academy, i.e., link to an American Indian College/University, possible grantee organization, training needs (link to needs assessment), etc.; 6) needs assessment in Indian Country; 7) input regarding support for CACs in Indian Country using CASA model; 8) transitioning CJA/VAIC programs to other funding sources after OVC funding ends; 9) survey of victims in Indian Country, i.e., identification of victims, format for face-to-face meetings, conducting a written survey, etc.; and 10) continuing discussions from earlier meetings concerning: increasing American Indian representation on decisionmaking boards, increasing availability of compensation to American Indian victims, improving relationship between VOCA and American Indian programs, and improving the reporting and paperwork submission from American Indian programs.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Three meetings between VOCA administrators and VAIC program staff to discuss problem areas in working together to assist American Indian crime victims.
Performance Measure(s): Number of American Indians represented on state VOCA victim assistance committees and number of tribes that apply for VOCA subgrants.
Evaluation: Internal, by OVC.
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Corrections Program Office Intra-agency Agreement
Problem Statement: Many tribes, including the three CIRCLE tribes, lack the capability and appropriate resources to comprehensively fight crime, violence, and substance abuse. The presence of serious violent crime and existing insufficient tribal infrastructures make it difficult for most tribal communities to address local problems in a comprehensive way. This program will support tribal efforts to enhance the safety and protection of Native American Indian communities through the development and implementation of crime prevention strategies, victim services, improved community policing services, criminal investigation, enhanced prosecution, and tribal court systems improvement to include improved documentation of active cases, code revision, probation services, and alternative sentencing programs.
Funding:
FY 2002: $90,000
Objective: To provide funding from various OJP funding streams to help three Indian tribes improve their criminal justice systems.
Victim Focus: Victims of crime on the Zuni Pueblo, Oglala Sioux, and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations.
Practitioner Focus: Victim assistance programs at the three reservations
Project Description: OVC will transfer funds to support the continuing cost of cluster group meetings and a participatory evaluation of CIRCLE programs.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Two cluster meetings and an evaluation of the program’s success.
Performance Measure(s): Establishment of a victim service program on each reservation and the number of victims served and types of services provided.
Evaluation: External, independent.
Project Name: Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Indian Country
Name of Grantee/Recipient: National Court Appointed Special Advocate, Inc.
Problem Statement: Child abuse victims are sometimes involved with several different court systems to resolve the child’s status. Systems can include the tribal, state, and federal criminal justice systems, and the tribal abuse and neglect system. Children involved in these systems need an advocate who will look out for their interests. The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program is a successful organization that trains volunteers to act as advocates in court for child abuse victims. There are very few CASA programs in Indian Country.
Funding:
FY 2002: $205,000
FY 2003: $205,000
FY 2004: $205,000
Objective: To encourage the development of five new CASA programs on Indian reservations and to provide technical assistance to existing Indian CASA programs.
Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse and neglect victims.
Practitioner Focus: CASA program personnel
Project Description: OVC would provide funding to the national CASA program to support their training and technical assistance to American Indian CASA programs. In addition, the funding would support the development of five new tribal CASA programs.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Delivery of training and technical assistance and the establishment of five new American Indian CASA programs.
Performance Measure(s): Establishment of five new tribal CASA programs, number of tribal CASA programs, and number of American Indian child abuse victims assisted by CASA programs.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Children’s Justice Act Training and Technical Assistance
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Problem Statement: The CJA grant program encompasses about 30 tribal-based child abuse initiatives. These programs need intensive training and technical assistance to develop into functioning, sustainable programs. The programs also need intensive monitoring to help maintain appropriate task timelines.
Funding:
FY 2002: $300,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide intensive training and technical assistance and monitoring to CJA grantees to achieve CJA program goals.
Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse victims.
Practitioner Focus: CJA grantees, service providers, and other allied professionals.
Project Description: OVC funding will support the third year of a 3-year grant period to provide training and technical assistance to the CJA programs. The provider will assist the grantees in meeting the objectives of their grant programs and in improving the handling of child abuse cases in Indian Country.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Training and technical assistance to CJA grantees to include monitoring visits, onsite mentoring, regional training conferences, and other support as needed.
Performance Measure(s): Number of sustainable CJA programs that exist after the CJA 3-year funding cycle has ended, number of American Indian child abuse victims identified and assisted, number of trainings provided, and number of technical assistance, mentoring, and monitoring visits completed.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: IHS Child Protection Team and Forensic Training and Equipment
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Indian Health Service (IHS)
Problem Statement: The Indian Health Service provides much of the medical and mental health assistance to American Indian child abuse victims through Child Protection Teams (CPT). Those teams are in need of comprehensive and practical training on developing strategies to address child abuse issues, appropriate child protection protocols, and forensic examinations and interviews. IHS medical staff perform many of the forensic physical examinations of American Indian child abuse victims. IHS does not have adequate equipment to perform the medical examinations and staff is not adequately trained on the proper use of the equipment.
Funding:
FY 2002: $250,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide state-of-the-art training to IHS medical and CPT staff on strategies to protect child abuse victims and gather evidence for child abuse prosecutions.
Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse victims, particularly child sexual abuse.
Practitioner Focus: IHS CPT and medical staff.
Project Description: This funding will support the final two regional trainings of IHS CPT staff on effective strategies to protect American Indian child abuse victims. After these trainings, all 12 IHS area regions will have received CPT training. Funding would also support the purchase of equipment to conduct forensic physical examinations of child abuse victims at IHS facilities that lack such equipment and training for IHS staff on the operation of the equipment.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Two regional seminars on CPT training. Specialized medical/camera equipment and computer hardware/software and advanced level training for 10 to 15 pediatricians and/or nurse practitioners.
Performance Measure(s): Number of IHS staff trained, types and number of pieces of equipment purchased, number of CPT teams established, number of American Indian child abuse victims helped by CPTs and examined using the purchased equipment.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: United States Customs Service Training Initiative
Name of Grantee/Recipient: United States Customs Service
Problem Statement: As a federal law enforcement agency, the United States Customs Service is mandated by law to provide certain direct services to victims of federal crime under its investigative jurisdiction, including victims of child pornography, human smuggling, and drug trafficking. The Customs Service seeks to ensure that these services are routinely provided and that crime victims are treated with dignity and respect by Customs Service employees who come into contact with crime victims. The Customs Service has successfully provided training to all of its Office of Investigations Special Agents and is seeking to complete full agency training for all of its enforcement personnel that come into direct contact with victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $40,000
Objective: To train United States Customs Service personnel on victims’ rights and services.
Victim Focus: Any victim of federal crime under the investigative jurisdiction of the United States Customs Service.
Practitioner Focus: Law enforcement personnel of the United States Customs Service.
Project Description: This project will support specialized, agency-specific training on victims’ rights and services to all Customs Service enforcement personnel who come into contact with victims.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Delivery of agencywide training on victims’ rights and services to United States Customs Service personnel and a report as indicated in the performance measures.
Performance Measure(s): Annual reporting of number of persons trained; number of cases investigated; number of victims identified; number of victims to whom services were provided; type of informational products disseminated; and percentage of victims reporting Customs Service responsiveness to victims’ needs.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Improving Police-Based Services
Name of Grantee/Recipient: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Problem Statement: Law enforcement officers often provide the first response to victims of crime. They are frequently the victim’s only contact with the criminal justice system and are uniquely positioned to provide victims with needed assistance and information following a crime. However, the law enforcement response to victims varies tremendously across the country. Increased training, technical assistance, and resources for law enforcement are critical for the provision of quality, comprehensive, and timely services for victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $300,000
FY 2003: $200,000
FY 2004: Transition into TTAC
Objective: To improve the response of law enforcement agencies to crime victims.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Law enforcement and victim advocates in law enforcement organizations
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Symposium, clearinghouse, provision of technical assistance, semi-annual newsletter, pocket guide, model brochure.
Project Description: This project will provide technical assistance to individual departments and regional groups of departments, enhance outreach efforts, and improve statewide training on victim services. Technical assistance efforts will engage consultants who will use the current curriculum (developed by IACP in Phase II of the project) and will be coordinated by IACP. IACP will enhance its outreach efforts by: (1) analyzing existing victim services programs in law enforcement agencies; (2) creating a clearinghouse of information on existing programs; (3) producing a semi-annual newsletter with updated information on IACP’s survey of victim services programs and other aspects of the IACP project, legislative updates, articles, and tips on grant-writing; (4) creating a publication for police officers on law enforcement’s response to victims, with condensed information and a pocket card; and (5) developing a model brochure on victim services for police officers to give to victims. IACP will focus efforts on improving statewide training for police on victim services, including working with state training boards to promote inclusion of victim services training at police academies. Finally, IACP will convene an annual national symposium on victims’ issues in the D.C. area. In FY 2003, IACP will continue to provide technical assistance and convene a symposium on victims’ issues.
Performance Measure(s): Number of agencies receiving technical assistance on victim assistance issues.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: 2nd National Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Training Conference
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Sexual Assault Resource Service
Problem Statement: There is a need to facilitate a national-scope training opportunity for medical and forensic nursing personnel to join with victim advocates, law enforcement, and prosecutors that focuses on improving their ability to develop and deliver multidisciplinary, coordinated responses to child and adult victims of sexual violence. A training event is needed that brings top national experts together to deliver state-of-the-art training on emerging and ongoing issues, especially around the issue of developing and improving community teams to respond to victims of sexual assault and serve child or male victims of sexual violence.
Funding:
FY 2002: $80,000
FY 2003: $60,000
FY 2004: $80,000
FY 2005: $60,000
Objective: To develop and deliver state-of-the-art training to
SARTs on emerging and ongoing issues in serving victims of sexual assault
and to create a national venue for collaboration and sharing of promising
practices among all the disciplines that typically respond as part of
SARTs.
Victim Focus: Victims of sexual assault and abuse, including children
and males
Practitioner Focus: Victim advocates, law enforcement, forensic medical examiners, and prosecutors
Outcome/Deliverable(s): National training conference to be held in the late spring or early summer 2003
Project Description: This project supports a second national conference to provide state-of-the-art, evidence-based training on sexual assault by national experts to approximately 1,000 practitioners from the fields of medicine, forensic nursing, law enforcement, prosecution, and victim advocacy. The development of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs has revolutionized the medical-forensic response to child and adult victims of sexual assault and has been a driving force behind the proliferation of SARTs. The successful development of these teams has led to new challenges for the field, especially around the roles and boundaries of each team member. This second national conference will focus heavily on team-building and appropriate roles for team members, as well as promising practices in reaching out to sexual assault victims, who are typically the least likely victims to report their victimization to law enforcement. Evaluations of the workshops will be used to identify expert trainers who will then deliver specialized regional training workshops through TTAC. FY 2002 funding will support planning and implementation activities and FY 2003 funding will support conference expenses that are not covered by program income generated from attendee registration fees. FY 2004 and FY 2005 funding will support a third national conference that will be conducted in 2005.
Performance Measure(s): Number of practitioners trained and number of training workshops developed and presented.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: Building Skills for Sexual Assault Responders
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Sexual Assault Resource Service
Problem Statement: While some states have developed standardized training for sexual assault victim advocates, many parts of the country have not done so or their training has not been revised for many years. Many advocate programs provide sound basic advocate training, but do not have more indepth training for experienced advocates. The provision of a national-scope, standardized curriculum that is evidence based and that addresses recent developments, such as the emergence of drug-facilitated sexual assault, DNA evidence, and the use of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) and Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), would allow rape crisis center personnel to devote more time to serving victims directly, as they would not have to spend their time and limited financial resources to develop an appropriate curriculum for training new and more experienced rape crisis counselors.
Funding:
FY 2002: $99,840
FY 2003: Transition into TTAC
FY 2004: Transition into TTAC
FY 2005: Transition into TTAC
Objective: To develop a standardized, evidence-based, national-scope training curriculum for rape crisis center advocates and other first responders to sexual assault victims.
Victim Focus: Victims of sexual assault and abuse
Practitioner Focus: Victim advocates and first responders to victims of sexual assault
Project Description: In the previous 2 years, the grantee surveyed the research relevant to serving victims of sexual assault and developed a training curriculum based on known scientific evidence that supports practice and procedure in responding to victims of sexual assault. The grantee piloted the curriculum in nine regional workshops and revised the curriculum based on pilot testing findings. In this last year of the project, the grantee will provide nine advanced training workshops in sites nationwide, deliver an integrated basic and advanced training curriculum, complete the project evaluation, and provide the evaluation findings to OVC.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Standardized, national-scope training curriculum; 9 workshops
Performance Measure(s): Number of advanced training workshops delivered.
Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.
Project Name: First Response to Victims of Crime: Fourth Edition
Name of Grantee/Recipient: National Sheriffs’ Association
Problem Statement: Law enforcement officers often provide the first response to victims of crime. They are frequently the victim’s sole contact with the criminal justice system and are uniquely positioned to provide victims with needed assistance and information following a crime. However, law enforcement officers typically do not have access to information on different types of victimization and appropriate, effective responses to victims. As a result, there is a need for concise, accurate information to help them interact with victims of many different types of crimes as well as victims with distinct needs due to a disability.
Funding:
FY 2002: $40,000
FY 2003: $200,000
FY 2004: Transition into TTAC
Objective: To develop concise, uncomplicated, and accurate information for line officers to help them better understand and meet the needs of crime victims.
Victim Focus: Victims of child abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, mass violence, drunk driving, and co-victims of homicide, as well as victims with physical and mental disabilities.
Practitioner Focus: Line officers in law enforcement and first responders
Project Description: This project would build on the success of two existing OVC projects with the National Sheriffs’ Association that developed concise handbooks for law enforcement, one focusing on intervening with specific kinds of victims and another that focused on victims with disabilities. This project would consolidate the two handbooks, and expand some information, including how to respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism and how to respond to victims with mobility impairments. In FY 2003, funding would support the development of training to expand the information provided in the handbook.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Handbook and training curriculum
Performance Measure(s): Number of copies requested from the OVCRC.
Evaluation: No.
Project Name: Corrections-Based Victim Services Training
Name of Grantee/Recipient: National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and Corrections Program Office (CPO)
Problem Statement: Corrections-based programs for victim assistance were virtually nonexistent until the 1980s. The corrections community did not view victims as part of their constituency, or inappropriately diverted victims to programs with a primary focus on offender rehabilitation, as opposed to addressing victims’ needs. While victim services in correctional settings now exist in every state, some continue to be offender, not victim, focused. Training is needed for corrections-based victim service providers to improve the quality of services they provide to victims and to ensure that their programs are victim, not offender, focused.
Funding:
FY 2002: $30,000
FY 2003: $30,000
FY 2004: Transition into TTAC
Objective: To train corrections-based victim service providers on the impact of crime on victims, victimization dynamics and corresponding victim needs, and to provide these practitioners the knowledge and skills that will help them shift their focus from the offender to the victim.
Victim Focus: All crime victims
Practitioner Focus: Corrections-based victim service providers
Project Description: This partnership among OVC, NIC, and the CPO will ensure that each State Corrections Victim Services Coordinator receives state-of-the-art training annually on a broad range of victims’ issues and is given timely information on program models and promising practices that can be adapted in his or her state to improve victim services. Training topics in the first year included: fundamental victims’ rights, victim notification, victim restitution, safety planning for victims, outreach to victims, and program evaluation.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Delivery of training on serving victims at an annual conference.
Performance Measure(s): Number of participants trained.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Center for Mental Health Services
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
Problem Statement: There is a lack of training for mental health professionals and victim service providers in responding to the mental health needs of terrorism and mass violence victims.
Funding:
FY 2002: $30,215
FY 2003: $60,000 via OVC TTAC
Objective: To train mental health professionals and victim service providers to adequately respond to the mental health needs of terrorism and mass violence victims.
Victim Focus: Terrorism and mass violence victims
Practitioner Focus: Mental health professionals, victim service providers, social/human service workers, chaplains, and federal agencies.
Project Description: Development of a training guide for mental health providers and victim service providers in responding to the mental health needs of victims of terrorism and mass violence. Training will be made available via TTAC in FY 2003 and beyond.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): A formal training curriculum/manual available for practitioners to understand and respond to the mental health needs of terrorism and mass violence victims.
Performance Measure(s): Number of practitioners who receive the training.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: OVC Victim and Family Assistance Telephone Center for 9/11 Attacks (and future terrorism and mass violence incidents)
Name of Grantee/Recipient: FEI Behavioral Health
Problem Statement: There is a need for OVC to collect and disseminate victim information and provide services to a wide range of victims in the aftermath of a terrorism and/or mass violence incident. The call center would capture the following information from a caller after a terrorism or mass violence event: name, address, telephone number; information on the affected individual, such as name, address, phone, sex, citizenship, marital status, whether or not he/she speaks English or a native language, hair and eye color, height, weight, date of birth or age, clothing description; is the caller a relative, information on next of kin; etc. Services referrals might include medical, mental health, financial, temporary housing, travel, etc. Call center staff might include directors of crisis operations, coordinators and supervisors, licensed counselors with graduate degrees in social work, counseling, family therapy, or psychology. All staff would complete a training program to participate in drills and full disaster simulation to respond immediately upon notification that a terrorism or mass violence event has occurred. The call center would operate 24 hours/7 days a week until the demand for information collection, service, and referrals diminish. At that time, the call center staffing would be cut back but would continue to provide telephone-based crisis support to victims and their families and assessment/referrals.
Funding:
FY 2002: $3,041,159
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To establish a call center for victims of terrorism and/or mass violence.
Victim Focus: Terrorism and mass violence victims
Practitioner Focus: Not applicable
Project Description: Inbound and outbound crisis telephone center to communicate with and provide assistance to victims of the 9/11 attacks (and future terrorism and mass violence incidents). The call center would offer immediate, personalized translation services to communicate with survivors and family members who speak any of more than 140 languages, through Language Line Services. A TDD would be available for communication with persons who are hearing impaired.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Delivery of victim assistance services and referrals.
Performance Measure(s): Number of calls received, types of requests received, and number of referrals provided to victims.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Victim Support for International/Domestic Terrorism and Mass Violence Crimes
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Research Planning, Inc. (RPI)
Problem Statement: Victims of terrorism and mass violence crimes (domestic and abroad) often require a wide range of direct assistance from OVC beginning after the crime through the criminal justice proceedings. Such assistance may include travel/lodging to funerals, memorial services, trials; organization of briefings/meetings; informational mailings; and other direct services.
Funding:
FY 2002: $750,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide direct assistance to victims of terrorism and mass violence.
Victim Focus: Terrorism and mass violence victims
Practitioner Focus: Not applicable
Project Description: The threat of terrorism against Americans worldwide has increased in recent years. OVC is responsible for developing programs and initiatives to help victims of terrorism, mass violence, and crimes that have transnational dimensions. This victim support project is the vehicle to ensure that resources are immediately available to assist these victims from the crisis response stage to posttrial proceedings. Services for this project are based on OVC’s past experience with support for victims and families of the following terrorist attacks: the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; the bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aiden, Yemen, on October 12, 2000; the bombing of two U.S. Embassies in East Africa on August 7, 1998; the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia on June 25, 1996; the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995; the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988; and other terrorism incidents in which OVC has provided support. Assistance to victims and families on behalf of OVC have included travel assistance, meeting/briefing coordination, and other logistical tasks.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): OVC will have a mechanism to provide direct assistance to victims of terrorism and mass violence from the aftermath through the criminal justice proceedings. Deliverables will include: a victim/family member database; organization of and payment for victim travel/lodging; meetings and briefing coordination; maintenance of a toll-free line for travel and other logistical questions; and informational mailings.
Performance Measure(s): Number of victims served, types of services provided, and percentage of victims reporting responsiveness to needs.
Evaluation: No.
Project Name: Remembering 9/11 Victim and Family Assistance Web Site
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Brook Group
Problem Statement: There is a need to provide timely information to a large, widespread population of terrorism and mass violence victims from the aftermath through the criminal justice process. Terrorism and mass violence victims are often from many states and/or countries in different time zones and from different cultures. The purpose of a victim Web site is to provide the families of victims with a centralized information site that they can go to from the incident’s occurrence forward and to provide analysis about any future criminal trials. First and foremost, the Web site would give victims a toll-free number to call with questions or reports of information on their lost loved one. The additional kinds of information provided to victims would include official messages from U.S. Government sources; news clips; press releases; resources such as helpful publications on death notification, coping after terrorism or mass violence, and guides for parents on how to talk with their children in the aftermath of terrorism. Victim benefits, assistance and compensation information (both federal and state) are other resources for victims on the Web site. The Web site would include a glossary of terms and acronyms encountered in disaster response and recovery and frequently asked questions and links to external Web sites (such as other U.S. Government and/or state Web sites for information and resources). In OVC’s experience, a victim Web site is the most cost-effective way to make information available to such a large and diverse group in a very timely manner.
Funding:
FY 2002: $203,067
FY 2003: $200,000
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To have a cost-effective avenue for OVC to provide timely information to a large victim population in the United States and abroad.
Victim Focus: Terrorism and mass violence victims
Practitioner Focus: Not applicable
Project Description: Design and maintain a terrorism victim assistance Web site. The site currently focuses on the 9/11/01 attacks and will also serve as a template for similar future sites.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Web site for victims and family members in the aftermath of terrorism or mass violence crimes.
Performance Measure(s): Number of users or hits.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Abducted Children Reunification Program
Name of Grantee/Recipient: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Problem Statement: Parents whose children are taken illegally across U.S. borders and overseas by a spouse or biological parent often do not have the financial means to travel internationally to attend court proceedings and/or retrieve their children. OVC provides support to the left-behind parent(s) for such services as transportation expenses for travel to attend a court proceeding with his/her child; translation services of necessary documents related to the court hearing and reunification process; counseling support to prepare the parent(s) for the reunification and/or to minimize trauma for the child. In a 7-month period during FY 2001, OVC travel funding assisted in the recovery of 28 children from 14 foreign countries.
Funding:
FY 2002: $100,000
FY 2003: $100,000
FY 2004: $100,000
FY 2005: TBD
Objective: To provide travel, translation, and counseling assistance for parents left behind in international child abduction cases.
Victim Focus: Victims of international parental abduction—the children who are abducted and the parents who are left behind in the United States.
Practitioner Focus: Not applicable
Project Description: Provide assistance to parents whose children are illegally taken across U.S. borders by a spouse or biological parent. Funds to assist with parent/child reunification and return to the United States.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Reunification of parent and child.
Performance Measure(s): Number of children recovered and number of parents receiving services.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center (OVCRC)
Name of Grantee/Recipient: Aspen Systems Corporation
Problem Statement: Over the past decade, OVC has witnessed substantial growth in the victims’ field and an increase in the variety of issues facing crime victims and those who serve them. We have seen an expansion of the roles and responsibilities of allied professionals, a proliferation of research, evaluation, and statistics on the impact of crime, implementation of rights, and delivery of services to crime victims. OVC established its national victims’ clearinghouse in response to a recommendation contained in the 1982 report of the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime which stated that “the Federal Government should establish a federally based resource center for victim and witness assistance.” Authorization and funding for this information dissemination activity, later to become known as OVCRC, is vested in the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, as amended [42 U.S.C. 10603].
Funding:
FY 2002: $2,465,633
FY 2003: $2,710,029
FY 2004: $2,845,530
FY 2005: $2,987,806
Objective: OVCRC was designed to provide information and resources to its customers and work with national, international, state, military, and tribal victim assistance and criminal justice agencies, as well as other professional organizations, to support their efforts in promoting fundamental rights and comprehensive services for all crime victims.
Victim Focus: All crime victims and victim service providers
Practitioner Focus: State, local, federal, and tribal agencies serving victims and victim service providers; private nonprofit victim service organizations; victim advocacy organizations; victims’ rights organizations; and researchers and educators.
Project Description: Last year, OVCRC responded to roughly 19,700 requests/inquiries on a variety of issues related to crime victims at the international, federal, tribal, state, and local levels. OVCRC is committed to making information available to the field which is current, comprehensive, and accessible on a 24-hour basis using the latest technology. The critical components of OVCRC are effective identification, procurement, analysis, marketing, packaging, and distribution of information services, products, and publications. This project has a “built-in” evaluation component based on a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) that sets forth procedures and guidelines for use in evaluating the technical performance of the contractor. Work efforts are evaluated every 6 months by the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) and task monitors with input and assistance from the contractor. Additionally, OVCRC’s user survey component allows OVC to design and implement annual surveys of its users to determine the overall level of customer satisfaction with the service, utility, and products provided.
Outcome/Deliverable(s): Victim-related information collection, abstracting, and databasing; response center operations including search, retrieval, and referral services; networking and conference support; user surveys; document storage and dissemination; print and electronic publication development and support services; marketing and promotion services; and international program support.
Performance Measure(s): Number of overall requests/inquiries from the field, number of OVC publications disseminated and requested, number of requests for the discretionary grant application kits, and number of NCJRS registered users indicating an interest in OVC and victim-related information.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.
Project Name: OVC National Training and Technical Assistance Center
Name of Grantee/Recipient: TBD
Problem Statement: Victim service organizations and agencies have varied levels of skills, organizational capacity, knowledge and technological resources to support consistent delivery of quality services to crime victims, to reach unserved and underserved crime victims and to promote victims issues. While insufficient funds often contribute to these problems, increased skill in management, resource development, and service delivery are not dimensions which increased funds would necessarily ameliorate. As noted in the Report to the Nation 2001, while progress has been made in the past two decades in expanding rights and services for crime victims, new victims have emerged in relation to new technologies and changing environments. For example, victims of cybercrime, trafficking, drug-facilitated sexual assault, fraud aided by electronic technologies, national and international terrorism, domestic mass violence, as well as reduction in age of victims place new demands upon OVC’s training and technical assistance capabilities.
Funding:
FY 2002: $4,065,000
FY 2003: $5,500,000
FY 2004: $6,000,000
FY 2005: $6,000,000
Objective: To improve the quality of service delivery by providing adequate resources, to increase the number of unserved and underserved crime victims, to increase the adaptation of programs determined to represent best program practices, and to broaden the focus and public awareness of crime victims’ issues.
Victim Focus: All crime victims.
Practitioner Focus: Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies serving crime victims; private nonprofit victim service agencies; advocacy organizations that support and promote victims’ rights and services; volunteer agencies who provide support to crime victims; and formula and discretionary recipients of OVC funds.
Project Description: In 1998, OVC established the National Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) for purposes of delivering resources to support cost- effective training and short-term technical assistance to victim assistance programs and other agencies that serve victims. This project will maintain and continue operation of TTAC, with an expansion in the scope of training and technical assistance offered, and increased focus on the benefits to crime victims, volunteers who support crime victim advocacy programs, and organizations and communities serving victims. The training offered is regional, national, and/or site-specific. National Training is offered through implementation of the Annual Training Calendar with predefined dates and locations of scheduled offerings. An Annual Training Resource Guide is issued which identifies and describes available training offerings. A second major resource offered by TTAC to the field is technical assistance designed to increase the capacities of crime victims’ agencies to deliver and sustain effective services to victims. Technical assistance responds to immediate needs through speakers bureau requests, total system planning, and specialized developmental assistance. Both of the latter have typically focused on program development, management, planning, evaluation, and policy/procedural development. While technical assistance may be delivered in phases over an extended period of time, it is for the most part of short-term duration, having as the major objective, developing capability in local/state organizations to meet their own needs through acquisition of new skills or materials. In the interest of increasing the number of soundly developed curricula, training manuals, technical guides, and text materials available to OVC’s target audiences, TTAC supports adaptation of materials in the public domain which are relevant to crime victims target audiences. They will also support development of new or tailor existing training materials to the needs of a particular group of service providers.
Outcome\Deliverable(s): Recurring technical assistance to the field; training for practitioners, volunteers, administrators, and policymakers serving crime victims; adaptation of training and technical assistance materials; resources to support technical assistance in response to mass violence and community disaster; management, tracking, and evaluation of training and technical assistance; peer reviews of OVC publications; needs assessments; marketing of TTAC/OVC’s services; support for implementation of G.I. Bulletin for NOVA administrators; a plan for implementation of the internship/fellowship program provided for in 42 U.S.C. 10603(c)(3); a strategic plan for support of community crime victim agency capacity development; and a plan for a scholarship program for the field to attend OVC-sponsored training.
Performance Measures Indicators: Number of volunteers and practitioners trained from community-based crime victims agencies/organizations and faith-based organizations serving crime victims; number of technical assistance requests received and serviced; number of training courses supported; number of training curricula and other materials adapted for use by victim service organizations; and number of states implementing strategic plans.
Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.