GLOBAL CHALLENGE IV: To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims’ rights and services.

NEW PROGRAMS

Project Name: Promising Practices in Serving Crime Victims with Disabilities

Name of Grantee/Recipient: Competitive

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 cognitive disabilities had been sexually assaulted, and of those assaulted, nearly 50 percent had been sexually assaulted 10 or more times. Recent research by Sullivan and Knutson in1998 found that the relative risk for maltreatment among children with disabilities was three times that of other children. At the same time, many victim assistance agencies report that they rarely serve victims with a disability and many individuals with disabilities report that they are unaware of victim services or that the services are frequently inaccessible and inappropriate to their individualized needs.

Funding:
FY 2002/2003: $850,000
FY 2004: $1,450,000
FY 2005: $950,000

Objective: To identify and promote the use of promising practices and principles in communities through innovative partnerships that will strengthen the ability of victim service practitioners to provide accessible and appropriate services to victims with various disabilities.

Victim Focus: Child and adult victims with disabilities

Practitioner Focus: Victim assistance, criminal justice, and disability service providers

Project Description: This project will competitively select and provide funding to a public agency or private, nonprofit organization to develop and administer a 4-year project that establishes promising practices and models for ensuring that victims with disabilities receive needed services and interventions. In FY 2002/2003, the grantee will competitively select and provide a planning grant of $60,000 to each of 10 sites to develop or significantly enhance their ability to provide comprehensive, accessible services to victims with disabilities. In FY 2004, the subgrantee organizations will receive $120,000 to implement their accessible services initiative and $70,000 in FY 2005. The oversight organization will work closely with OVC to develop criteria for selection of programs or organizations eligible for funding and to develop and disseminate a streamlined application procedure. Each site selected must develop a plan that focuses on collaboration with law enforcement, prosecutors, disability advocates and service providers, system and community-based victim assistance providers, and mental health and healthcare providers. The grantee will be responsible for developing and administering a comprehensive evaluation of the program sites and for 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 dynamics of victimization of individuals with disabilities and appropriate interventions and services, and providing culturally appropriate services to victims with disabilities from ethnic or cultural minority populations. 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 that were successful.

Outcome/Deliverable(s): Final report that will serve as a replication guide for communities

Performance Measure(s): Number of subgrantees that continue to provide comprehensive, accessible victim services after OVC funding ends.

Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.

Project Name: MADD American Indian Outreach

Name of Grantee/Recipient: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) national program

Problem Statement: American Indians have a high rate of alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Very few reservations have any services directly aimed at assisting victim survivors of drunk-driving crashes

Funding:
FY 2002: $95,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD
FY 2005: TBD

Objective: To encourage the development of support programs for DUI crash victims in American Indian communities by distributing informational materials about the Mothers Against Drunk Driving program.

Victim Focus: American Indian victim/survivors of DUI crashes

Practitioner Focus: Victim service providers in Indian Country

Project Description: OVC will make a grant to the national Mothers Against Drunk Driving for the development of a campaign to establish programs to support American Indian victim survivors of DUI/DWI crashes. MADD has an underserved communities outreach effort and this grant would be part of that initiative. In FY 2003, OVC will fund technical assistance and mentoring efforts through TTAC and the VAIC training and technical assistance provider. In FY 2003, OVC will document the experiences with the training program and produce a report.

Outcome/Deliverable(s): A 15-minute video that outlines services to victims, an awareness poster, a brochure on victim services, and a survey report assessing the impact on victim services—all specific to American Indian communities.

Performance Measure(s): Number of American Indian communities that establish DUI/DWI support programs based on the MADD model.

Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.

Project Name: Indian Health Service (IHS) Forensic Psychologist/Interviewer

Name of Grantee/Recipient: Indian Health Service

Problem Statement: The Billings/Rocky Mountain region has approximately 2,000 child abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic violence cases involving children as victims and witnesses in any given year. Since 1990, the Rocky Mountain region has experienced a 25 percent increase in the number of reported child protection referrals, including a 49 percent increase in sexual abuse referrals. In FY 1999, 223 cases were reported. The lack of an experienced child interviewer resulted in victims not being interviewed adequately or in a timely manner. In some instances multiple interviews were conducted, thus revictimizing the victim. The IHS psychologist in this region has broad responsibility for treating all members of the community and undertaking the role of forensic examiner of a child abuse victim could place the psychologist in an ethical dilemma if a client is the alleged perpetrator.

Funding:
FY 2002: $136,000
FY 2003: $116,250
FY 2004: $117,000

Objective: To establish a demonstration project in the Billings/Rocky Mountain region to document ways of improving the number and quality of Indian child abuse prosecutions and to eliminate further trauma to the victim.

Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse victims, particularly child sexual abuse victims.

Practitioner Focus: IHS Child Forensic Interview Specialist

Project Description: This project will provide forensic interviewing for law enforcement and/or child protection teams for severe child physical and sexual abuse victims in the Billings/Rocky Mountain regional area. The specialist would be stationed at the Crow Agency and would also provide technical assistance and training to tribal social service, law enforcement, and other applicable tribal, state, and federal agencies.

Outcome/Deliverable(s): Forensic Interview Specialist for all of the Montana Indian reservations.

Performance Measure(s): Number of child abuse cases investigated and substantiated; number of cases staffed by CPT teams; and number of child abuse cases prosecuted.

Evaluation: Internal, by grantee.

Project Name: Forensic Interviewer/Special Prosecutor

Name of Grantee/Recipient: Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico

Problem Statement: Throughout Indian Country, collection of evidence and prosecution of serious child abuse cases is complex and problematic. Communication and collaboration among tribal, state, and federal agencies is often poor and can jeopardize the successful prosecution of these cases. Successful child sexual abuse prosecutions often rely heavily on the forensic interview with the victim. There are no recognized child forensic interviewers close to the Navajo and Zuni reservations that are currently used by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico (USAO–NM). Thus, American Indian child abuse victims from remote reservations often must travel several hours from their homes for forensic interviews. This puts unnecessary hardship on these victims and can weaken their resolve to follow through with critical steps in evidence collection. In response to the significant violent crime and sexual abuse problem in New Mexico, the USAO–NM increased the number of Indian Country cases prosecuted over the last few years. However, there has been no coordinated response between prosecutors and interviewers to successfully prosecute these cases.

Funding:
FY 2002: $150,000
FY 2003: $150,000

Objective: To establish a demonstration project to document ways to improve the number and outcome of American Indian child abuse prosecutions and to limit additional trauma to victims as they negotiate the investigative and prosecutorial systems.

Victim Focus: American Indian child abuse victims

Practitioner Focus: U.S. Attorney, forensic child interview specialist

Project Description: This pilot project will provide funds to hire a forensic child interview specialist and special prosecutor to serve child abuse victims in New Mexico’s Indian Country. The project will aim to reduce trauma to child victims by providing forensic interview services in their home communities.

Outcome/Deliverable(s): A functioning team that includes the forensic child interview specialist and the prosecutor.

Performance Measure(s): Number of American Indian child abuse cases prosecuted; number of American Indian child abuse cases successfully prosecuted; number of forensic interviews completed; number of trainings provided; number of community workgroup meetings attended; number of multidisciplinary team meetings attended in the Navajo/Zuni area.

Evaluation: Internal, by recipient.

CONTINUATION PROGRAM

Project Name: Blackfeet TRIAD Program

Name of Grantee/Recipient: Blackfeet Child and Family Advocacy Center (TRIAD Program)

Problem Statement: Elder abuse is an under reported crime that has been gaining more widespread attention recently. According to BJS, annually there are 41.9 violent crime victimizations per 1,000 persons over the age 50 for American Indians. This rate compares with 16.6 violent crime victimizations for whites, 15.4 for blacks, and 7.4 for Asians. Thus, there is a serious victimization of elder American Indians in this country.

Funding:
FY 2002: $50,000
FY 2003: TBD
FY 2004: TBD

Objective: To develop a promising practice of providing support and assistance to elderly crime victims in Indian Country.

Victim Focus: Elderly crime victims living in Indian Country

Practitioner Focus: Victim assistance and social services personnel working in Indian Country

Project Description: OVC funding supports the demonstration program of adapting a TRIAD elder abuse program to an Indian Country setting, the Blackfeet reservation. Twenty-five percent of the Blackfeet reservation—about 1,500 persons—is considered elder. There is a very high poverty rate on the reservation and elders are frequently victims of violent crimes such as robbery and assault. OVC has supported the development of this program for 3 years. This year, OVC plans to conduct a TRIAD assessment of the success of this program and work with tribal leaders to find a permanent source of funding to sustain the program. Last year, the Blackfeet provided technical assistance to the Zuni tribe to develop an elder abuse program and this year funding is provided for four mentoring visits to four additional Indian reservations to adapt the TRIAD model.

Outcome/Deliverable(s): Services to victims of elder abuse on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Performance Measure(s): Number of elder abuse victims served and range of services provided.

Evaluation: External, independent.