The Special Projects Division (SPD) is the program development and training and technical assistance arm of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and serves many constituent groups including crime victims and their advocates, the criminal justice system, allied professionals, and the general public. The three interlocking responsibilities of SPD are: 1) to establish and implement a series of national scope training and technical assistance and demonstration programs that are designed to improve the treatment of crime victims; 2) to launch special initiatives that address major issues and needs of the victims field; and 3) to promote public awareness and disseminate information to assist crime victims and those who serve them.
The Discretionary Grant Program Plan and Application Kit is an annual OVC initiative in which SPD develops solicitations for training, technical assistance, and demonstration grant programs that target State and local criminal justice agencies, as well as victim service providers and allied professionals. To accomplish these responsibilities, SPD does the following:
* Manages training programs on topics of interest for victim service providers.
* Targets specific professionals ranging from law enforcement officers to funeral directors in an effort to improve their skills.
* Solicits and supports ideas from the victims' field through its Field Generated National Impact projects.
* Promotes the involvement of new groups of professionals with its Action Partnerships with Professional Organizations.
* Supports a series of promising practices grant projects that produce program descriptions, policies, and approaches for utilizing technology that can be shared from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Victim Services 2000 is a demonstration program administered by SPD that is designed to develop adaptable blueprints for comprehensive, community-based service systems for crime victims. Four sites are developing comprehensive, coordinated services to serve as laboratories and training sites for communities wishing to create victim-centered practices and environments.
Public awareness is promoted by organizing and convening symposia and focus groups addressing special topics. OVC keeps the field informed by responding to the emerging issues and training needs within the victims field. These information-sharing sessions aid OVC in developing action plans on a variety of critical subjects. Further, SPD seeks to bring about institutional change in the way crime victims are treated by working with national criminal justice and victim service organizations and other national and international bodies.
In addition, SPD staff assist in the development of OVC-generated materials designed to aid victims of crime and those who serve them, such as informational bulletins and brochures, promising practices compendia, "how-to" manuals, training videos, and other materials.
More information about the Office for Victims of Crime is available through the following sources:
OVC...........................................202-307-5983
OVC Web Site.................http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
OVC Resource Center...........................800-627-6872
OVC Resource Center Web Site..........http://www.ncjrs.gov
Visit the OVC Web Site
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/
for the latest information on Victims Issues.
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