On Wednesday, October 10, 2012, OVC published new web pages about the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE-SART) Initiative, offering a dedicated area to learn about the purpose, goals, and progress of the Initiative.
Since 2010, when OVC established the AI/AN SANE–SART Initiative, OVC awarded funds to three sites—
The goal of this initiative is to address the comprehensive needs of tribal victims of sexual violence, with the ultimate goal of institutionalizing sustainable and evidence-based practices that meet the needs of tribal communities. Visit the AI/AN SANE-SART weblet to download information about the initiative and grantees or to check on progress. The weblet will offer:
For more information about this project, contact the Initiative Lead, Kathleen Gless, a Victim Justice Program Specialist at the Office for Victims of Crime. You may do so at 202-423-4505 or kathleen.gless@usdoj.gov. (Posted October 11, 2012)
Nearly every state has a statute that establishes who may assert child-victims’ rights in criminal proceedings. These provisions can be categorized as either codifying procedures that enhance a child-victim’s ability to independently participate, or as including language that may pose problems for child-victims’ independent participation.
Read about these statutes and the tips to assist practitioners representing child victims in the legal bulletin Child-Victims’ Independent Participation in the Criminal Justice System (PDF 800 kb)—published August 2012 by the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) and developed with OVC funding.
To read additional Child-Victims’ Rights Bulletins, visit the NCVLI Website, which offers other important victims’ rights publications in their law library.
Additional OVC-funded NCVLI Victim Law Publications:
On September 20, 2012, at 2–3 pm (EST), the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) will host Understanding Mortgage Fraud, an OVC-funded webinar that will—
The webinar will be conducted by Chuck Sczuroski, a senior trainer at NCPC, who has training experience in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, basic crime prevention, campus crime prevention, gangs, and community mobilization.
If you are interested in participating, register online or send an email to coletrane@ncpc.org. (Posted September 14, 2012)
With support from OVC, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and Futures Without Violence will host the Judicial Institute on Adolescent Relationship Abuse on July 9-12, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. This 3-day workshop is designed to enhance the ability of state and tribal court judges to respond to teen dating violence.
Apply today to this free event! Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants are responsible for travel and per diem costs. (Posted June 19, 2012)
The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (National Center), with funding from OVC, produced Outreach to Underserved Teen Victims of Crime (PDF 400 kb) as part of the Underserved Teen Victims Initiative. This guidebook and accompanying Web-based resources provide an overview of the challenges faced in conducting outreach to underserved teen victims of crime and highlights examples of the various projects and resources developed and implemented in local communities through the Initiative. (Posted June 14, 2012)
Violence is Preventable: A Best Practices Guide for Launching & Sustaining a Hospital-based Program to Break the Cycle of Violence is a new OVC-funded guide available from National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (NNHVIP). This replication guide supports the development of programs in medical facilities across the country to engage patients in targeted services during their recovery to interrupt the cycle of violence. Download this free, online guide from NNHVIP now. (Posted June 14, 2012)
Three OVC tribal grantees—Turtle Mountain (faith-based grantee), Red Cliff (Children’s Justice Act grantee), and Menominee (Tribal Victim Assistance grantee)—participated in a panel discussion hosted by the White House as part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! in Indian Country initiative. The discussion featured panelists who have demonstrated success and could share their stories about the four pillars essential to building a healthy future for American Indian and Alaska Native youth:
You can read more about the event from the White House Blog post of May 31, 2012.
For more information on OVC Grantees, consult the OVC Discretionary Grantee Matrix for FY 2011 available on our website. (Posted June 14, 2012)
OVC is pleased to announce the release of Service, Support & Justice: Law Enforcement Response to Crime Victims. This 15-minute DVD presents the benefits, challenges, and methods of placing a high priority on crime victims’ interests and meeting their needs and of enhancing law enforcement agencies’ response to victims of crime across the Nation. Watch a preview of this DVD in using Windows Media Player (1.81 mb) or QuickTime (4.94 mb).
The DVD highlights Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims, a national strategy presented in a four-volume package designed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) with funding from and in collaboration with OVC.
To access the 4-volume strategy for Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims, visit www.responsetovictims.org.
Produced by the Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime with funding from OVC, this self-paced, interactive online training will help increase the ability of criminal justice professionals and victim service providers to recognize how stalkers use technology and, ultimately, enhance their ability to work with victims of stalking. This course highlights—
Register for training on the Use of Technology To Stalk. It’s free!
Attorneys and advocates who work with domestic violence survivors must have an understanding of the common types of consumer law problems faced by survivors, as well as the skills and resources necessary to gather a complete picture of their clients’ risks, including their economic risks, to provide effective legal representation and advocacy. To meet this need, the Consumer Rights for Domestic Violence Survivors Initiative (CRDVSI) developed and recently released The Consumer Rights Screening Tool for Domestic Violence Advocates and Lawyers (PDF 1.5 mb). This screening tool aims to provide a general overview of common consumer issues with which survivors grapple and offer concrete guidance on how to identify consumer law issues in the course of one’s client work. Topics include—
Funded by OVC, CRDVSI is a partnership of the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, the National Consumer Law Center, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
Across the country, professionals in the criminal justice and victim service systems are working to improve the collection of crime victim restitution. The OVC-funded Restitution Collection Toolkit was developed by the National Center for Victims of Crime as part of a project to improve the collection of crime victim restitution by capturing the knowledge and experience of those on the front lines. Many officials share responsibility for the collection of victim restitution, from prosecutors and their staff to court personnel, probation and parole officials, corrections departments, and even victims themselves. The toolkit includes resources of interest to all of them, as well as to policymakers.
The materials are organized materials into the following six categories—
The materials in the toolkit were gathered from speakers and participants that attended the National Center’s 2010 Restitution Roundtable; obtained through outreach to practitioners and staff research; and created as part of this project. If you have additional resources to share, contact the National Center at ncvcpolicy@ncvc.org.
On October 19, 2011, at 3:00-4:15 pm (eastern time), the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), an OVC grantee, will host a webinar on Assisting Elderly Victims of Mortgage Fraud. The webinar will be presented by Theresa Ronnebaum, Identity Theft Program Specialist, Florida Attorney General’s Office, and Terry Campos, JD, NCVLI Responding to Online Fraud Attorney.
This webinar training will provide an overview of mortgage fraud perpetrated against older individuals, and best practices for attorneys and advocates in protecting this victim population’s rights in criminal prosecutions. Participants will learn about—
This training is only open to National Alliance of Victims’ Rights Attorneys (NAVRA) members registered with the new website. If you are not yet a registered member, you can join NAVRA for free.
Media Guide for Victim Service Providers
This media guide is intended to help victim service providers advise victims in their dealings with the media and serve the entire spectrum of the victim services field, from professionals who are branded new to their role as "victim media advisor" to those with decades of experience.
A Guide for Journalists Who Report on Crime and Crime Victims
This guide is designed to advise and assist journalists who seek to cover crime and victimization in a way that is sensitive to crime victims, yet still allows them to fulfill their role and responsibilities to the public as reporters.
OVC is pleased to announce the release of Serving Survivors of Homicide Victims During Cold Case Investigations: A Guide for Developing a Law Enforcement Protocol. This publication was produced by the National Sheriffs’ Association, in partnership with Justice Solutions and the National Organization of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc., with funding from OVC. Prior to development, the partnership’s Project Team conducted extensive research and outreach on this subject during which six key areas were identified and subsequently addressed in the Guide:
OVC and the project partners hope the Guide will be helpful to law enforcement and prompt agencies to develop protocols on serving survivors of homicide victims during cold case investigations.
The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), through funding from OVC, offers resources including fact sheets and four podcasts about general cyberbullying information, taking action in schools, creating community change, and how teens feel about cyberbullying.
Visit NCPC’s Cyberbullying Web page for information and resources to curb the growing problem of cyberbullying.
In April 2011, the Department of Defense (DoD) launched Safe Helpline, a new confidential crisis support service for adult service members of the DoD community affected by sexual assault. Operated by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, the helpline provides live, one-on-one expert advice and information 24/7.
Victims of sexual assault can seek resources and crisis support 24/7 and anonymously
by—
RAINN provides Safe Helpline services through a contract with the DoD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), the organization responsible for oversight of Department of Defense (DoD) sexual assault policy.
The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) has released its Public Hearing on Victim Issues in Probation and Parole Recommendation Report (PDF 7 mb), based on testimony provided during a public hearing sponsored by OVC at the APPA Annual Training Institute in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2010. The report summarizes comments from the panel of crime victims and survivors and provides 10 recommendations for improving services to victims and survivors throughout the community corrections process.
May 2011
In April 2011, OVC awarded a grant to the Mental Health Association (MHA) of New York City to help improve services and assistance by providing supplemental support and information-sharing resources to the victims, their families, emergency responders, and survivors of 9/11 in conjunction with the 10th anniversary.
The Healing and Remembrance Program, to be administered by MHA-NYC, will offer the following services to victims of 9/11:
MHA-NYC will also work with key federal and local partners to support commemorative events and observances in New York City, at the Shanksville, Pennsylvania Flight #93 Memorial, and at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia during the weekend of September 10-11, 2011.
Visit the Healing and Remembrance Program Web site for more information or call the toll-free hotline at 1-866-212-0444.
April 2011
In April 2011, the National Center for Victims of Crime, with the support of OVC, released Making Restitution Real: Five Case Studies on Improving Restitution Collection (PDF 4.5 mb) reporting on state and local efforts to address the problem of uncollected victim restitution. A review of the state initiatives of California, Michigan, and Vermont and two local programs of Maricopa County, Arizona, and Florida’s Eighth Judicial Circuit helps present lessons learned and the challenges that remain with uncollected criminal debt.
March 2011
FBI Recognizes Human Trafficking Victim Services program with 2010 Director’s Community Leadership Award
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| Amy Fleischauer accepts the award from FBI Director Mueller. |
The International Institute of Buffalo was established in 1918 to support immigrants who face exploitation. In 2007, the Human Trafficking Victim Services program was created to provide services to victims of human trafficking.
FBI Recognizes Cleveland Rape Crisis Center with 2010 Director’s Community Leadership Award
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| Megan O’Bryan accepts the award from FBI Director Mueller. |
CRCC was selected by the Cleveland FBI office for its role in Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s Special Commission on Missing Persons and Sex Crimes Investigations and subsequent implementation of changes in policy and procedure. Today, CRCC has a victim advocate stationed in Cleveland Division of Police Sex Crimes Unit to assist sexual assault survivors who make a report.
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center supports survivors of sexual violence, promotes healing and prevention and creates social change. The Center served more than 18,000 people in 2010. For more information, visit www.clevelandrapecrisis.org or call 216-619-6194. The Center’s 24-hour hotline is 216-619-6192.
February 2011
Forensic DNA as a Tool for Survivors and Bringing Justice to Victims
In partnership with OVC, the National Center for Victims of Crime has developed information and materials for its DNA Resource Center. The Resource Center features—
Visit the DNA Resource Center now to learn about the importance of forensic DNA as a tool!
The Rape Abuse Incest and National Network (RAINN) has released a new web video about its National Sexual Assault Online Hotline. The video, produced with OVC support, illustrates how survivors can receive confidential, live one-on-one assistance through an instant messaging format by logging onto online.rainn.org.
January 2011
NCVLI Announces Participation in the Vision 21 Initiative
The National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), one of the five contributing projects for the Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services initiative, is seeking input from the victim services field.Visit the NCVLI site now to find out how you can get involved!
The Crime Victims’ Assistance Network (CVAN) is seeking a Director for the State Victim Assistance Academy (SVAA) in Oregon. The Oregon SVAA provides comprehensive, academic-based, fundamental education for victim service providers and allied professionals who routinely interact with victims of crime.
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