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Help for Providers

State Victim Assistance Academies

To fulfill its long-term goal of encouraging victim assistance courses of study across the country, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) of the U.S. Department of Justice introduced the State Victim Assistance Academy (SVAA) Initiative in Fiscal Year 1998. An SVAA is an intensive course of study in victimology and victims’ rights and services. SVAAs operate in partnership with an academic institution to meet the entry-level training needs of a broad array of victim service providers and allied professionals.

To find out if your State or Territory has a Victim Assistance Academy, visit the SVAA Locator.

OVC encourages state Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Administrators to help fund Academies using VOCA administrative funds. If your state does not have an SVAA, contact your VOCA Administrator to discuss SVAA implementation. Your VOCA Administrator may suggest that you contact OVC to speak to an SVAA Project Monitor to learn more about discretionary grant funding that may be available to help start a new SVAA.

OVC also offers technical assistance through its Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC) to both prospective and established SVAAs to support the full range of tasks involved in designing, developing, and delivering high-quality Academy training. OVC TTAC’s assistance ranges from expert instructional design assistance in support of the SVAA curriculum to providing consultants to present any portion of the curriculum that your state develops.

To request technical assistance, complete the Training and Technical Assistance Request Form.

If you need assistance with the Request Form, please contact a TA Coordinator at OVC TTAC by calling toll free 866-682-8822 (TTY: 866-682-8880) between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., eastern standard time.

OVC offers Professional Development Scholarships to those who work with victims of crime. This continuing education opportunity is also available to service providers who wish to attend a State Victim Assistance Academy. Read the Scholarship FAQs for more on eligibility and award criteria.

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State Victim Assistance Academies Locator

To locate an active SVAA, click on any of the shaded states on the map or consult the alphabetical list of SVAAs. SVAA links point to SVAA Web sites, when available, or to a related academy document.

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Active SVAAs

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