Learning About Victims of Crime: A Training Model for Victim Service Providers and Allied Professionals

• NCJ Number: 199934
• Author(s): Carol Watkins Ali Ph.D.; Erin Stark
• Date Published: September 2003
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-VF-GX-K001
• Sponsoring Agency: Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
• Corporate Author: Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; OVC Resource Ctr
• Publication Series: OVC Others
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: OVC Bulletin downloaded September 10, 2003.

Annotation

This bulletin provides an overview of the Denver Victim Services 2000 (VS2000) training and education model for victim service providers and allied professionals.

Abstract

In 1997, a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) funded a 5-year demonstration project for the development of a model program for the delivery of services to victims of crime. The VS2000 model would include a comprehensive, coordinated, and seamless delivery of services. Two sites were chosen as VS2000 model sites because they each included the two key VS2000 principles of collaboration and innovation: Denver was chosen as the urban site and Vermont was chosen as the rural site. This bulletin shares lessons and knowledge gained from the implementation of the Denver VS2000 site. More than 50 nonprofit and government agencies came together in Denver to offer services to crime victims that address gaps in services and involve the coordination of community and criminal justice-based service programs. Staff training is highlighted as one of the most important aspects of victim services. The bulletin details goals and accomplishments of the VS2000 Denver training team, which sought to establish effective training programs for all aspects of delivery of services to victims of crime. Cross-training and technological training were the two major focuses of the Denver training team, as was the development of a curriculum for the training of allied professionals. Curricula were established for faith-based communities, law enforcement partners, law schools, and the District Attorney’s Office. The Denver VS2000 site will continue to excel in the future because it successfully developed a structure for sustaining its projects and collaborations well past the 5-year Federal funding period. Contact information is provided to learn more about the Denver VS2000 project. Acknowledgments