NCJ Number
198271
Date Published
June 2002
Length
0 pages
Annotation
In this National Victim Assistance Academy (NVAA) 2002 video-conference, five panel experts discuss through a series of questions their lessons learned from experiences of working with victims of terrorism and mass violence along the entire continuum of care.
Abstract
In June 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime sponsored a video-conference, presented by the National Victim Assistance Academy (NCAA) on the continuum of care needed for victims of terrorism and mass violence. The conference was developed to address the need for increased training, education, information, and the streamlining of services for victims of terrorism and mass violence. Panelists included: Carroll Ellis, Fairfax County, VA; Robin Finegan, Victim Services Consultant; Dr. Dean Kilpatrick, Crime Victim Researcher; Carol Lavery, Director of the Office of Victim Services, PA; and Chaplain Mindi Russell, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Chaplaincy of Sacramento, CA. A series of 14 questions were presented to the individual panelists in their sharing their expertise in the lessons learned from their experiences of working with victims of terrorism and mass violence of incidents specific to the United States. Questions posed to the panelists included: (1) what were the victims and survivors most immediate concerns; (2) who are the key players early on in a situation or disaster such as an act of terrorism or mass violence; (3) what is “vicarious trauma” and its effects; (4) when talking about the immediate after effect of these crimes, what has been learned in research on the impact on these individuals; (5) what kind of services and information do victims need financially to get compensated immediately; (6) in developing family victim assistance, what core elements are immediately necessary; (7) how did the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency coordinate with local providers to meet short-term needs of victims during the plane of crash of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States; (8) how are key players identified and a working collaboration developed during these incidents, specifically the Columbine High School incident; (9) what are some recommendations in approaches for ongoing care for responders to mass violence and terrorist crime; (10) what does the research tell us about the mental health impact on the victim and responders; (11) what kind of impact does the media have on these victims and services attempting to be provided; (12) what lessons have been learned from experiences of dealing with victims at the Pentagon; (13) how can victim service providers and professionals have more of an impact; and (14) how do providers prevent and avoid people from falling through the cracks. This is followed by a question and answer segment where calls are received from State NVAA representatives for additional information and/or information clarification on the continuum of care for victims of terrorism and mass violence.