Building Capacity in the Field
Overview
OVC's Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services Final Report (the Report) emphasized the need to build capacity in the victim assistance field to better serve victims of crime. To help ensure that victim service organizations are capable of meeting current and future victim needs, the Report recommended strengthening the following areas:
- availability of funding;
- organizational flexibility;
- diversity in staffing and leadership; and
- collaborations to further advance victims’ rights and services.
OVC programming in fiscal years (FY) 2017 and 2018 focused on building capacity in a number of key areas. OVC supported many programs to combat human trafficking and help survivors of this terrible crime. OVC also strengthened its support for a wide range of law enforcement organizations and their efforts to serve communities, while also funding initiatives to help children and families heal. Additionally, OVC supported efforts to strengthen service organizations' ability to reach underserved victim populations, from particularly vulnerable victim groups, to those who have experienced victimization abroad, to those who have been affected by the Nation’s opioid crisis. OVC also maintained its commitment to supporting training and technical assistance, expanding existing offerings, releasing new opportunities, and making courses accessible online for free at any time.
The following accounts provide a snapshot of the many capacity-building program areas that OVC supported in FYs 2017 and 2018: