OVC FY 2022 Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services Technical Assistance Program

Incorporating law enforcement-based victim services into overall agency response is a fundamental way to ensure victims are connected with needed services at the earliest opportunity. Professionals in this role are the only law enforcement agency personnel whose primary responsibility is to focus on the rights and needs of victims.

For law enforcement agencies interested in implementing new or enhancing existing victim services programs, individualized technical assistance opportunities are rare. The Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services (LEV) Program is the only national training and technical assistance (TTA) initiative of its kind in the country, and IACP has served as the TTA provider since its inception in 2018. IACP currently supports the existing 73 LEV sites, and due to extensive experience and unmatched capacity, is ideally suited to continue in this role and incorporate new FY22 LEV sites.

Through this solicitation, IACP will support law enforcement agencies in developing, enhancing, and sustaining direct victim services programs within law enforcement-based systems to serve the needs and rights of all crime victims. IACP is seeking priority consideration under Priority 1(A) to provide enhanced technical assistance to new LEV sites so they can identify underserved communities in their jurisdictions, address potential inequities and barriers to equal opportunity, and contribute to greater access to services for underserved and historically marginalized populations.

IACP will accomplish the following goals:

Develop a competitive subaward process to select 8 new LEV sites in state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in small, mid-sized, and large jurisdictions.  
Provide TTA to all existing and new LEV sites to develop, enhance, and sustain direct victim services programs through TTA and promote peer learning among LEV sites.
Promote promising practices by memorializing LEV curriculum (e.g., virtual training, publications) on the LEV webpage and presenting these resources nationally.

All new LEV sites will receive the robust LEV curriculum through virtual training, quarterly meetings, and project publications. All LEV sites will be encouraged to communicate through the LEV Network, an online community exclusive to LEV sites which allows for information sharing and peer learning.

To provide comprehensive TTA, the IACP will continue to partner with the following entities:

Unified Solutions will provide TTA for tribal jurisdictions;
National Crime Victim Law Institute will provide virtual training and state-specific victims’ rights publications;
Justice Research & Statistics Association will provide TTA to sites on completing community needs assessments and continue work on the LEV Mapping Project.