Direct Services to Support Victims of Crime in Seattle

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has served refugee and immigrant families in Western Washington since 1976 and established the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network (WARN) program to serve crime victims in 2004. In 2017, IRC began the Family Wellness Program to better support members of refugee and immigrant communities experiencing crisis and harm as survivors of human trafficking. IRC expanded its outreach and support of crime victims in 2018, through funding from the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) that allowed the Family Wellness Program to serve refugees and immigrants experiencing domestic violence and other forms of abuse.  

Building on established programs, IRC in Seattle submits this request for a $400,000 to meet OVC Enhancing Access to Victim Services’ goal of increasing the availability of accessible victim-centered, trauma-informed victim services in the field through the implementation of Category 1: Direct Services. IRC Seattle proposes to provide comprehensive case management to refugee and immigrant crime victims throughout Western Washington with focused attention on King, Pierce and Snohomish counties with account for the highest refugee populations within the proposed area. IRC will expand access to comprehensive direct services to at least 20 crime victim who identify as refugees, asylees, asylum-seekers, and/or Special Immigrant Visa holders, as well as other community members who are disabled, deaf, hard-of-hearing, limited English proficient (LEP), blind and/or visually impaired.  

Primary activities will include delivering culturally relevant, trauma-informed and victim-centered services to this target population as well as delivering culturally relevant services to disabled, LEP, Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and blind and/or visually impaired crime victims  

(Objective 1); developing and implementing disability and language access plans to address the needs of crime victims, with a particular focus on victims who are disabled, blind, visually impaired, LEP, Deaf, and/or hard of hearing. (Objective 2); working with the TTA provider funded under Category 2 to train staff and community partners on best practices to serve these victims (Objective 3); and conducting data collection and evaluation or action research activities to measure grant performance and generate internal improvements in the delivery of direct services (Objective 4) Obj 4: Conduct data collection and evaluation or action research activities to measure grant performance and generate internal improvements in the delivery of direct services 

Key outcomes from this program will include, providing services for 20 disabled, deaf, hard-of-hearing, and blind and/or visually impaired crime victims support, with at least 90% (18) of clients meeting safety and wellness benchmark in their individual support plan; decreasing barriers and increasing the ability to receive care for victims of crime who are disabled, training 20 staff members with the tools and knowledge necessary to serve disabled crime victims, and having at least 90% of language access and disability plans implemented by IRC-Sea staff and community partners. Finally, using IRC’s Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) program and under the leadership of its Family Wellness Program Manager, IRC in Seattle will measure the effectiveness of the program’s interventions through direct linkages to its goals and objectives and the individual milestones of each survivor.