Section IV. Evidence-Based Training and Technical Assistance Fellowship

The Victim Assistance Professional Development Fellowship Program supports individuals to work in fellowship positions at the Office for Victims of Crime for a period of one year. The fellowship grantees each will work in a particular topic area enhancing and extending OVC efforts to develop and replicate innovative programs that serve crime victims. OVC fellows will support OVC staff through the provision of direct operational assistance to crime victim organizations and agencies; and the design and development of innovative initiatives, training programs, technical assistance, and capacity-building efforts. In FY10, OVC will support fellows in the following three areas: Underserved Crime Victims; Evidence-Based Training and Technical Assistance; and Financial Fraud and Non-Violent Crimes.

Ms. Debra Whitcomb will undertake the Evidence-Based Training and Technical Assistance Fellowship. Ms. Whitcomb will assist OVC in assessing the training and technical needs of practitioners and organizations that serve crime victims to inform the development of a national, evidence-based training and technical assistance strategy for OVC. Specifically, activities will include: (1) assisting OVC to conduct a review and assessment of existing training and technical assistance resources; (2) coordinating a multidisciplinary focus group for current OVC discretionary grantees developing training and technical assistance to inform the OVC national training strategy; (3) supporting OVC with the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data from an OVC National Needs Assessment Survey of victim service providers to integrate information from that survey into the national training strategy; (4) supporting the development of the national training strategy to ensure that it is evidence-based and includes outcome measures that will demonstrate effectiveness; (5) developing reports, speeches, and articles to support OVC's training, technical assistance, and capacity-building initiatives; (6) collaborating with OVC staff and OVC discretionary grantees to integrate data from grant-funded projects with the national training strategy; (7) working with OVC and others to conceptualize an online training and technical assistance toolkit for assessing and addressing organizational training and technical assistance needs; (8) participating in internal and external stakeholder meetings, forums, conferences, and other initiatives related to training and technical assistance for the crime victims' field; and (9) participating in professional development and training activities to enhance expertise related to the development of an evidence-based national training strategy. CA/NCF