The Indiana Victim Assistance Academy will serve victim advocates and victim assistance statewide with training to establish an uniform education program and professionalize the field.

The purpose of this project, one of several sites selected under the State Victim Assistance Academy Initiative for year 1 (planning phase) is to support states in developing effective strategies for planning, implementing, and sustaining new State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAA). First year planning efforts should lead to the development of a comprehensive, academically-based, fundamental education and skills building training for victim assistance providers, victim advocates, criminal justice personnel, and other allied professionals who routinely interact with victims of crime. The Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault in collaboration with Ivy Tech as the academic partner, proposes to plan for the establishment of the Indiana SVAA. ca/ncf