LGBTQ Crime Victim Services Project

The National Field-Generated Training, Technical Assistance, and Demonstration Projects Program addresses demonstrated gaps in training or technical assistance or in the knowledge base of victim service practitioners nationwide. The aim of the program is to enhance the provision of services and support to crime victims to further ensure that all victims are afforded the rights to which they are due. All initiatives are national in scope and focus on improving the capacity of victim service providers and allied practitioners in advancing rights and services for crime victims in the areas of child pornography; drunk and impaired driving; mortgage fraud; sexual assault within correctional settings; coordinated state-tribal crime victim services; long-term mental health and other consequences of mass violence; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) crime victims access to mainstream victim services; services for young male victims of color; or using technology to improve and enhance victim services.

Beyond Diversity Resource Center, through a partnership with the School of Social Work (SSW) at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey will implement a demonstration project with six mainstream victim service providers from across the nation. The six agencies, which could include prosecutor's offices, juvenile justice agencies, police departments, anti-violence agencies, domestic violence programs, and government agencies dedicated to providing victim services, would be selected based on criteria essential to the demonstration project: (1) the agencies will represent diversity in geographic location, number of people served and staff size, and (2) a majority of the agencies will be located in regions where there are identifiable organizations that advocate for or address the needs of the LGBTQ community, and (3) a minority of the agencies will be located in regions where there are no identifiable LGBTQ advocate organizations. BDRC will implement organizational development strategies with the participating organizations, offer relevant diversity training, and develop organizational protocols in an effort to enhance LGBTQ victim services. A compendium of project research, organizational development interventions, and provider best practices will be developed for use by OVC.

ca/ncf