District of Columbia Polyvictimization Client Response Team

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 to provide services to adult and child crime victims that experience polyvictimization.

The District of Columbia's (DC) Office for Victims Services, in collaboration with the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, the Network for Victim Recovery of DC, Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment, and the DC Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, proposes the development of the DC Polyvictimization Client Response Team, a comprehensive network of services and a dedicated response team for polyvictims. The goals of the project are: (1) to create a response team model sufficient to meet the diverse needs of polyvictims, facilitated by a Web-based, shared, case management system; (2) to build a seamless network of services for polyvictims; (3) to identify and reach youth who have been exposed to violence at least once to provide intensive services intended to prevent future victimization: and (4) to evaluate the services provided to polyvictims to identify promising practices, known challenges, and successes that support the replication of the program model in other jurisdictions. This award will support the interagency, collaborative work of the five partner agencies, a program evaluation, and the development of a what works and polyvictimization toolkit for distribution to other jurisdictions interested in replicating the program.

ca/ncf