Virginia''s Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) launched its Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care Initiative in response to recommendations from its Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services Final Report (Vision 21) and the final report released by the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. Recommendations in both reports aim to improve youth outcomes by addressing the enduring issue of child and youth victimization. Victimization, left unaddressed, can have serious, long-lasting consequences for children's physical and mental health. Research demonstrates that trauma left untreated can manifest into a range of physical, emotional, and behavioral problems. Although many systems exist to respond to the negative results of trauma and victimization, these systems often fail to communicate and collaborate effectively to get to the root of the problem. OVC's Linking Systems of Care Initiative involves a three-tiered response to improve services to this victim population by: 1) establishing demonstration sites to develop coordinated approaches to identify and serve child victims across systems; 2) dedicating technical assistance (TA) resources to support the demonstration sites' efforts; and, 3) evaluating the policies, procedures and protocols established by the demonstration sites to ensure the coordinated approaches established are grounded in evidence and improve outcomes for those served. In April 2014, OVC released the FY 2014 Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth State Demonstration Project solicitation. Through this solicitation, OVC sought state-level demonstration sites that bring all of the relevant systems and professionals together to establish a coordinated approach to serving child and youth victims. FY 2015 funding allows for continuation of this project. With this award, the Virginia Department of Social Services will develop and implement coordinated strategies that ensures every child entering child and family-serving state systems is assessed for victimization, that children and their families are provided comprehensive and coordinated services to fully address their needs, and that practices and policies are established to sustain this approach long-term. NCA/NCF

The Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth Demonstration Project was developed based on the findings of two reports--OVC's Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services (Vision 21) Report and the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence (Task Force Report). Both reports emphasized the need for comprehensive and systemic approaches and the importance of collaborative and comprehensive responses and services to crime victims. IN FY 2014, OVC sought state-level demonstration sites that would bring all of the relevant systems and professionals together to establish a coordinated approach to ensure that every child entering these systems is assessed for victimization, that children and their families are provided comprehensive and coordinated services to fully address their needs, and that practices and policies are established to sustain this approach long term. The Virginia Department of Social Services and the Montana Board of Crime Control were selected to serve as demonstration site. The National College of Juvenile and Family Court Judges was selected to serve and the training and technical assistance provider for the initiative.

With this supplemental award, the Virginia Department of Social Services will finalize a written strategy for Phase II: Implementation based on the findings from the completed gap analysis and needs assessment conducted in the first Phase of the project. They will also pilot a screening tool developed in the first Phase and make adjustments to it based on feedback. Finally, they will continue to participate in a national evaluation of the demonstration initiative.

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