The Montana Systems of Care members will expand their scope to include an agreed-upon victimization screening tool that will be applied across agencies to screen children earlier and consistently.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) launched its Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care Initiative in response to recommendations from two key Department of Justice reports- the Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services Final Report (Vision 21) and the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Final Report. Recommendations in both reports aim to improve youth outcomes by addressing the enduring issue of child and youth victimization, recognizing that victimization, left unaddressed, can have serious, long-lasting consequences for children's physical and mental health. 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, therefore OVC's Linking Systems of Care Initiative involves a three-tiered response to improve services to this victim population by: 1) establishing state-level 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 2014 OVC awarded two state-level demonstration projects- in Montana and Virginia- through the FY 2014 Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth State Demonstration Project solicitation. FY 2015 funding allows for continuation of these demonstration site projects. This award will provide the Montana Board of Crime Control with $425,000 to 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 sites. The National College of Juvenile and Family Court Judges was selected to serve as the training and technical assistance provider for the initiative.

With this supplemental award, the Montana Board of Crime Control will strengthen its partnership with stakeholders, expand its pilot site efforts to include additional locations, and document the strategy and process as a model for statewide implementation.

NCA/NCF