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Creating a National Resource Center Providing Training and Technical Assistance That Enhances Service Providers' Capacity to Support and Integrate Victim-Related Research and Evaluation Activities

Award Information

Award #
2016-XV-GX-K006
Funding Category
Competitive Discretionary
Location
Congressional District
Status
Closed
Funding First Awarded
2016
Total funding (to date)
$13,999,926

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2016, $4,999,976)

OVC released the Vision 21: National Resource Centers for Research, Evaluation and Reaching Underserved Victims Solicitation in response to recent increases in funding made available to Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) agencies in FY 2015 and FY 2016. Given these significant increases in funding, OVC is interested in providing dedicated support to ensure VOCA-funded agencies and organizations are able to maximize the effective use of these funds. The resource centers established through this solicitation will provide valuable training and technical assistance (TTA) resources to increase the capacity of VOCA agencies to use data-driven decision-making as they make funding decisions, boost their ability to monitor program performance, improve their ability to integrate evidence-based practice into the programs they fund, and enhance their ability to identify and reach underserved victim populations in their jurisdiction. The solicitation sought applications in two purpose areas to obtain the desired TTA resources – Purpose Area 1 (PA1): Victim-Related Research and Evaluation and Purpose Area 2 (PA2): Reaching Underserved Victims.

With its PA1 award, the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) will partner with the Urban Institute and the National Center for Victims of Crime to launch the Resource Center for Victim Research and Evaluation to provide a myriad of TTA supports on victim research and evaluation for VOCA agencies and their sub-grantees. JRSA and its partners will work with OVC, the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators and the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards to identify and support 8–10 states where state Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs) and VOCA agencies agree to collaborate; and assemble a cadre of centers to promote research-to-practice in victim services. Additional plans include facilitating partnerships between the selected state VOCA agencies and SACs to expand state level data collection and analysis identifying crime victim needs, service gaps, trends in usage and victimization and other information (e.g., service costs, costs of victimization) to improve victim service planning and implementation; and using innovative approaches to TTA delivery such as working with advanced state victim assistance academies in the targeted states to provide in-person and virtual training on research basics for practitioners.

ca/ncf

Date Created: September 30, 2016