Southern Nevada Young Opioid Victims Program

OVC’s mission is to enhance the Nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. OVC achieves this mission, in part, by administering discretionary award programs supported by the federal Crime Victims Fund to develop innovative training and technical assistance, and to provide direct services to improve the overall quality of victim assistance. The purpose of the FY 2018 Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims is to address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to the opioid epidemic and to expand upon existing or establish new programs to provide services to children and youth who are victimized as a result of the opioid crisis. The overarching goal of this program is to support children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis by providing direct services and support to these young victims at a community or jurisdictional level.

With this award, the Foundation for Positively Kids, Inc. will conduct the Southern Nevada Young Opioid Victims Program in Clark County, Nevada. Targeted crime victims include infants, toddlers, and youth, from birth–age 18, experiencing or at risk for health or safety consequences of the opioid crisis in Clark County. The project strategy centers on delivering information, services, training, and support to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis. Key objectives and activities include: 1) Disseminating a community-wide information, education, and training strategy to increase awareness of the scope of the opioid problem, particularly as it affects children and youth, and the need for interventions; 2) Building and implementing a “feedback system” to gather, analyze, and report data on victims’ needs, available resources, and gaps in services to include convening a Young Opioid Victims Task Force to bring together key service providers and child policymakers to examine the impact of the crisis at the community level and develop consensus recommendations on addressing gaps and needs of this victim population; and 3) Establishing a seamless, comprehensive, community-driven, and multidisciplinary response to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.

CA/NCF