Child/Youth Crime Victim Services Project

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.

Through this Drug Endangered Children Project, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and partners including CSKT CASA; the Child and Youth Trauma Services Program; Wrapped in Hope; CSKT Law Enforcement; Polson Police Department; Lake County Health Department; Tribal Court; and the Tribal Health Department will work collaboratively to serve young crime victims affected by substance abuse, newborns–18 year olds, who are CSKT enrolled members, descendants, or members of other Indian tribes residing on the Flathead Reservation. This project will provide trauma-informed services and enhance a seamless, comprehensive, community-driven, and multidisciplinary response to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the substance abuse crisis on the Flathead Reservation. Funds will be used to hire two social workers to provide direct services to victims and coordinate program activities; and to hire a consultant to coordinate the development and implementation of a CASA Program on the reservation.

CA/NCF