OVC Center for VOCA Administrators Launch: Remarks From OVC Director Kristina Rose

KRISTINA ROSE: Hi, I’m Kris Rose, the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime. I’m so pleased to say a few words about our new Center for VOCA Administrators, operated by the National Criminal Justice Association in cooperation with us at OVC. We intentionally created the OVC VOCA Center response to the needs of our state administrators.  

OVC’s mission, as you know, is to provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. And in support of that mission, we created the Center because we wanted to be able to strengthen the capacity of VOCA Administrators to be able to administer VOCA funds that provide the direct assistance and compensation that is so important for crime survivors.  

Built on a peer-to-peer learning model, the Center is a collaborative Administrator-led support system. Our hope is that this approach will help in the day-to-day management of VOCA grants, and help you to solve problems easier and faster.  

We know the needs of VOCA Administrators are unique and that they can be quite challenging. And that’s why we created this Center – to ensure you are getting the support you need – not only from OVC, but from your peers as well.  

NCJA has brought on board three thoughtful, experienced, and creative former state administrators to lead the VOCA Center’s work: Janelle Melohn, Suzanne Breedlove, and Kellie Rabenhorst, all have spent their careers prioritizing the needs of crime victims.  

They are experts in administering VOCA funds, and now, they're working with us in leadership, with our grant managers, with our national partners, and subject matter experts to be able to offer state-of-the-art training and consultation to support the work that you're doing to empower survivors in your states and in the territories.

We encourage you to share your feedback about the VOCA Center – help us by telling us what worked well and even what didn’t.  

We look forward to our continued partnership and working with all of you in the years to come. Be well and thanks for listening.