Resource Centers

Center for Victim Research
The Center for Victim Research serves as a one-stop shop for victim service providers and researchers to connect and share knowledge to increase access to victim research and data, and the utility of research and data collection to crime victim services nationwide. The center works to improve responses to crime victims by promoting the collection and use of victim data; increasing access to research evidence on victim policies, programs, and practices; supporting the translation and dissemination of victim research as usable information; and improving opportunities for researchers and practitioners to work together.

National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center
The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center (NMVVRC) uses a scientific approach to evaluate what works and what doesn’t work when responding to crime victims’ challenges and needs. It then uses this information to improve victim and mental health services through training, technical assistance, and public policy development and implementation. NMVVRC serves as the source for the best evidence for achieving a social understanding of mass violence upon which civic leaders, mental health professionals, journalists, policymakers, and victim-assistance professionals can rely.

National Resource Center for Reaching Victims
The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims provides information and expert guidance to victim service providers, culturally specific organizations, criminal justice professionals, and policymakers to enhance their capacity to identify, reach, and serve all victims, especially those from communities that too often have less access to healing services and avenues to justice. The center is working to increase the number of victims who receive the support they need by:

• providing training, technical assistance, and other support to organizations that serve victims and survivors.
• developing resources that highlight best practices or address challenges that impact the victim services field.
• awarding grants that enable organizations to test or pilot new ways to effectively reach victims from underserved communities.

Office of Justice Programs
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) includes six divisions, including the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). OJP provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims, and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Resources available from OJP include: 

• 24-hour access to view and order OVC and other OJP publications and resources. 
• a searchable knowledge base of victim-related questions and answers. 
• a database of upcoming justice events. 
• a virtual library featuring more than 30,000 victim-related documents. 
• the Justice Information (JUSTINFO) electronic newsletter, containing OJP resources, events, funding opportunities, and more. 

Response Center contact information: 

• Phone: 800-851-3420; 202-836-6998 (international callers); TTY 301-240-6310 
• Email: [email protected]

OVC Center for VOCA Administrators
The OVC Center for VOCA Administrators (OVC VOCA Center) supports victim-compensation and victim-assistance administrators in managing and administering their Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. The center provides technical support to administrators by offering opportunities for expert consultation, peer-to-peer collaboration, problem-solving, training, and innovation. It strives to build a strong administrator-led support system, broaden victim services to historically underserved communities, and advance promising policies, practices, and programs.

OVC State Administering Agencies Support Team 
The OVC State Administering Agencies (SAA) Support Team is committed to assisting Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) SAAs in effectively managing the fiscal, programmatic, and award-monitoring efforts for their victim assistance program funding. The OVC SAA support team collaborates with SAAs and peers from the field to identify and address challenges regarding the allocation and expenditure of VOCA victim-assistance funding.

OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center
The OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC) is the gateway to the latest training and technical assistance (TTA) available for victim service providers and allied professionals who serve crime victims. OVC TTAC aims to build the capacity of professionals and organizations that serve victims of crime nationwide. It does this by providing TTA, professional development opportunities, and resources for reaching more victims, including those who are historically underserved, by assessing the needs of key constituencies and identifying resources to meet their needs, and by monitoring client satisfaction and measuring the effectiveness of its training over time. 

OVC TTAC draws on the expertise of a network of consultants and seasoned victim service professionals with firsthand experience in designing and delivering customized responses to satisfy a variety of TTA needs. From its comprehensive database of experts, OVC TTAC provides developmental support, mentoring, and facilitation in areas such as program design and implementation, strategic planning, program management, evaluation, quality improvement, collaboration, and community coordination. OVC TTAC also supports the victim services community by providing professional development scholarships to those seeking additional training and educational opportunities. 

OVC TTAC is committed to providing in-language services to victim service providers and allied professionals who have limited English proficiency, are deaf/hard of hearing, or are blind/low vision and who use the OVC TTAC website, training resources, or request TA services. OVC TTAC’s language access services include: 

• telephone call center access in several languages.
• translated OVC TTAC services fact sheets in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog. 
• translated training upon request. 
• interpreter services for TTA events upon request. 

OVC TTAC contact information: 

• Phone: 866-OVC-TTAC (866-682-8822); TTY 866-682-8880 
• Email: [email protected]

OVC Tribal Financial Management Center
The OVC Tribal Financial Management Center provides training, technical assistance, and resources to support American Indian and Alaska Native communities as they manage the financial aspects of their federal awards. Financial specialists are available to provide services at no cost to Tribal grantees, including onsite and offsite requests for technical assistance and general questions, through the Virtual Support Center.

OVC Tribal Victim Services Training and Technical Assistance (T-VSSTA)
T-VSTTA is a capacity-building program for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. T-VSTTA provides tailored, victim-centered, and trauma-informed training and technical assistance to grantees and potential grantees as they develop sustainable victim services programs.

Tribal Resource Tool
This OVC-funded tool provides a searchable directory of victim service programs for survivors of crime and abuse in Indian Country, both on and off-reservation. A joint project of the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Congress of American Indians, the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, and the StrongHearts Native Helpline, the directory includes American Indian and Alaska Native victim service providers, coalitions, Tribal leadership, non-Tribal-specific service providers, national hotlines, government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and health services organizations.
 

Instructor Materials 

Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials
These materials were created to support children and youth during their involvement with the justice system as victims or witnesses to crime. Based on the input of national experts, these materials teach children and youth ages 2-18 how the justice system works, what their rights are, the roles of the different practitioners they’ll meet, and how they can cope with the difficult feelings they might have. The accompanying guides for practitioners, parents, and caregivers provide additional information on how to use the materials, as well as tips for supporting child victims and witnesses.

Ethics in Victim Services
This downloadable version of the instructor-led Ethics in Victim Services training covers common ethical conflicts that arise when providing victim services and how to resolve them by applying ethical standards and decision-making processes. The goal of the training is to increase self-awareness and understanding of how personal attitudes and beliefs influence responses to victims of crime.

Sexual Assault Advocate/Counselor Training
This downloadable curriculum uses case studies, role-playing, slides, vignettes, and other interactive exercises to help practitioners increase their understanding of sexual assault and gain the skills needed to assist victims of sexual assault.

Victim Impact: Listen and Learn
This curriculum is geared toward helping offenders become more aware of the impact of crime on victims, take responsibility for their actions, and begin to make amends.

Supporting Crime Victims With Disabilities 
(English or Spanish)
This downloadable curriculum is for victim service providers, advocates for people with disabilities, self-advocates, and allied professionals. Using case studies and small group discussions, participants will examine the prevalence of crime against people with disabilities, perceptions of the criminal justice system, tenets of the disabilities movement, and the impact of disabilities on daily life. Through collaborative activities, participants will identify ways the various agencies, organizations, and systems can work together to better serve crime victims with disabilities.
 

Online Training 

Expert Q&A
Expert Q&A is a national forum that helps victim service providers communicate with national experts and colleagues about best practices for assisting victims of crime. Each month, a new topic is presented online, and subject matter experts are available to answer questions on that issue.

Identity Theft Victim Assistance Online Training: Supporting Victims’ Financial and Emotional Recovery
This user-friendly e-learning tool provides victim service providers and allied professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to more effectively serve victims of identity theft and assist with their financial and emotional recovery.

The training includes a reference library of information on types of identity theft, the various forms and paperwork that may need to be completed, referral agencies and resources, and information on victims’ rights. The training also includes three case studies that highlight different forms of identity theft. The training is structured so that participants assume the role of a victim advocate and interact with victims during each phase of recovery.

Online Elder Abuse Training for Legal Service Providers
This user-friendly tool offers legal service providers the knowledge and skills they need to serve victims of elder abuse more effectively. The training consists of four modules: 

• What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Elder Abuse, 
• Practical and Ethical Strategies, 
• Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in Later Life, and 
• Financial Fraud and Exploitation. 

This interactive, web-based training program includes a variety of information, tools, and resources, from interactive client scenarios to printable resources for the entire office.

Polyvictimization in Later Life
This 6-hour web-based training is intended to strengthen awareness of polyvictimization in later life and provide knowledge and skills for professionals to use as they address the needs of victims. The training addresses the context of polyvictimization; victims and perpetrators of polyvictimization; best practices for working with older adults affected by polyvictimization using trauma-informed, ethical, and culturally appropriate practices; and the latest research and best practices for serving this population.

Providing Effective Services to Young Men and Boys of Color
This online training provides best practices for working with young men and boys of color who are victims of crime. Participants of this four-part training will learn how to: 

• apply client-centered approaches with young men and boys of color who are victims of crime. 
• identify socio-ecological factors that affect help-seeking. 
• assess various types of psychological, physical, social safety, and other risks. develop effective safety plans with victims.

Understanding Human Trafficking
This online training instructs users on foundational skills for serving victims of human trafficking. Participants of this five-part training will learn about: 

• implementing trauma-informed approaches to victim identification and outreach. 
• assessing victims for comprehensive service needs. 
• employing a collaborative victim service delivery model by connecting with local partners. 
• identifying accurate data and research on human trafficking. 
• employing strategies for researching and analyzing laws and policies that impact human trafficking, victim services, and victims’ rights.

Victim Assistance Training Online
Victim Assistance Training Online (VAT Online) is a foundational web-based victim-assistance training program that offers victim service providers and allied professionals the opportunity to acquire the essential skills and knowledge they need to more effectively assist victims of crime. VAT Online has four sections: Basics, Core Competencies and Skills, Crimes, and Specific Considerations for Providing Victim Services.
 

Other Resources 

Achieving Excellence: Model Standards for Serving Victims and Survivors of Crime
This e-publication provides guidelines and suggestions to help victim service practitioners and program administrators improve the quality and consistency of their response to crime victims. The model standards are intended to enhance victim service providers’ competency and capacity to provide ethical, high-quality responses to crime victims and to meet the demands facing the field today. These standards recommend procedures, describe professional skills, and identify expectations and values necessary for victim service providers.

Existe Ayuda Toolkit
This toolkit includes replicable Spanish-language tools and resources to help improve the cultural competence of service providers and the accessibility of services for Spanish-speaking victims of sexual violence. Resources include Spanish terms related to sexual assault and human trafficking; PowerPoint slides to use in presentations to promotoras (community health workers) and victim advocates; and a pocket card, handout, fact sheets, and scripts for public service announcements and outgoing voice mail messages.

Faces of Human Trafficking
This video series and resource guide raise awareness of the seriousness of human trafficking, the many forms it takes, and the important role that everyone can play in identifying and serving victims. This multidisciplinary resource includes: 

• nine videos in English with Spanish subtitles.
• public service announcements in English, Spanish, Thai, Hindi, and Tagalog. 
• a discussion guide.
• four OVC fact sheets. 
• posters designed for service providers and allied professionals, law enforcement, the general public, and victims/survivors.

Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources
Created in coordination with the FBI’s Office for Victim Assistance and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism, this OVC toolkit helps communities prepare for and respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism in the most timely, effective, and compassionate manner possible. This toolkit provides communities with the framework, strategies, and resources to: 

• develop a comprehensive victim-assistance plan for responding to incidents of mass violence, terrorism, natural disasters, and high-profile criminal incidents. 
• bring key partners together to review existing emergency plans, and to initiate or continue the development of a victim assistance plan within a community. 
• establish victim assistance protocols, which can greatly enhance the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts.
• follow protocols for short- and long-term responses to victims following incidents of mass violence.

Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide
This e-learning tool provides guidance on how to form and develop a new human trafficking task force; ideas for strengthening existing human trafficking task forces; creative strategies, examples, and lessons learned from existing task forces; and links to tools, training, and resources, including case studies.

Improving Community Preparedness to Assist Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism Training and Technical Assistance
Improving Community Preparedness to Assist Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism Training and Technical Assistance (ICP TTA) helps communities augment their existing emergency response plans to ensure they effectively include immediate and long-term protocols and strategies to support victims of criminal mass violence and terrorism. 

The project provides individualized TTA to selected communities to help them develop partnerships and policies and to provide consultants to jurisdictions that do not have the capacity to plan. Additionally, there are online trainings to jumpstart the planning process for those who have not been selected for individualized TTA. The project focuses on TTA for law enforcement/first responders; state, local, or Tribal governments; and victim service providers.

Innovative Practices for Victim Services: Report From the Field
This e-bulletin provides brief descriptions of practices currently used by Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) victim assistance and compensation programs throughout the country. VOCA funding supports many innovative programs and protocols for serving victims more effectively, and this online resource promotes their replication where applicable. The bulletin focuses on six key program areas: needs assessment, systems advocacy and coordination, compensation, underserved populations, victims’ rights and services, and technology.

OVC Directory of Crime Victim Services
Since its launch in 2003, the Directory of Crime Victim Services (the Directory) has helped many crime victims and service providers find nonemergency crime victim service programs in the United States and abroad.

The Directory includes contact information for thousands of victim service providers. If you find that your organization is not already listed, you may submit it for inclusion in the Directory.

OVC Training and Technical Assistance Resource Library
This online library uses an organized search tool that brings together materials used as promotional items, reference materials, and more for your organizational development and training needs.

OVC Victim Assistance-Related Events
This list is meant to help victims, victim service providers, allied professionals, and other interested individuals plan, promote, and locate events of interest to those serving, supporting, and working with victims in their community. Users may submit their events for inclusion in the database and can search for events and training opportunities. 

If you are hosting an NCVRW event, publicize it by adding it our Events calendar. Annually, we feature numerous NCVRW community awareness events, resource fairs, vigils, and other events.

SANE Program Development and Operation Guide
This guide provides a blueprint for nurses and communities that would like to start a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program and serves as a resource to help existing SANE programs expand or enhance services provided to the community.

Vicarious Trauma Toolkit
This toolkit was developed on the premise that exposure to the traumatic experiences of other people—known as vicarious trauma—is an inevitable occupational challenge for the fields of victim services, emergency medical services, fire services, law enforcement, and other allied professionals. However, organizations can mitigate the potentially negative effects of trauma exposure by becoming informed about vicarious trauma. The toolkit includes tools and resources tailored specifically to these fields that provide the knowledge and skills necessary for organizations to address the vicarious trauma needs of their staff.

VictimLaw
VictimLaw is a comprehensive online database of more than 26,000 victims’ rights-related legal provisions, including federal and state victims’ rights statutes, Tribal laws, constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, attorney general opinions, and case summaries of related court decisions. This user-friendly tool is available free of charge and provides instant access to a wide range of previously hard-to-find, regularly updated legal information.
 

Training, Technical Assistance, and Other Services for Victim Service Providers 

Battered Women's Justice Project
800-903-0111, Ext. 1

Child Welfare Information Gateway
800-394-3366, online chat 

National Adult Protective Services Association
202-370-6292

National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life
608-255-0539 x213, TTY 608-255-3560 

National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges
775-507-4777

National Crime Prevention Council
443-292-4565

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
800-537-2238, TTY 800-553-2508 

National Sexual Violence Resource Center
877-739-3895, TTY 717-909-0715
 

Office for Victims of Crime Gallery

The Office for Victims of Crime Gallery offers free, professionally designed outreach materials for you to download and use during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) and throughout the year.

Highlights include: 

• posters from the 2003–2024 NCVRW Resource Guides.
• photos from National Crime Victims’ Service Awards Ceremonies and other special events.
• bios and photos of National Crime Victims’ Service Award recipients from 2003-2021; visit the OVC website for the 2022 recipients. 
• web banners and other promotional art.