Recruiting Participants

One of the tasks of the Advisory Group was to identify and recruit participants for the pilot program. The group also did this for the regular sessions of the VVAA. The Advisory Group selected participants they thought would be role models supporting positive change in the field and those who they felt most needed the training. The development coordinator compiled a list of more than 40 groups identified at the 1-day collaborative planning meeting as ideal participants. The Advisory Group prioritized the groups and identified the ideal number of participants from each field. The group's focus was on maintaining a well-balanced mix of those professions that have contact with victims of crime. A number of slots were reserved for members of Vermont's Victim/Survivor of Crime Council, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Parents of Murdered Children, and rape crisis and battered women's shelters support groups. During the pilot sessions, crime victims evaluated how the presentations respected their experience as crime victims. Members of the VS2000 Advisory Group agreed to make it mandatory that new deputy state's attorneys, new state police, and new state-based advocates attend the academy.

The Advisory Group decided against a fee during the initial adoption and implementation phases of the project. It also decided against an application process for participants, feeling it would hinder rather than enhance participation. In addition to the efforts of the Advisory Group, the development coordinator met with individual supervisors within various offices throughout the state to present the project and recruit participants. The development coordinator found that contacting the individual community-based battered women's and rape crisis programs to recruit participants was more effective than going through the statewide coordinating body. Prospective participants were more likely to attend once they were informed of the names of respected presenters from their own field. As always, written invitations and a phone call to participants shortly before the event can help ensure their presence. The Guidance Counselor Association, local schools, and small colleges became a great source of participants.