Revised Consolidated Victim Service Program Standards

Throughout the year, there have been several updates to the OVS Consolidated Standards. These updates affect the following standards:

·       Media

·       Use of Technology in the Provision of Services to Victims

·       Program Administration

·       Outreach

On February 7^th, 2023, the Victims Services Advisory Committee (VSAC) adopted the Media Standard which provides guidance to victim service program staff regarding victims’ choices to interact with the media and guidelines for media relations whether in direct contact with the media or by print or digital means.

On May 9^th, 2023, the VSAC approved updates to both the Use of Technology in the Provision of Services to Victims and Program Administration Standards. The Use of Technology in the Provision of Services to Victims Standard has been updated to expand safeguards for victims utilizing technology and to be reflective of Victim Services Programs’ online and social media presence.

The Program Administration Standard has been updated under section D, Personnel Management, to include ‘Determination of Suitability to Interact with Participating Minors'. This affects grant awards involving, but not limited to, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), Rights and Services Act (RASA) and Victims of Juvenile Offenders (VOJO) funding streams. Information regarding this requirement was previously provided to the field on March 6, 2023.

Please click here to view the correspondence.

The final update pertains to the Outreach Standard approved by the VSAC on August 8, 2023. Updates to the Outreach Standard discuss providing timely outreach to victims while avoiding duplicative outreach and services in the service area. 

The revised standards have been updated and can be accessed here.

Victim Services Programs who have OVS as oversight entity will be required to submit updated policies and procedures relevant to the Media, Use of Technology in the Provision of Services to Victims, and Outreach Standards for programmatic monitoring visits beginning January 1, 2024.

Inquiries regarding these updates may be directed to Heather Cureau, OVS Program Supervisor, by emailing hcureau@pa.gov or by calling 717.265.8712. 

Upcoming Update To Training Website!

Through a collaborative effort between the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and Penn State Harrisburg, two online training sites –– the Pennsylvania Victim Services Training website (https://pavictimservicestraining.org) and PCCD Capacity Building Portal (https://pacapacity.net) –– will be combined into a single learning space.

The current training website will remain active until the new site is launched in September 2023. The training website will be unavailable between the evening of September 4 (Labor Day) and September 11, 2023. Individuals with an account on the current training website will be able to access their completion certificates on the new site, but courses in progress will not be saved.

 If you have any questions or concerns during this process, please do not hesitate to reach out to PVSTsupport@psu.edu for assistance.

STOP Team Survey - Learning To Enhance Your Work

Attention STOP Recipients:

As part of their STOP Project, PCADV is conducting a survey to gauge training topics that STOP teams feel are a priority.

Please feel free to share the link with other members of your STOP Team.

We would greatly appreciate your participation. It should only take a few minutes of your time.

Please click here to access.

Effective August 15, 2023, the offical name of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is Respect Together.  This new name and tagline better reflect the totality of our work at both the state and national levels, is strengths-based, and highlights the culture change we are actively working to achieve. 

Our new website is www.respecttogether.org

Justice Department Releases Language Access Plan To Expand Access To Department Resources And Programs

The Justice Department recently released an updated Department-wide Language Access Plan to help ensure that all individuals, regardless of language used, have access to and are able to fully participate in the Department’s programs, activities, and services. The Language Access Plan provides guidance to Department offices to help them bolster language access planning, which includes understanding the needs of communities with limited English proficiency, improving translation and interpretation services, promoting quality assurance of those services, and expanding the range of tools available to serve the public. 

Please click here to read.

CDC Provisional Data: Gun Suicides Reach All-time High In 2022, Gun Homicides Down Slightly From 2021

Newly released provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that gun death rates in 2022 remained near highs not seen since the mid-90s and, in addition, rates have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.  

Please click here to read.

Four Ways to Get Back To School Safely When Using A Custody Agreement

For some parents and their children, the back-to-school season is exciting, for others experiencing domestic violence, back-to-school can be very stressful, full of fear and unknowns. With schools opening their doors all over the country these next few weeks, it is crucial to ensure all families have what they need to feel safe and supported. To help prepare families for this transition, check out this new resource. 

Please click here to read.

Resources For Survivors Of Stalking And Cyberstalking

In today's digital age, stalking and cyberstalking has emerged as one of the most pervasive and alarming issues associated with the use of technology-facilitated crimes. This contributes significantly to the prevalence of sexual violence. However, stalking and cyberstalking may not always be easy to identify. With the rapid advancement of technology, perpetrators now have unprecedented access to their victims' lives through the use of online platforms and digital tools to intrude, harass, and intimidate. Learn more about how to identify stalking behavior in person or online, and find resources and support.

Please click here to read.

National Campus Safety Awareness Month

September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month (NCSAM). In 2008, National Campus Safety Awareness Month (NCSAM) was unanimously approved by Congress to encourage a public conversation on important topics in violence prevention at our nation’s colleges and universities. The Clery Center has developed free programs and resources that promote campus safety.

Please click here to access.

How Would You Help? Options, Services And Hope For Crime Survivors

The Office for Victims of Crime has announced that the 2024 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week will be commemorated April 21-27, 2024, with the theme How would you help? Options, services, and hope for crime survivors.

Please click here to read.

Group Crisis Intervention Training

Learn the Group Crisis Intervention Model to respond to community trauma.

Become KCIT Certified—Join a Statewide Team

KCIT’s Group Crisis Intervention (GCI) is a secondary response that addresses the gap that exists in-between traditional trauma services offered. After a tragic event, first responders leave and a community may then be left on its own to navigate their path forward. KCIT can address large numbers of people at a time to help a community come together and to start to tell the story of what happened and connect them to necessary resources and services.

During a GCI a group is led by a facilitator through a series of questions using time progression—starting in the past, present, and then future. Questions aim to help participants sort through their experience of the event, sensory impact, reactions, and what they continue to hold as a result of the trauma. The group process assists in restoring connection and the feeling that “I am not alone” in my suffering. It is important to understand that a GCI is not therapy and is a onetime intervention.

Length: 12 hours total

Cost: Provided at no cost! Funding made possible by PCCD

Format: Virtual and offered in four 3-hour sessions

Dates: Four Tuesdays 

• August 29, 2023
• September 5, 2023
• September 12, 2023
• September 19, 2023

Time: 1:00- 4:00 PM

(Must attend all sessions to receive KCIT Certification and be present with camera on)

Please click here to register.

Questions: Contact Melissa McDermott at Melissa@novabucks.org

Safety And Social Media

Using the internet and social media can be a great way to connect with friends and family, provide a platform for learning and explore our world from anywhere. How do you do it safely and teach those you care for to do so as well? Together we will create a space to answer your questions on how people can safely navigate our ever-expanding virtual world safely and begin the discussion about how to respond if that space becomes unsafe.

August 31, 2023

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Those who attend will: 

• Build awareness of overall internet safety and how use the internet safely and responsibly;
• Learn how promote internet safety using a team model with their family; and
• Identify ways of responding to cyberbullying, digital abuse, and other unsafe situations that may arise on social media or the internet.

Please click here to register.

Pornography & Trafficking: Unpacking the Symbiosis

September 7, 2023, 11:30 – 1:30 

While sex trafficking and porn have both been defined as forms of sexual violence, rooted in a system of gender inequality, what is often overlooked is the way these two industries are culturally and economically linked. By unpacking this symbiotic relationship between porn and trafficking, we can develop a more nuanced theory and practice to abolish all forms of sexual violence.

Please click here to register.

Advocating for Military-Connected Survivors 101 Virtual Training

The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA), is excited to invite civilian community victim advocates, criminal justice professionals, and civilian professionals working with military-connected survivors to attend a FREE Virtual Training Course on Building Military-Civilian Collaborative Community Responses to expand and enhance support for military-connected victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

Please click here to register.

Webinar To Build Cross-Sector Partnerships

September 13 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

$65.00

The Regional Interdisciplinary Collaborative to Disrupt Human Trafficking (The RIC), invites you to attend a human trafficking Webinar to Build Cross-Sector Partnerships to address human trafficking in the medical and first responder settings. This panel of healthcare experts and survivors will discuss how to identify and engage victims of human trafficking as well as provide perspectives from a lived experienced panelist. They will also provide model examples on developing a plan for those identified as victims by developing a plan with 24/7 community partners.  

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Please click here to register.

Rebuilding Safety On Campus

Clery Center’s 2023 National Campus Safety Awareness Month Virtual Summit will explore how to rebuild and enhance the feeling of safety on campus in a post-pandemic culture dealing with budget cuts, mental health crises, and divergences between safety practices and public perception. We will bring together higher education and campus safety leaders and stakeholders from around the country to discuss how to foster innovation, prioritize the well-being and security of campus communities holistically, address growing mental health concerns, and more via interviews, panels, and discussion groups — view the full agenda here.

Reserve your spot today!

Please click here to register.

Collaborative Responses To Domestic Violence In Rural Communities

The Institute for Coordinated Community Response is holding a conference on October 2 & 3 entitled Collaborative Responses to Domestic Violence in Rural Communities. Coordinated Community Responses (CCRs) have been recognized as a best practice in reducing domestic violence since the Violence Against Women Act was enacted over 20 years ago. CCRs can be particularly effective in rural communities, where close-knit relationships and highly engaged community members provide an ideal jumping off point for collaborative efforts. However, with limited resources that must stretch further than their urban counterparts’, it can often be a struggle to implement and sustain this approach.  Recognizing this, ICCR and the Conference on Crimes Against Women are coming together to provide critical training and resources for implementing collaborative, systemic responses to domestic violence in rural communities nationwide.

Please click here to register.

Foundational Academy

The final Foundational Academy of 2023 will be held:

October 18 - 20, 2023

The Graduate Hotel

125 South Atherton Street

State College, PA 16801.

This is in-person only, there is no virtual or hybrid option

Registration is free and hotel rooms, parking, and lunch are included. Participants are on their own in the evenings.

Registration for the October Academy will be open August 28 - 30, 2023 under the PDAI Training Calendar at www.pdaa.org. Trainings are listed by date; you will need to scroll down to October to find the information. It will not be listed at the top with the Save the Dates. Applications will be accepted for the above three days only. During this time, those who wish to attend the October Academy will be asked to apply for a spot. Information on funding and length of time at agency must be completed as part of this process. Registrations will no longer be automatic and accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, applications to attend will be prioritized by, but not limited to, length of time at agency, number of spots filled by the agency in 2021/2022, etc. Applicants must be able to attend all 3 days of Academy in its entirety, as well as complete an additional supplemental online training requirement.

Once prioritized, the top 55 applicants will be notified of their acceptance into Academy. All others will be placed on the priority waitlist and notified of such. The selection process will take up to 2 weeks. All pending applicants will be contacted as soon as the lists are finalized. We ask for your patience during that time period; as a reminder, we will contact you either way. Additionally, Academy spots are only for those VOCA, VOJO, and RASA-funded individuals for whom attendance is required per PCCD's Consolidated Victim Services Standards. And finally, only a maximum of 8 staff members per agency may apply for each Academy.

If you have any questions, please contact Amy Smulktis, Restitution & Victim/Witness Training Consultant at AJS@RestitutionConsulting.com 

Victims Compensation Assistance Program Online Trainings

The following training will be held on August 29, 2023. 

•  Basic Compensation - 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The following trainings will be held on September 14, 2023. 

• · Motor Vehicle-Related Crime Expenses Clinic - 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• · Relocation Expenses Clinic – 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

The following trainings will be held on September 19, 2023. 

• “Wow, That’s Covered by Compensation” - 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• Stolen Benefit Cash Expenses Clinic – 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The following trainings will be held on September 26, 2023. 

• ·Loss of Earnings Clinic - 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• · Counseling Expenses Clinic – 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

All trainings count towards 1 hour of the required RASA/VOCA/VOJO training hours, except Basic Compensation which counts towards 2 and DAVE training which counts towards 2.25.

Please click here to register.

Please click here to view current employment opportunities.

Please click here to view current employment opportunities.

Please click here to view current employment opportunities.