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.

RASA/VOJO Excel Tracker Video Tutorial

The 2023-2024 RASA/VOJO Funding Announcement outlines various performance measures that Sub-grantees must maintain as prescribed by PCCD and/or federal and state guidelines. A complete list of required data points can be found on Pages 13-16 of the 2023-2024 RASA/VOJO Funding Announcement.

Similar with past funding cycles, PCCD has an excel spreadsheet available for grantees to track outcomes. The use of this tool for all Sub-grantees continues to be voluntary.   

PCCD has recently created a video tutorial providing information on the RASA/VOJO Excel spreadsheet tracking tool. The video tutorial provides a walkthrough with step by step instructions on how to properly use the spreadsheet. The video has been uploaded to the PCCD YouTube channel and can be found here.

The tracking tool was created by PCCD to assist victim service providers with tracking their clients, services, and data outcomes. If you are not currently using the spreadsheet but would like to utilize it, we encourage transitioning to your use at the start of a new reporting period such as July 1^st or October 1^st. 

The PCCD RASA/VOJO tracking tool can be accessed by clicking the link.

Additional video resources and tutorials for applicants and grantees can be found by accessing the PCCD YouTube channel.

OVS Website Update

The Office of Victims’ Services has recently updated their Victim Services portion of the PCCD Website to create a more user-friendly experience. The website update provides information on Act 77, which was an addendum passed in July 2022 to the Crime Victims’ Act pertaining to legal standing for crime victims and law enforcement victim rights notifications. Additions to the website also include detailed information on different funding streams, a comprehensive list of statewide and federal resources for victim services providers, and up to date information on compliance and monitoring procedures. 

Please click the PCCD OVS Website link to check out the updates.

To utilize our newest Victim Rights Brochure, click here or on our website under 'Victim Rights' tab.

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.

Domestic Violence And Gun Violence In The Black Community

Gun violence is an epidemic in the U.S. and has a deadly impact within the Black community. Too many Black women are threatened, wounded or murdered by their intimate partners. The National Resource Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community works to address gun violence by providing training and technical assistance. For more information on this topic, Ujima Inc., has published a fact sheet on domestic violence and gun violence in the Black community.

Please click here to read.

What Has Research On Teen Dating Violence Taught Us?

The National Institutes of Justice (NIJ) funded the first project on teen dating violence in 2005 and has continued to support studies in this area, including longitudinal studies that allow for examining risk and protective factors, and patterns and consequences of teen dating violence that extend into adulthood.

Researchers developed the National Survey on Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV), the first comprehensive national household survey focused on teen dating violence using detailed measures of victimization and perpetration. 

Please click here to read.

Let's Talk About Men And Mental Health

Most of us won’t ever understand what it means to be a Black man in America. In particular, we can’t understand how living as a Black man affects psychological wellbeing, a concept that’s only now coming to light for BIPOC communities. 

Please click here to read.

Resources For Overcoming DEI Jargon Barriers To Entry

DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) jargon can often be used in everyday conversations. For many, this can feel like a barrier to fostering openness and mutual understanding for people who want to meaningfully engage in conversation but aren’t sure how.

Please click here to read.

Economic Justice Is Prevention

When people have what they need to thrive economically, the risk of both intimate partner perpetration and victimization is reduced.

Please click here to read.

You Can't Pour From An Empty Cup : US Violence Prevention Workers Tell Of Burnout

Community workers say life on frontlines can be increasingly tough due to trauma, unpredictable hours and lack of funding.

Please click here to read.

PCAR/NSVRC Reveal New Name

Tuesday August 15, 2023 at 2:00 pm

In this brief, virtual webinar, we will celebrate the culmination of our inclusive rebranding process that engaged the voices and insights of many of our state and national partners.

Please click here to register.

The Road To Recovery For Mass Violence Survivors & Communities

PLEASE JOIN THE

Seventh Virtual National Town Hall

Sponsored by the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center

The Road to Recovery for Mass Violence Survivors & Communities

#KnowBeforeYouNeedTo

Thursday, August 24, 2023

3:00 pm to 4:30 P.M. EDT

Join the National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center (NMVRC) for a timely discussion on The Road to Recovery for Mass Violence Survivors & Communities.

At the conclusion of the National Town Hall, participants will be able to:

• Identify long-term trauma and trauma cues affecting mass violence survivors and how to mitigate them.
• Identify long-term trauma affecting mass violence impacted communities and how to mitigate it.
• Describe effective strategies for individual and community needs assessments during the longer-term recovery phase of a mass violence incident.
• Identify best practices for annual commemorations and permanent memorials.
• Describe unexpected challenges that may arise in the long-term aftermath of a mass violence incident, and strategies to address them.
• Describe the most important skills and strategies needed for professionals for the road to recovery. 

Please click here to register.

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.

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 trainings will be held on August 16, 2023.

• Crime Scene Cleanup Expenses Clinic - 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• Myths of Compensation – 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

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 opportunites.

Please click here to view current employment opportunities.

Please click here to view current employment opportunities.