|
The Office for Victims of Crime, through its Special Projects Division
(SPD), promotes promising practices, training and technical assistance,
and demonstration projects designed to improve crime victim services.
To serve OVC's constituency—crime victims and their advocates, criminal
justice personnel, allied professionals, and the general public—SPD
undertakes the following functions:
- Identifies emerging issues—such as hate/bias crimes, fraud,
elder abuse, and underserved populations—and convenes symposia
that address such issues. SPD also supports dialog among practitioners
and policymakers.
- Develops grant solicitations that address emerging issues and
can move the field forward. These solicitations are included in
OVC's annual Discretionary Grant Program Application Kit.
- Reviews grant applications to select and fund high-quality
proposals.
- Networks with organizations to promote institutional changes
on behalf of crime victims, such as greater sensitivity within the media.
- Monitors and assists grantees to promote effective and responsive
projects. The resulting grantee-authored products include published
promising practices and technical
assistance resources made available on OVC's Web site.
- Designs national-scope, demonstration grant initiatives, such
as Victim Services 2000 (VS 2000), a blueprint of a collaborative community-based
victim service delivery system described more fully in the Denver
VS 2000 fact sheet.
- Collaborates with leaders in the victim services field to promote
strategies that enhance the quality of services available to crime victims.
|
