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Background of OVC-Funded Programs
In 1982, President Ronald W. Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime first identified the faith community as a vital and largely untapped source of support for crime victims. Although the faith community historically has been deeply involved in social justice issues, few faith-based institutions have developed programs specifically to serve crime victims and their families. One of President Bush's first official acts as President was to create the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The President tasked the office to lead a "determined attack on need" by strengthening and expanding the role of faith-based and community organizations in addressing the Nation's social ills. Since its inception in 1984, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has worked to help the faith community respond to the needs of crime victims. Recognizing that more could be done to support victim assistance programs funded under the Victims of Crime Act and operated by faith-based organizations, OVC has supported several collaborative projects between the faith and victim assistance communities to foster partnerships, share information and resources, and develop state-of-the-art training and technical assistance to assist these collaborative efforts. In response to President Bush's call to action, OVC is redoubling its efforts to provide resources and access to funding to faith- and community-based victim assistance initiatives. This background information is part of several Web pages designed to provide timely, useful resources and information tailored to the needs of faith-related victim assistance efforts. Other sections showcase promising practices in the faith community and innovative partnerships between the faith and victim assistance communities. Browse the OVC & FBOs navigation box to access these pages. |
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