The following information resources may offer victim assistance information, research findings, educational materials, or strategies for program and policy development specific to this topic. A general list of all OVC publications is also available.

Building Victim Assistance Networks With Faith Communities (April 2007)
This e-publication (NCJ 215201) describes the Vermont Victim Services 2000 Faith Community Initiative rural demonstration project, which was spurred by the need to provide clergy, who frequently worked with crime victims, with better tools and training needed to effectively assist victims. The publication describes how the program was established, the lessons learned, and other promising practices. It also recommends actions for other victim service organizations that are interested in partnering with the faith community.

Death Notification: Breaking the Bad News With Concern for the Professional and Compassion for the Survivor: A Seminar for Clergy and Funeral Directors (1996)
This publication (NCJ 162362) provides guidelines for planning a death notification seminar for clergy and funeral directors, describes who should attend, and discusses what topics should be included. In addition to the primary topic, the seminar curriculum includes an annotated literature review and materials on crisis responder stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and secondary traumatization, which may be useful for mental health counselors and victim advocates.
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Guidance to Faith-Based and Community Organizations on Partnering with the Federal Government (October 2005)
This brochure gives an overview of the federal grant process; details the do's and don'ts for partnering with the Federal Government, and provides information on how an organization can maintain its faith identity while delivering federal services.

Making the Match: Law Enforcement, the Faith Community and the Value-Based Initiative
This report, published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, describes the Value-Based Initiative, which enables law enforcement agencies to partner with faith-based and other community organizations. The report contains guidelines on starting a value-based initiative and resources for communities seeking to build or reinforce relationships between law enforcement and the faith community. PDF (340 kb)

New Directions from the Field: Victims Rights and Services for the 21st Century—Faith Community #12 (August 1998)
New Directions is the culmination of more than 3 years' work by more than 1,000 individuals in the victim services field including crime victims, representatives from national victim advocacy and service organizations, criminal justice practitioners, allied professionals, and many others. This bulletin (NCJ 172822) is a reprint of chapter 11 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to the faith community. An executive summary and 17 other bulletins complete the set. PDF (125 kb)

Partnering With Faith Communities to Provide Elder Fraud Prevention, Intervention, and Victim Services (April 2006)
This publication (NCJ 213340), discusses the Communities Against Senior Exploitation (CASE) program, developed to address the increasingly significant problem of elder fraud; replication of the widely successful CASE initiative Denver model; and results from a survey distributed to evaluate the effectiveness of the CASE partnership.

Training and Technical Assistance Newsletter; USTCDG - Newsletter #18
Produced in part with OVC funds, this newsletter highlights information and resources specific to the needs of CCVIC/FBO grantees (Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country by Faith-Based Organizations grantees) to facilitate strength and healing for victims of crime in tribal communities. This monthly newsletter is available online; issue #18 (PDF 1.5 mb) features:

• "Counseling for Crime Victims: The Faith Community's Impact"
• "Recognizing Elder Abuse"
• "Interviewing Elders"
• "Grandparents raising Grandchildren"
• "What Faith Communities Can Do to Promote Elder Abuse Awareness"

Victims of Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse, Rape, Robbery, Assault, and Violent Death: A Manual for Clergy and Congregations, Special Edition for Military Chaplains (2001)
This OVC manual (NCJ 163707) for the clergy is an elementary guide to understanding the issues confronting victims of crime. The manual covers victimization by the following crimes: spousal/partner abuse, rape, elderly abuse, robbery/assault/burglary, and violent death. The manual was formerly listed under a briefer title, "A Manual for Clergy and Congregations."

Working with Grieving Children: A Guidebook for Crime Victim Assistance Professionals (1996)
This guide (NCJ 165814) is designed as a quick reference for victim assistance professionals in their work with children, parents, school teachers and counselors, clergy members, and others as they address the needs of grieving children. The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) produced the guide for OVC. NOVA is a private, nonprofit organization of victim and witness assistance practitioners, clergy members, victim service programs, criminal justice professionals, researchers, former victims, health and mental health professionals, and others committed to victims' rights.