Announcements

On the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Director Gillis remembers the victims and surviving loved ones.  Read the Director's Message.

9/10/08 deadline. Questions to the upcoming OVC Web Forum session may be presubmitted until the day of the session on September 10. The topic will be Assisting Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation with guest hosts Dr. Jay Albanese and Rachel Lloyd.

9/18/08 deadline. The National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims, September 25, 2008, is an opportunity for Americans to honor the memories of murder victims and to recognize the impact of homicide on surviving loved ones. A ceremony is planned in Washington, DC, sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, Inc. (POMC) and OVC. RSVP by September 18, 2008.

OVC Director John W. Gillis shares this special message in remembrance of murdered victims.

9/25/08 deadline. The 5th National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Conference will be held in Salt Lake City on October 6–8, 2008. Online Registration for the conference is now open!

10/10/08 deadline. The nomination submission deadlines are approaching fast! October 10 is final day for you to nominate a colleague using the online submissions form. The winners will be honored at a ceremony on April 24, 2009, in a prelude to the 2009 National Crime Victims' Rights Week—25 Years of Rebuilding Lives: Celebrating the Victims of Crime Act, April 26–May 2, 2009. For more event details, important dates, and deadlines, visit the home for National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

Publications and Training Materials

Two new publications underscore the unique challenges in helping people victimized by offenders with a mental illness and their role in mental health courts.

Responding to People Who Have Been Victimized by Individuals with Mental Illnesses (PDF 540 kb; September 2008). “Not guilty by reason of insanity” may pose challenges to implementing and enforcing crime victims’ rights. This issue brief reports on these and other barriers, current policies and practices, and the action items that policymakers, advocates, mental health professional and others can take to protect the rights and safety of these crime victims. A companion Guide explores the possible responses to address the adaptations to crime victims’ policies in Mental Health Courts that are contributing factors limiting victims’ rights. See A Guide to the Role of Crime Victims in Mental Health Courts (PDF 635 kb; September 2008).

The Council of State Governments Justice Center wrote these two guides with a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime and is making them available off their Consensus Project on Criminal Justice and Mental Health Web site. A special area offers the relevant sections of the Consensus Project Report for victims and victim advocates.

Web Forum Transcripts Now Available

Generate your own trancript of these high-interest topics in the crime victims' field with the click of a button. Find out what questions and answers were shared in previous OVC Web Forum discussions:

• Best practices for Delivering Victim-Sensitive Death Notifications—held August 2008.
• Implementing the knowledge and skills obtained by attending the NVAA—held August 2008.
• Assisting Victims of Domestic Abuse in Later Life—held June 2008
• Assisting Family Members of Missing Children—held May 2008

For information about updates to the Web Forum and upcoming Guest Host sessions, subscribe to the Web Forum E-Alert Listserv.

The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of
the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.