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 listing of all OVC publications is also available.

Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Child Victims and Witnesses (June 1999)
This OVC monograph (NCJ 176983) describes the best practices and programs that focus on the most effective response to child victims and child witnesses by all those who work in our criminal justice system.
ASCII (79 kb) or PDF (1.35 mb)

Children Exposed to Violence: Criminal Justice Resources (June 1999)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 176984) is a companion piece to the OVC monograph "Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Child Victims and Witnesses" (NCJ 176983). It provides information about the resources, tools, and services available to improve our individual and collective response to children who face crime and violence in their lives.
ASCII (64 kb) or PDF (105 kb)

Community Crisis Response (August 1999)
This fact sheet (FS 000148) describes OVC's role in providing support to communities that have suffered crimes resulting in multiple victimizations or communitywide trauma.

The Community Crisis Response Team Training Manual, Second Edition (May 1998)
This OVC manual (NCJ 173406) is designed to train individuals and communities on crisis response. It presents an overview of crisis, trauma, and crisis response intervention, including scope of catastrophes, factors affecting trauma response, and how crisis intervention services must take these factors into account. Other topics include group crisis intervention techniques, coordinating a crisis response team, managing the media in crisis situations, and stress reactions of caregivers. A 210-item bibliography is also included.
HTML, ASCII (52.1 kb split into 26 smaller files), or PDF (2.6 mb split into 26 smaller files)

Crime Victim Compensation, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172829) is a reprint of chapter 14 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to Crime Victim Compensation. An executive summary and 17 other Bulletins complete the set.

Crime Victims Fund Report: Past, Present and Future
This report by the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) explores the history of the Crime Victims Fund, including contribution patterns and administrative challenges. The Crime Victims Fund Report (PDF 390 kb) also examines how revenue trends may affect the Fund’s future and the challenges in meeting victims’ needs.

The Crime Victim's Right To Be Present (January 2002)
Third in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189187) provides an overview of state laws addressing the rights of victims to attend criminal justice proceedings, particularly trials, and how their presence might affect the rights of defendants.

The Educational Community, New Directions from the Field: Victim's Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172821) is a reprint of chapter 10 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations for the educational community to prevent crime and ensure the safety of students and faculty. An executive summary and 17 other bulletins complete the set.

Enforcement of Protective Orders (January 2002)
Fourth in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189190) provides an overview of state laws and issues related to the enforcement of protective orders.

Establishing Victim Services Within a Law Enforcement Agency: The Austin Experience (March 2001)
This bulletin (NCJ 185334) describes the benefits to both victims and law enforcement officials of incorporating victim assistance staff within law enforcement agencies. The document is a case study of the Austin, Texas, Police Department, recounting how the department established and funded its first full-time victim assistance coordinator position and how victim services successfully grew from a one-person operation to a four-unit Victim Services Division.

First Response to Victims of Crime (September 2006)
This OVC handbook for law enforcement officers (NCJ 189631) describes how to approach and help different types of crime victims. It is designed as a field guide for personnel who respond first to crime victims and includes contacts for assistance. Also available in other languages.

From Pain to Power: Crime Victims Take Action (September 1998)
Following an overview of the effects of crime on its victims, this OVC monograph (NCJ 166604) addresses some of the benefits of community involvement for crime victims, including rebuilding self-esteem, reducing isolation, regaining a sense of power, and dealing with fear and anger. The monograph discusses victim assistance, victims' rights advocacy, and violence prevention and presents some caveats regarding victim activism.

Guidelines on Justice for Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (January 2003)
This document provides guidelines for victim service professionals, government and public agencies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations to ensure the rights of child victims and witnesses of crime are respected throughout the justice process and that children are not further victimized during this process. Produced by the International Bureau of Children's Rights (IBCR), this thematic report is available online in English, French, and Spanish. Multilingual PDF (169 kb)

I'm Going to Federal Court with Mark & Julie (1997)
This OVC activity book (PDF only) includes pages to color, games, puzzles, and information to teach child witnesses about the court experience they will face. The book is a companion piece to the video Inside Federal Court (September 1995; NCJ 157156), which also instructs children and their families about the court process to build confidence and reduce anxiety about testifying.
PDF (10.35 mb)

Impact Statements: A Victim's Right To Speak, A Nation's Responsibility To Listen (July 1994)
This OVC report (NCJ 154395) discusses the state of victim rights in the United States and focuses on the right to submit victim impact statements. It examines the effectiveness of victim impact statements, proposes models for implementation of impact statements in states that do not yet provide for them, and discusses various aspects of victimization and social services for victims.

Law Enforcement, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172813) is a reprint of chapter 2 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to Law Enforcement. An executive summary and 17 other Bulletins complete the set.

Learning About Victims of Crime: A Training Model for Victim Service Providers and Allied Professionals (September 2003)
Fifth in a series documenting the accomplishments of the Victim Services 2000 (VS2000) project, this OVC bulletin (NCJ 199934) summarizes initiatives at the Denver VS2000 site and how participants there approached cross training victim service providers and allied professionals in faith communities, law enforcement settings, and judicial and other legal settings.

National Victim Assistance Academy 2002
The NVAA text emphasizes foundations in victimology and victims' rights and services, as well as new developments in the field of victim assistance.

Ordering Restitution to the Crime Victim (November 2002)
Sixth in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189189) provides an overview of state laws addressing the rights of victims to receive court-ordered restitution from offenders in criminal cases.

OVC Help Series Brochures (March 2002)
The OVC Help Series (BC 000669) is a set of 10 brochures that address 8 categories of crime victimization: assault, child abuse, domestic violence, drunk driving, homicide, robbery, sexual assault, and stalking. Each brochure includes an overview of general crime facts, a description of what victims may experience, and suggestions for how to seek help. The brochures are intended to supplement the information victim service providers can offer and to give victims a resource they can easily refer to in a crisis. Also available in other languages.

OVC National Directory of Victim Assistance Funding Opportunities 2001 (September 2001)
This OVC resource directory (NCJ 189218) lists by state and territory the contact names and information for federally funded crime victim assistance programs and includes particulars on grant programs that help state and local agencies prepare for and respond to incidents of domestic terrorism and criminal mass casualty.
HTML, ASCII (300 kb), or PDF (969 kb)

Promising Practices and Strategies for Victim Services in Corrections (July 1999)
This report (NCJ 166605) offers an overview of correctional practices and planning strategies for responding to victims of crime. It contains a wealth of ideas to establish and enhance corrections-based victim services, particularly improving treatment of crime victims in the postsentencing phase of their cases.
ASCII (148 kb) or PDF (4.1 mb)

Promising Victim-Related Practices and Strategies in Probation and Parole (1999)
This OVC compendium (NCJ 166606) explains ways in which probation and parole can change from being simply offender directed to a balanced approach that addresses the specific needs of all involved, including victims.
HTML, ASCII (451 kb), or PDF (3.70 mb)

Providing Relief to Families After a Mass Fatality: Roles of the Medical Examiner's Office and the Family Assistance Center (November 2002)
This bulletin (NCJ 188912) offers medical examiners, coroners, and victim assistance professionals guidance, resources, and lessons learned about working with victims' families after a mass fatality event. Recommendations are drawn from the disaster response practices used by the National Transportation Safety Board and the experiences of the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner's Office during the aftermath of the 1995 terrorist bombing in that city.

Reporting School Violence (January 2002)
Second in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189191) provides an overview of state laws enacted in recent years to address violence in U.S. schools.

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.

Responding to September 11 Victims: Lessons Learned From the States (April 2005)
This OVC monograph (NCJ 208799) reflects the frontline perspective of the state Victims of Crime Act administrator agencies that OVC funded to provide services to victims of the 9/11 attacks. The monograph also offers lessons learned to state, federal, and private decisionmakers for organizing effective responses to mass criminal victimization.

Restitution: Making It Work (November 2002)
Fifth in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189193) provides an overview of state legislation and issues related to the collection of court-ordered restitution to crime victims.

Restitution, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172825) is a reprint of chapter 15 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to Restitution. An executive summary and 17 other Bulletins complete the set.

Safe Harbor: A School-Based Victim Assistance/Violence Prevention Program (January 2003)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 193464) describes Safe Harbor, a promising practice for addressing violence prevention and victim assistance issues in schools. It summarizes implementation issues and program evaluation results at 10 replication sites around the United States. Useful for teachers, administrators, and victim assistance professionals.

School Crisis Response Initiative (September 2003)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 197832) describes an innovative model for preparing for fast and effective responses to the needs of students after violent or traumatic crises. Crisis response teams made up of trained school personnel and community members provide student support and assistance, including triage, counseling, and referral to community services.

Serving Crime Victims and Witnesses (2nd Ed.) (February 1997)
This guidebook (NCJ 163174) provides a detailed discussion of strategies for planning, implementing, and refining victim assistance programs, with examples of program operations and activities, and suggestions of resources for further assistance. It is intended for directors and other staff of existing victim assistance programs, planners designing a new program, and agency supervisors and administrators who may wish to sponsor a program.
ASCII (500 kb) or PDF (1.1 mb)

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs: Improving the Community Response to Sexual Assault Victims (April 2001)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 186366) provides an overview of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs and their contributions to improving community response to sexual assault victims, identifies promising practices in such programs, and provides practical guidelines for establishing a SANE program.
HTML, ASCII (86 kb), or PDF (2 mb)

Standards for Victim Assistance Programs and Providers Standards Kit (May 2003)
This kit, compiled by the National Victim Assistance Standards Consortium, includes program, competency, and ethical standards for victim assistance providers; a compendium of promising practices in professional development; directories of credentialing programs and related standards; and a list of professional development resources. For printed copies, contact The Center for Child & Family Studies.

State Crime Victim Compensation and Assistance Grant Programs (April 2004)
This e-pub (FS 000306) provides information about OVC's partnership with state agencies to provide victim compensation and victim assistance to individuals. This e-pub links to a listing of state administrators to contact to obtain direct services for victims.

State Legislative Approaches to Funding for Victims’ Services (December 2003)
Ninth in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 199477) provides an overview of state legislative approaches to raising funds for victim compensation and assistance programs.

Strengthening Antistalking Statutes (January 2002)
First in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189192) provides an overview of state legislation and issues related to stalking.

Survivors of Politically Motivated Torture: A Large, Growing, and Invisible Population of Crime Victims (January 2000)
This OVC document (NCJ 178911) provides a definition of politically motivated torture, discusses the extent and intent of torture around the world, and explains the after-effects of torture on survivors and their families. It also details how treatment centers intervene to help torture victims and how these centers can collaborate with and provide training to victim assistance programs and allied professionals.
HTML, ASCII (31 kb) or PDF (2.35 mb)

Understanding DNA Evidence: A Guide for Victim Service Providers
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 185690) and brochure (BC 000657) offer victim service providers an understanding of how DNA testing may be used in victims' cases, the process and procedures used, and the potential outcomes from the test.
Bulletin (April 2001): HTML, ASCII (14 kb), or PDF (573 kb)
Brochure (May 2001): ASCII (14 kb) or PDF (360 kb)

The Victim Assistance Community, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172817) is a reprint of chapter 6 from New Directions and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to the Victim Assistance Community. An executive summary and 17 other Bulletins complete the set.

The Victim Assistance Field and the Profession of Social Work (March 2006)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 210592) enhances the capacity of professional social workers to respond to the needs of adult victims of violent crime. It describes the pilot program's objectives, which included conducting a professional awareness campaign, providing training to social workers on victims' rights and services, developing links between professional social work and victim assistance organizations, and replicating the project with other NASW chapters.

Victim Input Into Plea Agreements (November 2002)
Seventh in the OVC Legal Series, this bulletin (NCJ 189188) provides an overview of state laws addressing the rights of victims to be involved during plea negotiations in criminal cases.

Victims of Crime-A Social Work Response: Building Skills To Strengthen Survivors (April 2006)
Social workers and students can learn about crime victim assistance and victims' rights and services by accessing this new kit of training materials. Materials include trainer and participant manuals, a discussion guide, and other resources.

Working with Victims of Crime with Disabilities (September 1998)
This bulletin (NCJ 172838) presents recommendations on improving services to crime victims with disabilities, based on discussion at an OVC-funded 2-day symposium of victim assistance providers and related professionals. The bulletin identifies issues, service gaps, and barriers to access; recommends needed changes; and spotlights successful programs and promising practices that reach and serve crime victims with disabling conditions.
HTML, ASCII (89 kb), or PDF (165 kb)