National Victim Assistance Academy (NVAA)

The Academy NVAA is a week-long, university-based training course on victimology, victims' rights, and victim services for practitioners employed in victim services and allied areas. Since 1995, more than 2,000 victim service professionals in the United States and several foreign countries have attended the Academy.

It was redesigned in 2007 following a formal evaluation in 2003 (sponsored by the National Institute of Justice) and input from symposium participants. OVC formed the NVAA Work Group, composed of nationally known scholars and practitioners, to restructure the Academy to better serve those working in the victim services field. The resulting NVAA now includes three instructional tracks:

• Track 1, Foundation-Level Training.
• Track 2, Specialized Training.
• Track 3, The Leadership Institute.

The new, revised Academy was first held in December 2007 and subsequently in May 2008. Some of the materials, Foundation-Level Training,are available online.

Information on applying for the next NVAA will be available soon. In the meantime, OVC plans to continue funding training efforts at the state and local level via a variety of activities, including:

• The State Victim Assistance Academy initiative.
• The OVC Training Schedule.
• The VOCA victim assistance formula grant program.
• Professional development and victim scholarship programs.

OVC is committed to providing quality training opportunities for the field. By enhancing the Academy's programming and increasing its educational value for participants, OVC is working to meet the developing training needs of all who serve victims of crime.

Similar training, modeled after NVAA, is available at the state level from State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAAs). For more information, contact OVC TTAC at ttac@ovcttac.gov or 1-866-682-8822 (TTY 1-866-682-8880).

For more information, visit the following pages:

• Frequent Questions—Offers basic information from OVC's Training and Technical Assistance Center about victim assistance training opportunities, including online training.
• Training Options from OVC—Describes the training options offered by OVC though its Training and Technical Assistance Center. The fact sheet also covers upcoming options for online training the NVAA.
• Academy textbooks and videos—Lists the latest Academy materials available online at no charge to you, including:
  • The May 2008 Foundation-Level Training Curriculum.
  • Instructional videos.
  • An Instructor's Manual, the Ultimate Educator and Leadership in Victim Services.
• State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAAs)—Describes how SVAAs provide state-specific training in victim assistance issues and outlines help available to individuals who would like to establish a SVAA.
• The 2003 Academy—Shows information and resources available for the 2003 Academy.
• More About the 2002 Academy—Provides details on the curriculum, workshops, satellite broadcast, host sites, academy faculty, and NVAA press releases.