Federal Assistance Division (formerly FCVD)

The Federal Assistance Division (FAD) is responsible for providing advocacy, leadership, and policy development guidance to Federal agencies and Indian tribes to assist them in developing direct services for victims of Federal crime. This responsibility includes providing training and technical assistance in order to effect systemic change by building coordinated, multi-agency, victim-centered service programs. The FAD also coordinates services with other elements of the Federal Government such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Department of the Treasury agencies, Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Defense and the military services, the Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other Federal agencies with criminal justice responsibilities. The staff assists the OVC Director in monitoring agency compliance with the victims' issues contained in Federal statutes and the accompanying Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (AG Guidelines).

The Division also:

1. Identifies service needs of Federal crime victims and recommends strategies and program activities to address or improve the needed services.

2. Develops training and technical assistance programs for staff of Federal law enforcement agencies, U.S. Attorneys' offices, and American Indian/Alaska Native organizations to enhance their capacity to respond to crime victims.

3. Funds demonstration programs with Federal agencies with criminal justice responsibilities and Indian tribes/tribal organizations to develop promising practices that can be replicated by other agencies and tribes/tribal organizations.

4. Administers the Children's Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities discretionary grant program that makes grant awards available to Indian tribes to improve the investigation, prosecution, and handling of child abuse cases.

5. Administers the Tribal Victim Assistance (TVA) discretionary grant program (an expansion of the former Victim Assistance in Indian Country grant program) that makes grant awards available to Indian tribes and tribal organizations to establish victim assistance programs in remote areas of Indian Country.

6. Administers the Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country by Faith-Based Organizations. The purpose of this initiative is to support the provisions of faith-based counseling services to crime victims and to support the creation of collaborative models for local victim assistance programs to join with faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

7. Encourages coordination between victim services provided by Federal agencies and victim services offered by the States' victim compensation programs and victim assistance providers.

8. Encourages coordination between victim assistance programs in the Military Services, the FBI, and U.S. Attorneys' offices to provide resources and improve services to victims of crime on military installations.

9. Monitors the law enforcement agencies of the Department of Justice, the Department's Litigating Divisions, and the U.S. Attorneys' offices for compliance with the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance (AG Guidelines).

10. Monitors Federal law enforcement agencies outside of the Department of Justice to encourage adoption of guidelines consistent with the Federal guidelines for fair treatment of crime victims and witnesses.

11. Analyzes, reviews, and comments on proposed Federal legislation regarding crime victims.