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Open Letter From the OVC Director, October 18, 2004 Dear Colleagues: As we begin the new fiscal year, I want to take this opportunity to provide information to you regarding the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) program priorities for Fiscal Year 2005 (FY 2005) and to inform you of the process for accessing information about OVC's discretionary funding. The overarching goals of OVC are to support the enforcement of rights for crime victims; provide victims with access to comprehensive, quality services; integrate victims' issues into all levels of the Nation's educational system; identify, enhance, and replicate promising practices; and listen to and address the concerns of crime victims in the Nation's response to violence and victimization. In this regard, OVC has funded and plans to fund initiatives that address the implementation of victims rights; support services and assistance to American Indian and Alaska Natives; support collaborative efforts between the faith and victim services community; promote promising practices to meet the needs of unserved and underserved crime victims; generate greater awareness about victims' rights and services; promote the use of technology in delivering training and technical assistance and services to crime victims; develop programs and alliances to respond to the needs victims of terrorism and mass violence; develop and deliver high-quality training and technical assistance that meets the continuing and emerging needs of the field; enhance victim services in ways that help communities expand and reinforce their ability to serve crime victims; and respond to the unique needs of economic crime victims, particularly victims of identity theft and telemarketing fraud. The FY 2005 program priorities, in many cases, will include initiatives previously funded to support these goals and objectives, as well as new collaborative efforts based on statistical findings, research, and evaluation. We are also committed to continuing our efforts to provide funding to grassroots, community-based victim service programs through projects such as Helping Outreach Programs to Expand; to continue our long-term efforts to seed the development of training for victim advocates in each state through our State Victim Assistance Academy initiative; to restructure, update, and present our National Victim Assistance Academy to provide tailored, timely training and technical assistance to the field via the OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center; to make information available on emerging issues and promising practices via the OVC Resource Center; to support direct assistance to victims in asserting their legal rights through the National Crime Victim Law Institute; to fund services for American Indians and Alaska Natives through OVC's Tribal Victim Assistance Program; to provide scholarships for victim advocates and victims to attend training and conferences; and to support the development of victim ombudsmen through the Victims' Rights Compliance initiative. With regard to new initiatives, OVC is working collaboratively with other Office of Justice Programs (OJP) bureaus to know more about the emotional toll and practical needs of identity theft victims, determine better ways to expand the reach of existing victim services, and develop ways to better educate the public through crime prevention media campaigns and other strategies that might reduce the prevalence of identity theft in our Nation. OVC will also be implementing a new competitive program to support state and national conferences hosted by public agencies and nonprofit organizations by providing funding for conference-related costs such as trainers, speakers, the development of training materials, and conference meeting space, among other costs. OVC will also continue its work to support services and assistance for human trafficking victims and provide training resources to aid state and local efforts to address the needs of trafficking victims. OVC will develop and maintain a comprehensive and centralized database of federal and other resources for victims of terrorism and develop materials on how to set up a family assistance center for victims of terrorism and mass violence. OVC plans to post more detailed information regarding new funding initiatives on its Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc within the next 6 to 8 weeks. In addition, we encourage you to register to receive information regarding new funding efforts via the OVC discretionary funding listserv and to register on OJP's online Grants Management System (GMS). Sincerely, John W. Gillis |
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