Professionals working with victims of crime may find the following training-related links of interest:

Breaking the Cycle of Violence (Monograph) - 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.
HTML, Text or PDF (1.35 mb) versions

Children Exposed to Violence: Criminal Justice Resources (Bulletin) - June 1999
A companion piece to the OVC monograph Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice System Response to Child Victims and Witnesses, this bulletin (NCJ 176984) 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.
HTML, Text or PDF (106 kb) Versions

Denver Victim Services 2000 Community Advocate Program (September 2001)
This fact sheet (FS 000272) describes the Community Advocate (CA) Program, an outreach initiative of the Denver, Colorado, Victim Services 2000 demonstration project funded by OVC. CAs are known, respected, and involved members of underserved and unserved communities; they can establish trust within a community and build bridges between victims and victim service providers. The fact sheet discusses development of the CA Program, services provided by CAs in Denver communities, and the types of crime addressed by CAs.

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 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 (11 mb)

Joint Center on Violence and Victim Studies
The center provides professional and academic educational courses, resources, and public policy initiatives to address issues of violence and victimization.

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.

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.

Providing Services to Victims Viewing a Trial at Multiple Locations (September 2006)
To help victims and survivors of mass violence and terrorism, some courts have ordered the closed-circuit transmission of trial proceedings to multiple locations so that victims may more easily participate in the trial process. This e-pub (NCJ 212293) presents a protocol for providing standardized quality services in a safe haven environment to victims during the trial, sentencing, and other court proceedings of those involved in crimes of mass violence and terrorism.

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
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.

Rural Victim Assistance: A Victim/Witness Guide for Rural Prosecutors (April 2006)
This e-pub (NCJ 211106) is designed to help prosecutors, victim advocates, and policymakers understand the state of victim/witness assistance in rural communities, including staffing limitations, the roles and responsibilities of advocates, and the challenges that rural prosecutors' offices face.

Serving Crime Victims and Witnesses (Second Edition)
This National Institute of Justice report (NCJ 163174) examines strategies for planning, implementing, and refining victim assistance programs, with examples of program operations and activities as well as suggestions of resources for further assistance.

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.

Victims of Crime with Disabilities: A Training and Technical Assistance Resource Guide
Online, searchable directory of training resources for service providers who work with crime victims with disabilities. Developed as a collaboration between the American Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, and OVC, this resource database includes books, publications, videos, training programs, and contact information for organizations and other resources that may be helpful to practitioners in the disability and victim advocacy fields.