U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime OVC Fact Sheet Advocating for the Fair Treatment of Crime Victims August 1999 Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) Training and Technical Assistance The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) provides funding directly to American Indian tribes to assist in establishing reservation-based victim assistance programs in remote areas of Indian Country where there are limited or nonexistent services for victims of crime. Since its inception in 1988, the Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) Discretionary Grant Program has touched the lives of thousands of Native Americans requiring victim assistance services in Indian Country, where the highest ethnic crime rate exists in the United States. Beginning in FY1999, all VAIC grants are awarded on a competitive basis. The purpose of the VAIC grant program is to create permanent, accessible, and responsive victim assistance services on Indian tribal lands governed by Federal criminal jurisdiction. The purpose of this Fact Sheet is to describe the type of training and technical assistance OVC offers to VAIC grant recipients and to describe the goals, purposes, and strategies of its comprehensive training and technical assistance activities supported through a VAIC grant. Program Goal The primary goal of the training and technical assistance provision in the VAIC program is to ensure the successful establishment and implementation of victim assistance programs in Indian Country. Through the VAIC training and technical assistance initiative, OVC provides comprehensive, skills-building training and technical assistance to Indian tribes and tribal organizations that have received funding under the VAIC discretionary grant program. Training and technical assistance provided focuses on program development, planning, and implementation, skills-building exercises for victim advocates delivering direct services, program outreach and coordination, and the provision of on-site training and technical assistance. Program Strategy OVC has attempted to identify and address a wide range of needs of victim assistance programs in Indian Country through a variety of means. The training and technical assistance activities for VAIC grant recipients will be accomplished through the following tasks, products, and activities:  Regional Training Events. OVC will host, through its training and technical assistance grantee, four regional training events that will bring together VAIC program staff from tribes in each region to exchange and receive information on a wide range of issues impacting the delivery of services to crime victims in Indian Country;  Mentoring Support. OVC will use expert VAIC program staff in a mentoring environment to offer training on specialized topic areas to address specific program implementation needs;  Coordination and Outreach. OVC's training and technical assistance providers will assist VAIC programs in identifying effective techniques for coordination with U.S. Attorney's Offices, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) State administrators, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Indian Health Service;  On-Site Technical Assistance. OVC will support the delivery of on-site technical assistance to address specific needs of funded programs;  Development and Dissemination of Publications. OVC's training and technical assistance provider will develop written materials for use by VAIC programs, including an assessment of training and technical assistance provided to tribes and a description of ongoing training needs. For more information about OVC's training and technical assistance efforts for VAIC programs, please contact OVC at 202-307-5983. Visit the OVC Web Site http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ for the latest information on Victims Issues. August 1999 FS000250 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime Washington, D.C. 20531 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 OVC Fact Sheet Victim Assistance in Indian Country (VAIC) Training and Technical Assistance PRESORTED STANDARD POSTAGE & FEES PAID DOJ/OVC Permit No. G-91