The following information resources may offer victim assistance information, research findings, educational materials, or strategies for program and policy development specific to this topic. A general listing of all OVC publications is also available.

Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Child Victims and Witnesses (June 1999)
This OVC monograph (NCJ 176983) describes the best practices and programs that focus on the most effective responses to child victims and child witnesses by all those who work in our criminal justice system.
ASCII (79 kb) or PDF (1.35 mb)

Child Victimization, National Victim Assistance Academy 2002
The NVAA text emphasizes foundations in victimology and victims' rights and services, as well as new developments in the field of victim assistance, and contains a chapter on child victimization.

Child Victims, New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century (August 1998)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 172827) is a reprint of a chapter in "New Directions" and deals specifically with promising practices and recommendations related to child victims. An executive summary and 17 other bulletins complete the set.

Children at Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs: Helping Meth's Youngest Victims (June 2003)
This bulletin (NCJ 197590) describes the health and safety risks faced by children who live at or visit clandestine methamphetamine labs. Measures are suggested to respond to children's mental and physical health issues when law enforcement officers seize meth labs. The experiences of several states that use multidisciplinary teams are offered as examples of promising interventions and the importance of collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies to ensure the care and protection of these children is emphasized.

Children Exposed to Violence: Criminal Justice Resources (June 1999)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 176984) is a companion piece to the OVC monograph "Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Recommendations to Improve the Criminal Justice Response to Child Victims and Witnesses" (NCJ 176983). It 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.
ASCII (64 kb) or PDF (105 kb)

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 will 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 (10.35 mb)

Internet Crimes Against Children (December 2001)
This bulletin (NCJ 184931) explores the nature of Internet crime and the complex challenges it poses for law enforcement personnel and victim service providers as they work to protect children. The document discusses challenges such as investigating geographically dispersed crimes, gathering evidence, and apprehending offenders while considering how best to respond to children and their families.

OVC National Directory of Victim Assistance Funding Opportunities 2001 (September 2001)
This OVC resource directory (NCJ 189218) lists by state and territory the contact names and information for federally funded crime victim assistance programs and includes particulars on grant programs that help state and local agencies prepare for and respond to incidents of domestic terrorism and criminal mass casualty.
HTML, ASCII (300 kb), or PDF (969 kb)

The Restorative Justice and Mediation Collection: The Collection (April 2000)
This collection of OVC documents describes the field of restorative justice and discusses the practice of victim-offender mediation as a restorative programmatic approach for crime victims.

Directory of Victim-Offender Mediation Programs in the United States (April 2000)
This OVC directory (NCJ 176349) provides addresses, telephone numbers, and contact and other basic information about domestic victim-offender mediation programs.
HTML, ASCII (143 kb), or PDF (570 kb)

Family Group Conferencing: Implications for Crime Victims (April 2000)
This OVC report (NCJ 176347) discusses the implications of family group conferencing for crime victims based on its use in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
HTML, ASCII (34 kb), or PDF (469 kb)

Guidelines for Victim-Sensitive Victim-Offender Mediation: Restorative Justice Through Dialogue (April 2000)
This OVC report (NCJ 176346) examines victim-offender mediation, a major program intervention that fully embraces the concepts of restorative justice.
HTML, ASCII (86 kb), or PDF (578 kb)

Multicultural Implications of Restorative Justice: Potential Pitfalls and Dangers (April 2000)
This OVC report (NCJ 176348) aims to inform practitioners about multicultural concerns associated with the implementation of restorative justice approaches.
HTML, ASCII (58 kb), or PDF (507 kb)

National Survey of Victim-Offender Mediation Programs in the United States (April 2000)
This OVC survey report (NCJ 176350) contains information on the characteristics of various victim-offender mediation programs operating throughout the United States and major issues they face in the course of their daily operations.
HTML, ASCII (53 kb), or PDF (508 kb)

State Legislators' Handbook for Statutory Rape Issues (February 2000)
This OVC handbook (NCJ 178238) discusses state legislative actions to address the issues of statutory rape and provides a framework for developing and analyzing legislation that would criminalize sexual intercourse with a minor based on the minor's age. It includes questions for each issue that legislators and policymakers should consider before drafting new legislation or amending existing laws.
HTML, ASCII (34 kb), or PDF (305 kb)

Victim-Oriented Multidisciplinary Responses to Statutory Rape Training Guide (February 2000)
This OVC guidebook (NCJ 178237) raises the various problems law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers encounter in statutory rape cases and identifies promising practices for dealing with them.
HTML, ASCII (109 kb), or PDF (589 kb)

Victims of Gang Violence: A New Frontier in Victim Services (October 1996)
This Special Report (NCJ 163389) profiles promising programs that help gang victims and outlines 10 proposals to improve services to gang victims nationwide. The report was compiled by a group that included victims of gang violence, victim advocates, and representatives from the judiciary, corrections departments, and federal agencies.

Victims, Judges, and Juvenile Court Reform Through Restorative Justice (October 2000)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 179383) documents the views expressed by victims of juvenile offenders and juvenile court judges who were engaged in a structured dialogue about the problems in juvenile court and their potential solutions.

Working With Victims of Gun Violence (July 2001)
This OVC bulletin (NCJ 186155) describes the impact of gun violence on victims, co-victims, and their communities. It identifies key victim issues and needs, develops recommendations for how federal and state crime funds could be used to address the unmet needs of gun violence victims, and identifies promising practices to serve victims of gun violence.