A quarter century has already passed since the passage of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The Office for Victims of Crime continues to experience phenomenal growth in its Web-based and in-person training opportunities for victim assistance professionals. In line with our overarching training strategy, we continually strive to provide standardized training and technical assistance resources and best practices that improve the quality of services delivered to crime victims and underscore victims' rights. Efforts are well underway to integrate crime victim issues into our Nation's education system, and to ensure that the voices of crime victims are heard and heeded in our communities and at all levels of our justice system.

Training opportunities are now easier than ever to find at OVC's Training and Technical Assistance Center. On the OVC TTAC Web site you can now apply for Training by Request, access online training, learn about the National Victim Assistance Academy, and access the OVC National Calendar of Crime Victim Assistance-Related Events. OVC’s Training by Request program provides standardized, instructor-led trainings on a variety of topics, and new courses are added every year.

Several thousand victim assistance professionals just like you have graduated from our comprehensive, National Victim Assistance Academy, which now offers three tracks. The NVAA foundation-level, specialized, and leadership training tracks offer a full week of skills-building opportunities. The NVAA is held annually.

Since 2007, we have offered both the downloadable Sexual Assault Advocate/Counselor Training and the Victim Assistance Training Online (VAT Online), OVC's interactive 40-hour training course. Victim service professionals can take the VAT Online training at their own pace, whenever they have access to the Internet. Many individuals from across the country have already taken advantage of this totally free resource, and so can you. In 2009, we released two additional downloadable trainings - Ethics in Victim Services and Victim Impact: Listen and Learn — and the award-winning interactive Identity Theft Victim Assistance Online Training. In 2010, we introduced three new instructor-led trainings: Grant Writing and Other Funding Strategies for Victim Service Providers, DNA Collection and Use in Sexual Assault Cases, and Supporting Crime Victims With Disabilities.

The National Training and Technical Assistance Needs Assessment Survey was an opportunity for those working in the victim services field to have a say in what training and technical assistance initiatives OVC supports. The survey closed in August 2010. The results will provide OVC with the evidence it needs to bring you current, strategic, and relevant training that helps with the vital work you do.

Through OVC TTAC, you can also apply for customized technical assistance including securing speakers or trainers to deliver presentations or workshops at your conference, peer-to-peer training facilitation, needs assessment, or program evaluation support. In addition, you can seek support through OVC's professional development scholarship and crime victim survivor scholarship programs.

Whether you are new to the field or a seasoned victim assistance professional, OVC TTAC can provide you access to enhanced skills and subject matter expertise that will help you better support the men, women, and children you serve every day. We look forward to hearing from you.