Victims' Advocates

Webinar - Trauma-informed Care and Response: 101 Training for Justice Professionals

People can be traumatized by many things: from natural disasters to neglect, from abuse to bullying, as well as crime. This trauma can have ripple effects throughout the person’s life, further involving the individual with the justice and/or social services systems.

Webinar - FY 2019 Law Enforcement-Based Direct Victim Specialist Program

This webinar will provide details and guidance for potential applicants to the Office for Victims of Crime’s fiscal year 2019 Law Enforcement-Based Direct Victim Specialist Program solicitation. The presenter will discuss the purpose and goals of this funding opportunity; review its eligibility requirements and deliverables; and address frequently asked questions. A question-and-answer session will conclude this webinar.

Law Enforcement Response: Approaching Your Work with a Trauma-Informed Lens

Victims react to the psychological trauma of a crime in various ways. In order to ensure they receive the care they need, practitioners must become familiar with the impact of trauma and the concept of trauma-informed care. This session will provide participants insight into the surprising similarities of victims and police officers that will help connect the complex thought patterns of a victim in trying to survive the moment and in the long term.

Genealogy Research: Successful Convictions of a Serial Rapist

This webinar will focus on four separate incidents that occurred from 2007 to 2012, including three first-degree rapes, a first-degree sex assault, and an attempted first-degree sex assault. These five cases were all committed by the same suspect, and DNA evidence connected four of these five incidents.

Mindfulness in Domestic Violence Work: Working with Victims (Part I)

Although utilizing trauma-informed principles is a beneficial tool when successfully serving clients who are victims of domestic violence and sexual violence, going a step further by being mindful will get you that much further with this population. This webinar will examine why being self-aware of our own judgments, beliefs and attitudes is so important in our work with victims. More importantly, it is this awareness that could have a profound impact on our work within this field – it could be the difference between life or death for the victims we serve.

Self-Care for Justice Professionals

This webinar will begin by discussing the impact that trauma work has on the brain and body and present interventions that a person can do to mitigate these effects. The presentation will also discuss the personality types that are drawn to trauma work and working with other people’s trauma, and the self-care interventions appropriate for them. The webinar will end with guidance on developing a personalized self-care plan.

Two-Day Suicide Prevention Training for Crime Victim Advocates (May 2019)

The Education Development Center is offering a series of suicide prevention train-the-trainer courses designed specifically for crime victim advocates who are not clinical mental health professionals. With funding support from the Office for Victims of Crime, the Center developed the HOPE curriculum (Notice Hints, Ask Openly About Suicide, Validate Pain, and Explore Reasons to Live).

Expanding Outreach to Victims of Identity Theft and Cybercrime

The National Identity Theft Victims Assistance Network seeks to expand and improve the outreach and capacity of victim service programs to better address the rights and needs of victims of identity theft and cybercrime nationwide. The national network enhances the capacity to provide assistance to victims and encourages expansion of existing victim service programs and coalitions. This session will provide guidance on improving and expanding service to identity theft victims.

Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program Webinar Series: Moms Do Care

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, in collaboration with the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program team, invites you to this no cost webinar on February 20, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. ET. This webinar will highlight the Massachusetts Moms Do Care Project (MDCP), which provides an innovative and multipronged approach to supporting pregnant and parenting women who abuse opioids. 

Core components of the program include:    

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