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Working With Victims of Drug-Related Crime: Forging Links Between Victim Service and Substance Abuse Professionals

NCJ Number
173042
Author(s)
M A Young; J H Stein; C G Tyiska
Date Published
1992
Length
344 pages
Annotation
This all-day training program is designed to bring together professionals from two discrete fields: victim service providers and those who specialize in substance abuse education, prevention, and treatment; the goal of the training is to provide background information on each field for the benefit of the other group present.
Abstract
The purpose of the first session is to provide participants with an overview of the course content and the educational objectives and methods of the training. The objective of the second session is to acquaint participants with the nature and scope of drug-related crime, and the third session focuses on defining victims of drug-related crime. The latter includes defining the attributes of victims of drug-related crime who will be eligible for services and addressing any controversial issues in the definition of victims of drug-related crime. The fourth session considers the psychological trauma of crime victimization and unique issues for victims of violence related to chronic exposure to violence and drugs. The fifth session turns toward what is involved in working with drug-abusing individuals. Issues covered include the scope of the substance abuse problem, the causes and consequences of substance abuse, the unique difficulties of working with drug users, the properties of commonly abused drugs, and types of drug treatment. Remaining sessions focus on the strengthening of networking skills among victim service providers and substance-abuse workers, cross- cultural service delivery, strategies for working with victims of drug-related crime, and the design of strategies that use both victim-service and substance-abuse specialists to assist victims of drug-related crime. Closing sessions involve reports on action plans and a review of commitments to action. Appended supplementary material, including a 167-item bibliography