Camera-Ready Resources o Public Awareness Pocket Cards o Overheads Formatted for Speaker Presentation o Community Forum Announcement Flyer How To Use Public Awareness Pocket Cards To enhance professional and public education efforts, pocket cards have been developed for reproduction and distribution at various meetings, forums, conferences, and training programs. To facilitate replication, the pocket cards have been formatted to fit three pocket cards per an 8- by 11-inch page. Note: the first pocket card in the series is designed to serve as the master front of each pocket card. The back of each pocket card can be changed for appropriate audiences. For example, when replicating the pocket cards for justice system audiences, the first pocket card can serve as the cover, and then each of the pocket cards on law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, and corrections, can be reproduced on the back of the pocket card for the appropriate discipline. How To Use Overheads for Public Speaking This section contains 39 overheads that have been designed in an 8- by 11-inch format for reproduction on overhead transparencies. The overheads highlight a brief historical review of New Directions and correspond to its five global challenges. However, many of the overheads can serve as stand-alone visual aids to emphasize key points and concepts in speaker presentations. For example, several overheads address the justice system and many contain quotes from crime victims emphasizing the need for enhanced victims' rights and services. Electronic Availability of Camera-Ready Materials All camera-ready resources, including a color version of the overheads, are available in electronic format by visiting the OVC's World Wide Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc. -------------------------------- [Note: The Public Awareness Pocket Cards and the Community Forum Announcement Flyer can be viewed on the Adobe Acrobat version of this document] 1. New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century 2. What is New Directions? A Compass for the Future...250 Recommendations A Reflection of Voices from Across the Nation...More Than 1,000 Contributors A Documentation of the Tremendous Achievements To Improve the Treatment of Crime Victims in America and Around the World...More Than 200 Promising Practices 3. Where Did This Document Come From? New Directions is truly "a report from the Nation" from: o Crime victims. o Those who serve them in the public and private sectors. o Countless leaders on the local, State, Tribal, military, Federal, national, and international levels. 4. History of New Directions New Directions is a 15-year update of the landmark 1982 Final Report of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime. The 1982 Task Force identified the American justice system as "appallingly out of balance," and issued 68 recommendations to improve the Nation's treatment of crime victims. 5. The Voice of a Crime Victim in 1982 "To be a victim at the hands of the criminal is an unforgettable nightmare. But to then become a victim at the hands of the criminal justice system is an unforgivable travesty. It makes the criminal and the criminal justice system partners in crime." --Robert Grayson 1982 Final Report President's Task Force on Victims of Crime 6. The 1982 Task Force recommended the passage of a new Federal law to support crime victim compensation and assistance programs. o As a result, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) was enacted in 1984. o As of today, VOCA has provided more than 2 billion dollars to State compensation and local victim assistance programs. 7. New Directions Charts Historic Progress Over the Past 15 Years o Over 10,000 victim assistance programs have been established... --New Directions, 1998 o Over 30,000 victims' rights laws have been enacted... --National Center for Victims of Crime, 1999 8. New Directions Charts Historic Progress Over the Past 15 Years (cont.) o 32 States have adopted victims' rights constitutional amendments... --National Constitutional Amendment Network o Hundreds of promising practices that assist and support crime victims have been initiated in communities across the Nation. o The vital role of victims in enhancing system- and community-based victim services is clear. 9. In Spite of Great Progress, Continue To Listen to the Voices of Crime Victims Today "I don't believe half of the American population or even a small portion know what can happen to you when you are a victim of crime going through the criminal justice process." -- A Victim of Crime, New Directions, 1998 10. Victims' Voices On Victims' Rights "Sadly today, victims' rights largely remain 'paper promises.' For too many victims and families, the criminal justice system remains more 'criminal' than 'just' when it comes to protecting their rights." --Roberta Roper, Homicide Survivor and Activist, Maryland 11. Overview New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century Executive Summary: An introduction to New Directions and a brief overview of each section of the report. "New Directions is an important road map for comprehensive and consistent rights and services for all victims of crime in the 21st century." --Aileen Adams, former Director, Office for Victims of Crime 12. New Directions is Divided into Key Topical Sections I. Victims' Rights II. Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Agencies III. Victim Assistance and Allied Professions IV. Financial Recovery V. Child Victims VI. International Victim Assistance 13. New Directions Establishes Five Significant Global Challenges Summary of Global Challenges 1. Enact and Enforce Victims' Rights 2. Provide Access to Comprehensive Victim Services 3. Enhance Education and Training Efforts 4. Support and Replicate Promising Practices 5. Ensure Strong Victims' Voices Each Step of the Way 14. About the Five Global Challenges o The global challenges are the result of years of synthesizing background research and holding reaction and focus groups to seek input and ideas from key stakeholders throughout the Nation. o In total, more than 1,000 individuals contributed ideas and recommendations for New Directions. o What are these new challenges for the field? 15. Voice of Leadership "At the core of New Directions is the challenge of creating and implementing consistent, fundamental rights for all crime victims regardless of whether they are in Federal, State, juvenile, military, or Tribal courts." --Kathryn Turman, Director, Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, New Directions videotape 16. Global Challenge #1 "To enact and enforce consistent, fundamental rights for crime victims in Federal, State, juvenile, military, and Tribal justice systems, and administrative proceedings." 17. Global Challenge #2 "To provide crime victims with access to comprehensive, quality services regardless of the nature of their victimization, age, race, religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capability, or geographic location." 18. Global Challenge #3 "To integrate crime victims' issues into all levels of the Nation's educational system to ensure that justice and allied professionals and other service providers receive comprehensive training on victims' issues as part of their academic education and continuing training in the field." 19. Global Challenge #4 "To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary partnerships." 20. Global Challenge #5 "To ensure that the voices of crime victims play a central role in the Nation's response to violence and those victimized by crime." 21. A Victim's Voice "Survivors of violence have a very unique understanding of the impact of violence on people, individuals, on families, on communities. I think the country really needs to tap into that understanding." --Father of a murdered child, New Directions videotape 22. What Can We Ask of Our Justice System? Are all components of the criminal and juvenile justice systems meeting the needs of crime victims? New Directions documents that victims' rights are not consistently implemented across the Nation today. 23. The Voice of Leadership "Let us make sure that we give our victims the right to be heard--not in some dispassionate way in an impact statement, but in a courtroom, if they want to be heard, so that people can know what it's like to be a victim. Let us give them an opportunity to participate, to be there, and to hold the criminal justice system at every level accountable." --U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno New York City National Candlelight Vigil, 1993 24. Voices from the Justice System Law Enforcement: "It is about the law keeping its promise." --Sergeant Mark Wynn, Nashville Police Department, New Directions, 1998 25. Voices from the Justice System Prosecution: "Victims of crime are uniformly stunned by the fact that this whole process is out of their control." --Ray Larson, Commonwealth Attorney, Lexington, Kentucky, New Directions videotape 26. Voices from the Justice System Judiciary: "The courtroom is the focal point of the entire criminal justice system...The judge who presides over a court becomes not only the final arbiter of each evidentiary and procedural issue, but also establishes the tone, the pace, and the very nature of the proceedings. Particularly for the victims, the judge is the personification of justice." --Lois Haight, California Juvenile Court Judge and Chair of the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime 27. A Crime Victim Addresses the Court "I remember shaking and being very hesitant in my voice--it was really difficult, but I got out what I had to say and that was very important." --A rape victim's experience in addressing the court, New Directions videotape 28. Voices from the Justice System Corrections: "We have been in denial in essence about the role of the victims in corrections itself. Corrections has probably been the last major entity in the criminal justice system to really get involved with victims' issues. So as President, I really want the American Correctional Association to embrace the notion of victims' issues, victims' rights, and the role of victim survivors." --Reginald A. Wilkinson, former President, American Correctional Association, and Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction 29. New Directions for Victim Assistance and Allied Professions Chapters 1-5 address victims' rights and the justice process. The report also sets forth recommendations for the victim assistance field and for the following key allied professions who come into contact with crime victims in the community: Chapter 6: The Victim Assistance Community Chapter 7: The Health Care Community Chapter 8: The Mental Health Community 30. New Directions for Victim Assistance and Allied Professions (cont.) Chapter 9: The Legal Community Chapter 10: The Education Community Chapter 11: The Faith Community Chapter 12: The Business Community Chapter 13: The News Media Community 31. New Directions in Financial Recovery Three chapters of New Directions focus on meeting the financial needs of crime victims: Chapter 14: Crime Victim Compensation Chapter 15: Restitution Chapter 16: Civil Remedies 32. New Directions for Child Victims An entire section of New Directions is devoted to child victims. Recommendations address: o Victims' rights laws enacted specifically for child victims. o Promising practices in assisting child victims. o Critical areas for research concerning child victims. 33. New Directions for International Victim Assistance International perspectives and recommendations include: o Approaches that have been taken in other countries to address crime victims' needs. o Recommendations for improving services to American citizens who are victimized abroad and foreign citizens who are victimized in the United States. o Recommendations for continued collaboration and reciprocity in the provision of victim services worldwide. 34. Summary of New Directions o In total, 250 recommendations to enhance crime victims' rights and services are set forth in New Directions. o New Directions challenges the Nation to debate and discuss these recommendations and to work hard to incorporate the many ideas and promising practices for serving crime victims on the local, State, Tribal, national, and international levels. 35. Where Can We Focus Our Efforts? o Enacting and enforcing victims' rights? o Training and education? o Developing and demonstrating promising practices? o Increasing services for underserved victims of crime? o Or all of the above? 36. How Can We Evaluate and Assess Our Progress? o Through establishing State task forces? o Through holding community forums? o Through conducting statewide or local surveys and assessments on victims' rights and services? 37. New Directions State Task Force The first step in bringing key stakeholders together to plan a comprehensive and coordinated response to enhance crime victims' rights and services. 38. Goals of New Directions Task Force Identify and Assess: o Current victim assistance programs and gaps in service delivery. o Compliance with the implementation of victims' rights laws. o Funding opportunities. o Professional and volunteer training opportunities. o Promising strategies and practices for victim assistance. 39. New Directions Community Forum o An opportunity to bring together a variety of individuals who share a common interest, issue, or concern about crime victims and community safety. o How can our community enhance its services for crime victims?