Chapter 6: Recommendations for the Victim Assistance Community

The recommendations below, which appear in the May 1998 New Directions
Report, have been reformatted for replication and distribution. 

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As the victim assistance field has grown, so has its awareness of the complex
needs of crime victims and the demand for coordinated multidisciplinary
responses to meet their most salient needs. There is an increasing understanding
that services must be tailored to meet the needs of both traditionally served
victims as well as those victims newly identified as "underserved"--diverse
cultural populations, victims with disabilities, victims of gang violence, and
victims of white-collar crime and fraud, to name a few. Communities around the
country are working toward the goal of integrated victim service delivery
systems where quality services are available and accessible to all crime victims.
To facilitate these goals, the following recommendations for the victim
assistance community are set forth by the field:

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1. Victim assistance providers should encourage victim involvement in the
development and implementation of all programs and services they provide,
including public awareness, education, and violence prevention programs.

2. Victim assistance programs and services should be designed to reach
diverse constituencies. All policymakers, program administrators, and staff
should be knowledgeable and skilled in serving diverse cultural and ethnic
groups.

3. Victim service providers should join criminal and juvenile justice and allied
professionals to conduct needs assessments in their communities to identify
underserved victim population groups and to determine the types of services
that should be available for these groups.

4. Victim service providers should work with allied professionals, other victim
service providers, and leaders in their community to ensure that a
comprehensive network of services and support is available for crime victims.

5. Standards for victim assistance should be developed and instituted to guide
those who serve victims in community-based programs as well as across all
justice systems.

6. Victim assistance providers must receive basic training and annual continuing
education on crime victims' rights and services.

7. A national commission should be established to develop certification and
accreditation standards for victim advocacy and assistance.

8. Victim service providers should increase public awareness of their programs
and services.

9. Evaluation studies should be conducted to determine if current methods of
victim assistance are effective and to identify critical areas in which additional
victim intervention and assistance services are needed.

10. There should be a clearly defined code of ethics to bind all victim service
providers in the field to designated standards of behavior.


11. Victim assistance providers should expand current statewide networks to
build a capacity for addressing communities in crisis. Each State should develop
a crisis response team and interact with other disaster planning efforts.

12. Victim service providers should develop interagency response protocols for
assisting all crime victims, including child victims, elder abuse victims, and
victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

13. A national hotline that provides 24-hour immediate crisis counseling,
information, and referral services for all victims of crime should be established.
In addition, every State should establish statewide, toll-free 800 numbers to
provide information and referrals for victims of crime.

14. Victim assistance programs should integrate technological advancements
into their programs to help better meet the needs of crime victims. 

15. Victim assistance programs should comply fully with the 1990 Americans
with Disabilities Act to ensure that victims with disabilities can access available
services. More programs that focus on serving victims with disabilities must be
established. Additional research should be conducted to determine the extent of
victimization against people with disabilities and to guide strategies to increase
reporting and prevent this type of victimization. Criminal justice professionals
and the victim service community must receive additional training in providing
outreach and assistance to victims with disabilities.

16. Victim service providers should be trained to assist crime victims who
interact with members of the media.

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