U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice National Institute of Justice Solicitation Jeremy Travis, Director May, 1997 Effectiveness of Victims of Crime Act Funding in Meeting the Needs of Crime Victims APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 1, 1997 Solicitation EFFECTIVENESS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT FUNDING IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF CRIME VICTIMS I. Introduction The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) are undertaking a multi year evaluation effort to assess the effectiveness of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funded compensation and assistance programs in meeting the needs of crime victims. The overall program will yield: a) a needs assessment from the victim's point of view; b) an assessment of the services available to victims from VOCA and other federally-funded victim programs of financial compensation and assistance, as well as other local and private victim services; c) identification of unmet needs such as gaps in service or access to compensation; and d) suggestions for improving the delivery of and payment for services to all crime victims. The products from this effort will provide an evaluation of VOCA compensation and assistance programs, along with guidelines for increasing their utility and effectiveness in meeting the needs of crime victims. This solicitation is the first phase in the effort; it will fund pilot tests of recommended approaches to be followed in a subsequent separately-funded national effort to identify crime victims and their needs, the sources of aid they sought and received to meet these needs, the adequacy of this aid in meeting those needs, and the impact of VOCA in meeting those needs. II. Background Currently VOCA contributes to victim compensation programs in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and to victim assistance provided by over 2,500 community-based organizations in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Victim compensation programs reimburse crime victims for crime- related expenses such as medical costs, mental health counseling, funeral and burial costs, and lost wages or loss of support, to the extent that these expenses are not covered by other collateral resources such as private insurance or offender restitution. Victim assistance programs provide services to crime victims such as crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, criminal justice advocacy, and emergency transportation. From FY 1986 through FY 1997, OVC will have distributed more than $637 million in VOCA compensation funds, and more than $1.1 billion in VOCA assistance funds. These programs represent efforts to remedy the financial, physical, psychological, and behavioral costs of victimization; they are in addition to other government programs, insurance, help from family and other intimates, and the victim's personal resources. The NIJ-OVC effort will include systematic evaluations of what works and does not work in VOCA funded programs. These evaluations and assessments will be placed in the context of a broader framework that captures who the crime victims are; whether or not they are currently eligible for VOCA funded services or compensation and whether or not they apply for such services; the full consequences of their victimization; what the victim wants or seeks following victimization, what sources of aid (formal and informal) were used by the victim; what aid was received and from whom; and what needs the victim felt were not met. Victim needs may go unmet because sources of aid are not available, available but not accessible, available but unknown to the victim, available and known but simply not used, or available and used but judged inadequate. Victims can tell us what needs they had and whether these needs changed over time, what aid they sought and received and from what sources, and how helpful it was. To explore these issues, an all-day meeting was held in Washington, D.C. on March 10, 1997. Leading researchers and victim services providers and administrators met to discuss four topic areas: who are the victims, the effects of victimization, the structure of formal and informal victim services, and victim assistance in the 21st century. A summary of the day's discussion, entitled -A Report of the Victim Needs Strategic Planning Meeting- can be obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center; instructions on how to contact the Response Center are provided later in this solicitation. III. Requirements Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation should propose and conduct innovative and creative pilot studies of a methodology that if successful, in a subsequent award could be expanded to a study of a representative national sample. One of the products of the work will be a complete design for a subsequent national study, the aim of which is to identify the crime victims, the full consequences of their victimization, what the victim wants or seeks following victimization, whether information about victim rights and services was conveyed to the victim, what sources of aid (formal and informal) were used by the victim, whether this aid resulted from VOCA funded programs, what aid was received, how useful that aid was, and what victim needs were not met. To the extent practicable, the pilot tests should also yield preliminary findings on these issues. The types of crime victim studied should not be limited to those currently eligible to receive VOCA funded services or compensation, or who have received VOCA funded services or compensation. One goal is to learn who does and does not know about and/or use VOCA-funded programs, and why. This effort should not duplicate information available in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and other sources, but add to such information on victim needs, services obtained, the adequacy and effectiveness of those services, the effectiveness of utilization of VOCA funds, and the extent of unmet victim needs. The preparatory phases of this initial effort might include expert panels, focus groups, key-person interviews, and/or other methods to assess outcomes, feasibility, etc. For the study to be conducted, the applicant's proposal should show a firm grasp of appropriate methodologies and research literatures, the NCVS, and other available public and private data series dealing with crime, injury, health, population, insurance, etc. The proposed new data should utilize and build upon existing data to the extent feasible. The pilot study's methodology for the sampling of locations, persons, events, and periods of time; data collection; and analysis of results should be clearly set forth and justified. The proposal should describe how the success of the pilot effort would be determined, and if successful, how it would be expanded to national scope, and what limitations and costs will need to be addressed in doing so. In its instrument design it should show familiarity with and address the specific policy and programmatic needs of victim services and compensation administrators and providers at the federal, state, and local levels. The proposal should identify the extent to which any findings from the proposed pilot effort would, in and of themselves, be useful to policy makers at these three levels. The proposal should describe and justify its definition and sampling of - incidents-, including but not limited to: * The specific types of criminal victimization that are and are not to be included. * Whether the respondent would be permitted to report on incidents in which he/she was not the victim. * Whether the respondent would be permitted to report on the impacts to others of incidents in which he/she was the victim. * What approach would be taken to get accurate counts of and determine the impacts of those cases involving (a) series incidents, and (b) nonstranger incidents. * How the study will get information about incidents that an individual may not realize are crimes, such as telephone fraud, nonstranger assault and sexual assault, etc. Aspects related to victim characteristics should be addressed and justified, including but not limited to: * How an incident may be perceived, defined, and responded to by victims who differ in terms of characteristics such as nationality, ethnicity, race, age, rural-urban, SES, etc. * Whether particular populations (e.g., very young, institutionalized, no fixed address, etc.) are not being included in the sample. * Whether certain victim characteristics influence their resiliency and need for services. The approach to determining the impact of the crime on the victim, the harm caused, and the needs created, should be described and justified, including but not limited to: * To what extent -victim- includes the victim's family and intimates. * Types of harm in addition to those captured in the NCVS and any other available data. * The dimensions of each type of harm and how each is measured. The time period post-victimization over which harm is reported. * Possible effects of victimization on the community and others who have indirect contact with the victim. The procedure for determining services sought/not sought, and received/not received, should be described and justified, including but not limited to: * Victim's perception of types of aid available, sources of potential aid both formal and informal, and barriers to eligibility (type of crime, relationship to offender, contributory behavior, immigration status, etc.). * Barriers to accessibility (transportation, language, newness in community, family located far away, fear of social stigma or blaming, etc.). * Inventory all aid sought and received by victim from all sources (public agency, nonprofit, employer, charity, private, family, friends, own insurance, etc.), and in what order that aid was received. * Source of each form of aid and name of service provider organization. If the criminal justice system, which part of the criminal justice system? * Judged adequacy of aid received and the needs remaining unmet after the aid was received, including whether the period of aid was shorter than the period of need caused by the effects of the victimization. IV. How to Apply Those interested in submitting proposals in response to this solicitation must complete the required application forms and submit related required documents. (See below for how to obtain application forms and guides for completing proposals.) Applicants must include the following information/forms to quality for funding: * Standard Form (SF) 424 Application for Federal Assistance * Assurances * Certifications Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (one form) * Disclosure of Lobbying Activities * Budget Detail Worksheet, with Narrative * Negotiated indirect rate agreement (if appropriate) * Names and affiliations of all key persons from applicant and subcontractor(s), advisors, consultants, and Advisory Board members. Include the name of principal investigator, title, organizational affiliation (if any), department (if institution of higher education), address, phone, and fax numbers. * Proposal abstract * Table of contents * Program narrative or technical proposal * Privacy certificate, as appropriate * References * Letters of cooperation from collaborating organizations * Resumes of key personnel * Appendixes, if any (e.g., list of previous NIJ awards, their status, and products [in NIJ or other publications]). Due date. Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute of Justice by the close of business on August 1, 1997. Extensions of this deadline will not be permitted. Eligibility. Because Office for Victims of Crime funds are supporting these projects, the OVC legislation authorizing its programs will govern, i.e., the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, as amended, 42 U.S. Code 10601, et seq. Eligibility for grants is limited to non-profit organizations and public agencies, 42 U.S. Code 10603(b)(1)(A). However, profit-making organizations will be eligible for subgrants or subcontracts under applicable regulations if selected by the grantee. Award period. The work of the pilot study must be completed within twelve (12) months from date of grant award. Award amount. Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) has been allocated for this solicitation. The number of projects awarded is expected to be three. How to make application. Assistance in making application is provided in two packages: (1) Guidelines for Submitting Proposals (including requirements for proposal writers and requirements for grant recipients), and (2) Application Forms (including a sample budget worksheet). To obtain these packages, applicants can: * Access the Justice Information Center on the Web: http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#NIJ. At this site, the NIJ application forms and guidelines are available as electronic files that may be downloaded to a personal computer. * Request hard copies of the forms and guidelines by mail from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420 or from the Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770 (in the Washington, D.C., area, at 202-307-1480). * Request copies by fax. Call 800-851-3420 and select option 1, then option 1 again for NIJ. Code is 1023. Guidance and information. Applicants wishing additional guidance and information should contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770, who can help potential applicants with many of their questions, or refer them to an appropriate NIJ professional if necessary. Send completed proposals to: EFFECTIVENESS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT FUNDING IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF CRIME VICTIMS National Institute of Justice 633 Indiana Avenue NW, Room 303 Washington, DC 20531