Victim Programs To Serve Native Americans.



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                        From the Director

In 1987, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) became aware that 
victim services were virtually unavailable for Native American crime 
victims. U.S. Attorneys, who were prosecuting cases involving violent 
crime, reported that "on reservation" assistance did not exist for 
Native American crime victims. Since 1987, OVC has designated the 
provision of victim services to Native Americans as an Office 
priority. Attention to this priority has resulted in the 
establishment of many specific program initiatives, including (1) 
an emergency fund that U.S. Attorneys can access to provide services 
to victims involved in Federal prosecutions, (2) a discretionary 
grant program to fund victim assistance programs in remote areas of 
Indian reservations under Federal jurisdiction, (3) the Children's 
Justice Act Program for Native Americans to improve the investigation 
and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases involving Native 
Americans, and (4) specialized training opportunities for victim 
assistance providers. OVC also has encouraged State assistance and
compensation programs to improve their response to the needs of 
Native American crime victims.

It is with pleasure that OVC is taking this opportunity, through its 
first OVC Bulletin publication, to describe its programs that serve 
Native American crime victims, and the impact the programs are 
having in Indian Country.

Brenda G. Maister
Acting Director

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                Victim Programs To Serve Native Americans

Crime rates indicate that almost everyone will be a victim of crime 
during his or her lifetime many of us will be victimized more than 
once (see, Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1988). 
Preliminary statistics for 1990 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
stated that nearly 6 million people were victims of violent crimes, 
including rape, robbery, and simple and aggravated assault. Providing 
services to these victims is an ongoing challenge confronting the 
Nation and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
in its role as the Federal focal point for crime victims' issues. 
Special problems and challenges are posed for Native American victims. 

During the past 10 years, a new emphasis has been placed on securing 
crime victims' rights. National attention was first directed to victims 
in 1981 when President Reagan appointed the President's Task Force on 
Victims of Crime. The task force conducted the first comprehensive 
analysis of the plight of crime victims and witnesses, and found that 
victims were often victimized twice-first, by the crime itself, then 
by the criminal justice system. The President's Task Force on Victims 
of Crime, Final Report, released in December 1982, continues to serve 
as a blueprint for how the criminal justice system should improve its 
response to crime victims. 

Legislative changes for victims

Since the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime published its 
final report, significant legislative efforts have been undertaken to 
help victims of crime. The first piece of landmark legislation, the 
Federal Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-291), 
recognized the important role of crime victims and witnesses in the 
criminal justice process and continues to ensure that the Federal 
Government will provide victim-witness assistance and model 
legislation for State and local governments. The Act also identified 
rights for victims of Federal crimes.

The Crime Control Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-647) strengthened the 
Victim and Witness Act by mandating services and rights that were to 
be accorded to all crime victims by employees of the Federal criminal 
justice system engaged in the detection, investigation, or 
prosecution of crime. These rights and protections were listed under 
Title V of the Act that, in effect, created a Federal Crime Victims' 
Bill of Rights and codified the services that are to be made available.

The 1990 Crime Control Act also includes provisions that enable 
Federal officials to adjust Federal court proceedings to the needs 
and abilities of child victims and witnesses. Additionally, certain 
professionals who work on Federal lands, including Indian 
reservations, are now required to report suspected child abuse.

The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act of 1990
(Public Law 10 1-630) stressed the protection of Indian child abuse
victims by requiring both prompt reporting of suspected child abuse in
Indian Country and background checks for tribal and Federal employees 
who have regular contact with children.

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                Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982

Among the major provisions in the Victim and Witness Protection Act 
of 1982 are the following:

o       Guidelines for ensuring the fair treatment of victims and 
        witnesses in the Federal criminal justice system.

o       Victim impact statements to be contained in presentence 
        reports.

o       Criminal penalties protecting victims and witnesses from
        intimidation or retaliation, including provisions for civil
        restraining orders.

o       Restitution for victims.

o       Consideration of victims' situations in bail determinations.

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The Act also authorized the Indian Child Abuse Treatment grant 
program and the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 
Prevention program. Funds for these programs have not yet been 
appropriated.

The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA) (Public Law 98-473) is the 
most significant piece of Federal legislation for crime victims 
enacted to date. VOCA substantially contributed to the development 
and expansion of crime victim assistance and compensation programs 
across the United States by establishing an innovative funding 
mechanism that takes money away from convicted Federal criminals to 
support the provision of services to crime victims. The Crime Victims 
Fund (the Fund), which is financed by Federal criminals and not 
taxpayers, is derived from criminal fines, penalties, and bond 
forfeitures. Congress directed OVC, which it established under the 
terms of VOCA, to distribute the Fund proceeds principally to States 
and U.S. Territories so that a network of responsive victim assistance 
and compensation services would be immediately accessible for victims
throughout the country.

Since the establishment of the Fund, more than $700 million has been
collected from Federal criminals and applied to the rehabilitation,
recovery, and compensation of innocent crime victims. In fiscal year 
1992, OVC will award more than $127 million in grants to support the 
provision of compensation benefits and assistance services to victims. 
By law, moneys deposited into the Fund are used, in large part, to 
make awards to States and territories through formula and 
discretionary grant programs.

A large percentage of moneys deposited into the Crime Victims Fund 
are distributed to State grantees through formula grants. The State 
crime victim compensation programs that receive VOCA funds utilize 
State and Federal dollars to offset financial losses incurred by 
victims as a direct result of crime. Payments are made for such items 
as medical expenses, mental health counseling, lost wages, and 
funeral expenses attributable to deaths resulting from violent crimes. 
State agencies designated by the Governor to receive VOCA assistance 
grants provide such services as rape crisis counseling and other 
support services, child abuse treatment, shelter for battered women, 
support groups for victims, and prosecutor-based victim assistance 
services.

A comparatively small portion of the Fund is available exclusively 
for the support of services to victims of Federal crimes and for 
training and technical assistance projects for eligible victim 
assistance programs. It has been this comparatively small portion of 
the Fund, amounting to about $1,250,000 annually, which has been 
used by OVC to develop victim assistance services for victims of 
Federal crimes in Indian Country. By fiscal year 1993, up to 
$2,500,000 annually could be available depending on the amount 
collected in the Fund the preceding year.

The award of discretionary grant funds in Indian Country has been
undertaken in order to cultivate victim services for Native Americans 
who previously had no access or minimal access to such services. It 
has also been undertaken to enhance Indian service providers' 
eligibility for State assistance subgrant awards, thereby bringing 
Native American assistance providers within the formula grant 
network serving the remainder of the country.

Another comparatively small portion of the Crime Victims Fund, 
amounting to $9,325,000, is available annually to implement the 
Children's Justice Act (CJA), a grant program administered by the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the purpose of 
improving the way that child abuse cases are investigated and 
prosecuted. However, up to $675,000 of this amount is set aside to 
allow OVC to administer CJA grants for Native Americans. These grants 
are made for the purpose of assisting Native American tribes in 
developing and operating programs designed to improve the handling of 
child abuse cases in Indian Country.


Native American victims

There are about 500 federally recognized tribes, each of which 
represents a unique combination of tradition, heritage, and culture. 
Indian reservations can be found high on the mesas or at the bottom 
of canyons, accessible only by helicopter, pack mule, or hours of 
climbing and hiking.

Access to victim-related services is often difficult, if not 
impossible. Tribal police, schools, and hospitals are often hundreds 
of miles from many of the people who need and use them. Available 
health and mental health services are rudimentary and often do not 
include staff trained in addressing the needs of crime victims. 
Therapy for a sexually abused child or a rape victim is seldom 
available.

In these remote areas, justice for crime victims is rare, public
transportation does not exist, highways are few, and law enforcement 
is not a phone call, but hours or days away. As the events described 
in the Native American victim scenario illustrate, there are some 
unique difficulties in obtaining victim services in Indian Country.

Other significant factors that inhibit Indian victims from receiving
adequate services include the limited number of law enforcement 
officers and the high number and complex nature of crimes committed 
in Indian Country. Approximately 20,000 child abuse complaints were 
reported to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1986. Since 1987, there 
have been 11 multiple-victim child molestation cases in boarding 
and day schools in Arizona alone. These incidents have resulted in 
the victimization of over 1,000 children. In fiscal year 1990, the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated 975 investigations 
involving violent crimes on Indian reservations.

Many violent crimes in Indian Country involve domestic violence and 
child abuse. These crimes are inherently problematic because there 
is often reluctance on the part of victims to take action against 
the perpetrators. One reason for this reluctance is that the 
reporting of domestic violence may be considered by family members as 
a betrayal; strong kinship ties often exist, and there may be a taboo 
on seeking help outside the family unit. Additionally, language can 
be a barrier that prevents or impedes victims from seeking assistance.

The 1980's brought sweeping changes in the criminal justice system's
response to crime victims. VOCA funding allowed the States to expand 
and improve assistance services nationwide, and by 1988 there were 
thousands of programs providing a wide variety of services to help 
crime victims throughout the United States. In contrast, victim 
service programs were virtually nonexistent on Indian reservations. 
Believing that Native crime victims were equally in need of the kind 
of assistance now available in the cities and towns of America, OVC 
designated the development of victim services for Native Americans 
as a major program priority.

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                Native American victim scenario

Mary, a Navajo woman, dropped her husband off at the trading post on 
the Navajo Reservation so he could unload hay. She drove off to 
complete another errand and became stuck in mud. As a result, she was 
late in returning to pick up her husband. In a rage, he hit her 
repeatedly in front of the children while they were in the trading 
post parking lot. During the attack, the three young children 
screamed for him to stop.

Badly beaten, with a severe eye injury, the woman fled and walked for
hours in the snow until she came to a home where she was allowed to 
stay the night. The next day, she set off again until she came to 
another house where the family had a car and gas and was able to 
drive her 50 miles to the hospital so she could have her eye treated.

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OVC involvement in Indian Country

When several multiple-victim cases involving child sexual abuse were
discovered on Arizona reservations in 1987 and 1988, the U.S. Attorney 
for the District of Arizona submitted special requests to OVC to 
obtain immediate victim assistance for over 400 child victims. OVC 
responded by tapping into the Crime Victims Fund for money to support 
the provision of short-term emergency treatment to these children and 
their families. This was the first use of the Fund to finance 
treatment services for crime victims in Indian Country.


The Federal Crime Victims Emergency Services Fund

OVC has established a special fund, the Federal Crime Victims 
Emergency Services Fund (the Emergency Fund), to provide emergency 
assistance to all victims of Federal crime, including Native 
Americans. Upon request, funds are made available to U.S. Attorneys' 
offices to address emergencies in which victims involved in Federal 
prosecutions need services that are unavailable or inaccessible 
through other sources.

Since the establishment of the Emergency Fund, OVC has approved 87
requests from 25 U.S. Attorneys' offices, making disbursements 
totaling $470,287. Almost two-thirds of this amount has been used 
to provide emergency assistance to Native American crime victims on 
reservations. For instance, the Emergency Fund was recently used to:

o  Initiate 3 months of mental therapy for 20 child sexual abuse 
victims at the Pine Ridge Reservation Rocky Ford School. Extended 
treatment is to be funded by local service agencies.

o  Allow six children to accompany their family to a trial in Wyoming 
when it was determined that the children would be in danger if left 
behind on the reservation.

o  Finance a psychological evaluation of and treatment for a 4 
1/2-year-old child who was sexually assaulted by her uncle on a 
Washington reservation.

o  Finance emergency transportation expenses for an Arizona victim
attending an out-of-state gang-rape trial.

o  Finance mental health treatment for child sexual abuse victims in
multiple victim cases in Arizona and South Dakota.

In each case, the victim-witness coordinator in the U.S. Attorney's 
office worked with service providers on the reservations to identify 
treatment alternatives for the victims and their families. Treatment, 
services, or both were determined to be unavailable for the victims. 
Thus, requests for support were approved by OVC.

The Emergency Fund was effective in providing services to individual
victims, but it could not establish a network of on-reservation 
services responsive to the ongoing needs of Native American crime 
victims. The near absence of on-reservation victim assistance 
services had to be addressed in order to ensure access by Native 
American victims to the types of services available in other 
communities nationwide.

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                Emergency Fund case scenario

The defendant was convicted of rape and carnal knowledge on March 16,
1989. He had sexually abuse his 13-year-old stepdaughter for 6 
years. As a result of this abuse, the victim gave birth to baby boy on 
March 4, 1984.

After the victim cooperated with law enforcement, charges were filed. 
The victim's family abandoned her, blaming her for all that had 
happened. At age 19, she had nowhere to turn, no means of support, 
and no work experience.

Because there were no victim services available on the reservation, 
the woman was taken to a shelter in Gallup, New Mexico. At this 
facility, shelter staff agreed to help her apply for other financial 
assistance, find an apartment, and develop skills necessary to become 
self-sufficient.

Working with the U.S. Attorney's office in the District of Arizona, 
the Office for Victims of Crime provided the young woman with living 
expenses to cover a 2-month adjustment period until she could support 
herself and her child.

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Assistance to Victims of Federal Crime in Indian Country: 
A grant program

OVC recognized a need for the Federal Government to make an 
identifiable commitment to Native American crime victims. 
Consequently, the Office designated the development of victim 
assistance services for Indians as its highest priority with 
respect to that portion of the Crime Victims Fund used to support 
services to Federal crime victims. A new discretionary grant program 
to initiate the provision of victim services in Indian Country was 
announced in July 1988. Funding for this grant program, amounting to 
$1,800,000 to date, was taken from the Federal crime victims portion 
of the Fund, and was made available to States containing areas of 
Indian Country where the Federal Government has authority to 
investigate and prosecute crimes. An additional $583,000 will be 
available in fiscal year 1992.

Applications for the discretionary funds were solicited and reviewed
through a competitive grant award process. The selected State 
grantees were required to subgrant the funds to Indian tribes or 
organizations that, in return, were required to establish services 
for victims of crime in their own communities. On November 8, 1988, 
OVC made awards totaling over $1 million to nine States. These 
States subsequently made 29 subgrant awards to Indian tribes and 
Indian organizations to support a variety of victim assistance 
services.

Because of the overwhelming tribal interest in developing victim 
services programs on the reservations, OVC made another $700,000 
available to other States. On November 1, 1989, an additional 6 
States were awarded the funding, and these grantees made 23 
subgrant awards to Indian tribes and organizations providing 
on-reservation services.

To date, over 52 subgrants have been made to Indian tribes and
organizations. Some of the Indian programs are improving the handling 
of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse cases. For 
example, the Hopi Tribe is expanding treatment programs for child 
sexual abuse victims and their families; the Crow-Creek Reservation 
in South Dakota provides comprehensive crisis intervention services; 
the Lower Brule Reservation has a volunteer rape crisis team; 
volunteers from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, 
program accompany tribal police on an on-call basis; and the 
Menominee Tribe Victim Assistance Program was the first-and remains 
the only-police based victim assistance program in the State of
Wisconsin.

The services provided are also becoming more sophisticated. The
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs now routinely uses victim impact
statements from child victims in tribal court; other Native American
programs support domestic violence shelters, law enforcement 
training, emergency transportation, child care, and court advocacy.

With the first nine grants, progress has already been recognized. 
Tribes are beginning to see the victim assistance program as a 
necessary and integral part of their communities. Particular examples 
of expanded victim services include the following:

o  Tribal dollars are now being contributed to support victim 
services programs.

o  On-reservation victim assistance programs have provided a forum 
for improved communication between tribal and State governments. For 
example, South Dakota subgrant contracts to Indian tribes had 
formerly contained language that, according to tribal leaders, 
disregarded aspects of tribal sovereignty. As a result of 
constructive discussions among State and tribal leaders, compromises 
were reached, and tribal contract revisions were adopted. The 
Governor of South Dakota also designated 1990 as a year of greater 
cooperation between the tribes and the State and has pledged
State support for the Indian victim assistance programs.

o  Programmatic adjustments are being made to address unique tribal 
needs. For example, Warm Springs has worked with tribal elders and 
storyteller's to record healing stories to be conveyed to sexually 
abused children.

o  The Navajo Victim Assistance Program coordinator briefs FBI, State, 
and local law enforcement officers on tribal cultural aspects, 
enabling them to respond sensitively to crime victims and 
successfully investigate crimes.

o  In 1988, the first two tribal victim assistance programs were
established in Michigan-there are now six active tribal programs in 
the State.

o  Victim assistance program managers in Oregon, North Dakota, and 
South Dakota now serve on State victim task force committees.

The reduced number of emergency assistance requests submitted to OVC 
also is a clear indication of progressive change. Requests from U.S. 
Attorneys for emergency assistance for Native American victims were 
reduced from 35 requests, totaling $211,763 in fiscal year 1989 to 
14 requests, totaling $40,535 in fiscal year 1990. In 199 1, II 
requests totaling $71,930 were approved on behalf of Native 
American crime victims. The victim-witness coordinators in U.S. 
Attorneys' offices report that the on-reservation programs are 
providing their own emergency services for crime victims.

Six of the nine original States that received Assistance to Victims 
of Federal Crime in Indian Country grants have made State VOCA 
subgrant awards to on-reservation victim assistance programs.

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                First Year (1988) Indian Grants

        Arizona                         $250,500
        Michigan                          90,500
        North Dakota                     100,500
        Oregon                            35,500
        South Dakota                     195,500
        Utah                              50,000
        Washington                       170,600
        Wisconsin                         35,500
        Wyoming                           75,500

                Second Year (1989 Indian Grants

        Idaho                            115,500
        Kansas                            40,500
        Minnesota                         40,500
        Montana                          200,500
        Nevada                           105,500
        New Mexico                       200,500

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OVC Indian programs initiatives with States and tribes

VOCA victim assistance

State victim assistance agencies have been encouraged to support on-
reservation programs with the funds received through victim assistance
formula grant programs. OVC's intent in developing the Assistance to
Victims of Federal Crime in Indian Country grant initiative was not 
to create a separate system of assistance for Federal crime victims, 
but to use the special grant program as a way to open the door for 
Indian Country, so Native Americans eventually would have access to 
effective, sustained VOCA assistance programs in their communities.

With the 1988 VOCA amendments, States were required to make 10 
percent of their subgrant awards to programs that serve previously 
underserved victims of violent crime, such as victims of drunk drivers 
or survivors of homicide victims. As part of the effort to make VOCA 
resources available to Native Americans, OVC also has included Native 
American crime victims as a category that States may use to meet 
their underserved victims requirement. In 1990, 12 States responded 
by listing Native Americans among their underserved victim populations.

As a result of OVC's encouragement, approximately 30 additional on-
reservation assistance programs are now supported by State victim
assistance agencies through the VOCA victim assistance grant program.

State victim compensation

Until 1988, very few Native Americans knew that compensation programs 
were available to them. This lack of familiarity persisted even though 
eligible State compensation programs, which receive Federal funds, 
must compensate victims of Federal crime on the same basis as they 
compensate victims of State crimes.

OVC has worked with the National Organization of Crime Victims
Compensation Boards to initiate a Native American outreach effort to
inform victims of crime on Indian reservations about compensation
programs. Native American victims are gradually becoming aware of 
these benefits. In 1990, to promote Native American access to 
compensation, OVC developed a new condition for eligibility for a 
crime victims compensation grant: that State applicants initiate 
specific efforts to inform on-reservation victims about the State's 
crime compensation program and the availability of compensation to 
all victims of violent crime, regardless of where the crimes are 
committed.

It is critical that victim service providers and law enforcement 
officials know about their local compensation programs. Crime victims 
suffer immeasurably, and financial assistance can be a lifeline that 
preserves, for some victims, a measure of stability and dignity. 
While no amount of money can erase the tragedy and trauma 
experienced by crime victims, financial redress can be an 
important first step toward recovery for all crime victims, including 
Native American victims.

Children's Justice Act Program for Native Americans

In 1988, while Congress was considering the reauthorization of the 
Victims of Crime Act, the Department of Justice successfully proposed 
an amendment to reduce the amount of CJA funds available to the 
States through HHS. This was proposed to allow Indian tribes to 
participate in the grant program. As a result of the amendment, 
$675,000 annually is now available to Native Americans to (1) 
promote systemic improvements in the way child abuse cases are 
investigated and prosecuted in Indian Country and (2) ensure that 
child victims are treated in a manner that prevents or limits
the onset of additional trauma.

In 1989, OVC published a Federal Register notice announcing the
availability of CJA for Native Americans grant funds, through a
competitive, discretionary grant award process, for federally 
recognized Indian tribes. In the announcement, OVC requested that 
tribes design model programs to foster greater cooperation among 
law enforcement officers, prosecutors, mental health providers, 
social service providers, and victim-witness advocates.

Forty-six applications were received, and on February 6, 1990, the 
first 10 CJA for Native Americans grants were awarded. Each of the 
funded projects is unique in that each addresses the specific needs 
and circumstances of the tribe benefiting from the grant. These 
projects will result in:

o  The creation of special prosecution units.

o  Training for multidisciplinary teams.

o  Revisions of tribal codes to address child abuse matters.

o  Child advocacy services for children involved in court processes.

o  Protocols for reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and treating 
child sexual abuse cases.

o  Improved case management and treatment services.

In November 1990, an additional nine CJA for Native Americans grants 
were awarded directly to tribes.

In 1991, continuation grants were awarded to enable tribes to 
stabilize the improvements and ensure that the positive changes were 
integrated into the tribes' systems and procedures for handling 
serious cases of child abuse. Total funding for this program to date 
amounts to $2,151,826 (including continuations, training, and 
technical assistance).

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      Children's Justice Act for Native Americans Funding (1989)

Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
   (Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana)                     $50,000

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma                                     52,000

Crow-Creek Sioux Tribe
   (Crow-Creek Reservation, South Dakota)                       41,000

Gila River Indian Community
   (Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona)                     43,000

Hopi Tribe (Hopi Reservation, Arizona)                          45,000

Mississippi Band of Choctaw
   (Choctaw Reservation, Mississippi)                           40,000

Nez Perce Tribe (Nez Perce Reservation, Idaho)                  50,000

Ogala Sioux Tribe
   (Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota)                       60,000

Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico                               30,000

The South Puget Sound Intertribal Agency/Intertribal Family
   Services (on behalf of the Chehalis, Skokomish, Squaxin
   Island, Quileuta, Jamestown Klallam, Makah, Lower Elwha,
   and Shoalwater Bay Tribes of Washington)                     55,000
                                                              --------
                                                              $466,000


        Children's Justice Act for Native Americans Funding (1990)

Blackfeet Tribal Business Council
   (Blackfeet Nation, Browning, Montana)                       $84,625

Bristol Bay Native Association (Dillingham, Alaska)             84,486

Grand Portage Reservation 
   (Grand Portage, Minnesota)                                  341,001

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa
   (Suttons Bay, Michigan)                                      55,214

Hannahville Indian Community (Wilson, Michigan)                 27,210

Menominee Indian Tribe (Keshena, Wisconsin)                     49,027

Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Rosebud, South Dakota)                     56,833

Salt River Pima-Maricopa (Scottsdale, Arizona)                  63,759

Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California 
   (Garnerville, Nevada)                                        65,317
                                                              --------
                                                              $517,472

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Training and technical assistance

To improve the quality of the response to crime victims in Indian 
Country, OVC has sponsored a number of training opportunities for 
service providers and tribal and Federal officials responsible for 
investigating and prosecuting violent crimes in Indian Country. For 
3 years, OVC has financed a daylong specialized training on the 
handling, investigation, and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases 
in the Federal system. This training is held in conjunction with the 
National Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse in Huntsville, Alabama, and 
presents state-of-the-art information for Federal officials, law 
enforcement officers, medical personnel, victim advocates, mental 
health providers, and social service professionals. Persons in 
attendance have included Bureau of Indian Affairs criminal 
investigators, FBI special agents, other Federal and tribal law 
enforcement officers, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, victim-witness
coordinators from U.S. Attorneys' offices, and tribal 
representatives who have received CJA for Native Americans grant 
funds. The purpose of the training has been to build skills and to 
promote an interdisciplinary approach to coordinating all aspects of 
the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child victims. Such 
coordination minimizes trauma and improves assistance to victims.

One OVC-sponsored training conference,"Child Sexual Exploitation: 
Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Initiatives," was held in January 
1990 in Phoenix, Arizona. Those in attendance included teams of 
Federal investigators, prosecutors, and service providers who must 
address the problems of child pornography, child sexual exploitation, 
and multiple-victim cases in Indian Country. Scholarships were 
provided for 50 Native American participants.

Through an interagency agreement with the Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Center, OVC has sponsored training events that have involved 
Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement personnel and focused on the 
treatment of crime victims, including responding to child abuse and 
family violence. Seven training sessions have been held in Phoenix, 
Arizona; Aberdeen, South Dakota; Billings, Montana; Albuquerque, New 
Mexico; Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Oregon; Green Bay, 
Wisconsin; and Window Rock, Arizona.

Since 1988, OVC has sponsored an annual national conference for 
Native Americans, "Indian Nations: Justice for Victims of Crime." 
The Rapid City, South Dakota, conference in 1988; the Phoenix, 
Arizona, conference in 1989; and the 1990 conference in Portland, 
Oregon, brought together more than 700

Native American victims of crime, victim advocates, and service 
providers from a variety of agencies and disciplines, including the 
mental health, social services, and criminal justice professions. 
These conferences provided another opportunity for an 
interdisciplinary gathering of professionals to identify and address 
the needs of crime victims in Indian Country. The next conference 
will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 1992.

In 1990, OVC announced the award of two new competitive grants to 
provide training and technical assistance to Indian victim 
assistance programs. Two Native American nonprofit organizations 
have provided regional training seminars and onsite technical 
assistance visits to victim assistance programs funded by OVC under 
the Assistance to Victims of Federal Crime in Indian Country grant 
program and the CJA for Native Americans grant program. Staff at 72 
programs have received the necessary training and technical 
assistance to start and successfully operate their new programs.


Summary

OVC is committed to improving the provision of victim assistance 
services to Native Americans. Throughout the last 5 years, OVC has 
made the initiation and development of these services the highest 
funding priority for that percentage of the Crime Victims Fund 
available for training, technical assistance, and services to 
victims of Federal crime. The concentrated effort in this area grew 
out of OVC's initial attempts to address the needs of Native 
American victims through providing emergency services to 
multiple-victims of child sexual abuse. However, the funding effort 
soon expanded into many other areas.

OVC activities in Indian Country have included (1) the provision of
emergency services for Native American crime victims; (2) 
establishment of victim assistance programs on reservations; (3) 
establishment of programs to improve the investigation and prosecution 
of child sexual abuse cases in Indian country; (4) training and 
technical assistance for a variety of professionals who have 
responsibility for the identification, investigation, and prosecution 
of crimes, and the treatment of victims in Indian Country; (5) 
inclusion of Native Americans as a category of victims that States 
may use in meeting their underserved requirement in VOCA victim 
assistance programs; and (6) the dissemination of information about
the availability of crime victim compensation programs.

These efforts in Indian Country are but small steps toward improving 
a serious situation involving a near absence of victim services. 
There is a long way to go before the basic intent of the Victims of 
Crime Act will be fulfilled and all crime victims in this 
country-regardless of where they live-have access to the 
compassionate support and responsive assistance needed to recover 
from the demoralizing and sometimes devastating effects of crime.

For additional copies of this Bulletin or more information on Native
American victims, Contact OVC's National Victims Resource Center at 
1-800-627-6872.

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The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, 
establishes the policies and priorities, and manages and 
coordinates the activities of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the 
Office for Victims of Crime.

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NCJ 133963