OVC Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office for Victims of Crime

Office for Victims of Crime

Advocating for the Fair

Treatment of Crime Victims

The Special Projects Division (SPD) is the program

development and training and technical assistance arm of

the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and serves many

constituent groups including crime victims and their

advocates, the criminal justice system, allied professionals, and the general public. The three interlocking responsibilities of SPD are: 1) to establish and implement a

series of national scope training and technical assistance

and demonstration programs that are designed to improve

the treatment of crime victims; 2) to launch special

initiatives that address major issues and needs of the

victims field; and 3) to promote public awareness and

disseminate information to assist crime victims and those

who serve them.

The Discretionary Grant Program Plan and Application Kit is an annual OVC initiative in which SPD

develops solicitations for training, technical assistance,

and demonstration grant programs that target State and

local criminal justice agencies, as well as victim service

providers and allied professionals. To accomplish these

responsibilities, SPD does the following:

l Manages training programs on topics of interest for

victim service providers.

l Targets specific professionals ranging from law enforcement officers to funeral directors in an effort to

improve their skills.

l Solicits and supports ideas from the victims’ field

through its Field Generated National Impact projects.

l Promotes the involvement of new groups of professionals with its Action Partnerships with Professional

Organizations.

l Supports a series of promising practices grant projects

that produce program descriptions, policies, and

approaches for utilizing technology that can be shared

from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Victim Services 2000 is a demonstration program administered by SPD that is designed to develop adaptable

blueprints for comprehensive, community-based service

systems for crime victims. Four sites are developing

comprehensive, coordinated services to serve as laboratories and training sites for communities wishing to create

victim-centered practices and environments.

Public awareness is promoted by organizing and convening symposia and focus groups addressing special topics.

OVC keeps the field informed by responding to the

emerging issues and training needs within the victims

field. These information-sharing sessions aid OVC in

developing action plans on a variety of critical subjects.

Further, SPD seeks to bring about institutional change in

the way crime victims are treated by working with national criminal justice and victim service organizations

and other national and international bodies.

In addition, SPD staff assist in the development of OVCgenerated materials designed to aid victims of crime and

those who serve them, such as informational bulletins and

brochures, promising practices compendia, “how-to”

manuals, training videos, and other materials.

Special Projects Division

August 1998
For Further Information

More information about the Office for Victims of Crime is

available through the following sources:

OVC ............................................................. 202–307–5983

OVC Web Site .................... http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/

OVC Resource Center ................................. 800–627–6872

OVC Resource Center Web Site......... http://www.ncjrs.org

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office for Victims of Crime

Washington, D.C. 20531

Official Business

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OVC Fact Sheet

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Visit the OVC Web Site

.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ http://www

or the latest information on f

Victims Issues.

FS 000228