Professional Education and Training
Special Events/Info, E-learning / Online Learning, Education and Training Programs, Related Documents
Special Events / Info
The Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance
Center (OVC TTAC) has scheduled a series of workshops across the U.S.
between October and December for professionals in the victim services
field. The workshops, which address leadership, professional development,
and training issues, offer tools needed to build technical skills and
enhance knowledge. OVC developed the workshops in response to the field's
requests for pertinent training opportunities.
To view the calendar online, visit
https://www.ovcttac.gov/trainingCenter/
For more details, visit http://www.ovcttac.gov or call 1-866-OVC-TTAC
(1-866-682-8822).
DNA: A Prosecutor's Practice Notebook: A free, self-paced, online training is designed to assist State and local prosecutors in preparing DNA-related cases for prosecution. The lessons cover a wide spectrum of topics relating to the science of DNA and its legal application in the courtroom. Lessons include: Investigating Cases Involving DNA; Preparing Cases Involving DNA; Presenting Cases Involving DNA; Special Case Circumstances; Lab Report Analysis
E-learning / Online Learning Courses
E-learning, otherwise known as online learning, is a developing method for providing training to both the public and professionals solely through the Internet. Many of these courses are offered for free, as a public service, others charge a fee for access. You'll find both accredited and non-accredited -- but useful -- courses or workshops. Some of these courses are offered through basic web sites, others use more complex, but more flexible, online teaching software known as learning management systems (LMS), which potential students will have to work with a bit to understand fully.
Bullying Course (Bullyingcourse.com): A separate series of public service, professional grade and (under development) fully accredited online courses on anti-bullying. An extremely well developed site, it includes a complete series of background papers on the courses, information on the learning management system the course is run through, and much more.
Cost of Caring: Secondary Traumatic Stress and the Impact of Working with High-Risk Children and Families, The: Child Trauma Academy; an overview on caregiver stress for those who work with high-risk families.
Domestic Violence Training, Simmons College: A course which can be taken for free without credit, or for a fee if you wish CE credits/certification.
DNA: A Prosecutor's Practice Notebook: This free, self-paced, online training, presented by the President's DNA Initiative, is designed to assist State and local prosecutors in preparing DNA-related cases for prosecution. The lessons cover a wide spectrum of topics relating to the science of DNA and its legal application in the courtroom. Lessons include: Investigating Cases Involving DNA; Preparing Cases Involving DNA ; Presenting Cases Involving DNA; Special Case Circumstances; Lab Report Analysis.
Effects of Abuse and Neglect: A Focus on Typical Development: Wisconsin Child Welfare Training System, this training contains three sections that (1) provide and overview and printable list of developmental stages, (2) review and test of knowledge of developmental milestones, (3) selection of printable and online references.
Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Victimization, The: An online tutorial with a curriculum on the link between DV and child abuse, and on the effects of DV on children. The tutorial consists of 4 units which discuss general information on DV and child abuse. The tutorial includes a pre and post-test, quizzes following each section, and a video titled ‘The Children Are Watching’.
Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating this Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases: Written by the National Judicial Education Program of Legal Momentum, this website provides free current interdisciplinary research from law, medicine and the social sciences that is applicable to judicial decision-making and case management. The site can be treated as a course or as a resource to be consulted as needed. The research and cases cited throughout this course contain graphic descriptions of sexual and physical violence and may be extremely disturbing.
Surviving Childhood: An Introduction to the Impact of Trauma: Child Trauma Academy; an introduction to the effects of trauma on children.
Victim Assistance Training Online (VAT Online): Provided by the Office for Victims Crime Traning and Techical Assistance Center - VATOnline is a basic victim advocacy web-based training program that offers victim services providers and allied professionals the opportunity to acquire the basic skills and knowledge they need to better assist victims of crime. Specific information is also provided to meet the needs of target populations.
Professional Education, Training and Certificate Programs
Generally speaking, an Associate's or Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Psychology, Social Work or Sociology has always been considered a minimum requirement for victim assistance program staff members. Only recently have certificate, associate, B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. programs specifically for the field of Victim Services, Victim Services Administration and Victimology begun to be developed by educational institutions.
The following is a listing of victim assistance related education and training programs from around the world. An effort has been made to select those programs which specifically relate to training/education issues of interest to the victim assistance professional, or those which promote professionalism. Some institutions/programs are listed because they are known to be centers of victimology research.
If you'd like to have your program or institution listed in our links directory, please contact us at
info@vaonline.org
Canadian Training Institute: The CTI provides training, consulting assistance, promotes collaborative action and undertakes applied research projects in contributing to the effectiveness of services delivered by criminal justice and related human service agencies in Canada.
Tokiwa International Victimology Institute: The Tokiwa International Victimology Institute (TIVI) aims to establish and maintain an institute that will serve as a resource for all victimological academic, research, training and service activities primarily for universities, government agencies, and non government organizations and institutes in Japan and foreign countries.
Netherlands
International Victimology Institute of Tilburg: INTERVICT is developing and implementing a large scale interdisciplinary research programme that aims to make significant contributions to the available body of international victimological knowledge. A second objective is to raise the quality of research in this field. The results of the research programme are ultimately to contribute to, and/or prevent/reducing, instances of criminal victimization across the world and to limiting the effects of such victimization on victims and their families including economic costs, pain and suffering.
United States
Bureau of Justice Assistance's (US DOJ) Training Database: The BJA Training Database is a catalog of all federally funded and supported training available to state and local law enforcement officials. Each database listing includes the training provider, a course description, eligibility criteria, and contact information.
California State University - Fresno Victim Services Program: CSU-F, in conjunction with Washburn University's Center on Violence and Victim Studies, offer certificate and degree programs in victim services.
Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance Training Schedule: A listing of nationally sponsored as well as regional and local training events in Colorado.
Florida Victim Services Professional Development Program : Established by the Florida Office of the Attorney General, the VSPDP offers Florida accreditation for the following areas/courses:
- Victim Services Practitioner
- Law Enforcement and Victim at the Crime Scene
- Victim Advocacy Training
Higher Education Center Against Violence and Abuse / Electronic Clearinghouse: An excellent resource listing courses available throughout the US on violence, abuse and their prevention. A large number of links to sites of interest and text-only files on violence are also available. One of the best sites I've found on the topic of violence.
Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking - International Restorative Justice Dialogue Training Institute: The Institute provides training for professionals and community volunteers in corrections and victim services. Trainers are nationally recognized restorative justice leaders and practitioners in the field.
Joint Center for Violence and Victim Studies: The JCVVS is an interdisciplinary university affiliation between California State University at Fresno and Washburn University, Kansas. The Center's mission is to address issues of violence and victimization through education, research and public policy initiatives.
Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice: Models for Change is a national initiative to accelerate reform of juvenile justice systems across the country. Focused on efforts in select states, the initiative aims to create replicable models for reform that effectively hold young people accountable for their actions, provide for their rehabilitation, protect them from harm, increase their life chances, and manage the risk they pose to themselves and to public safety.
National Center for Victims of Crime Training Institute: Listing of where and when the NCVC will be holding training sessions for 2002. The site includes overviews of programs, faculty background, sites and lodging and more.
National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) Training Courses: NOVA has a variety of courses intended for training new crisis volunteers, as well as general education and information programs.
North Carolina Victim Service Practitioner Certification Program: Basic information on this state certification.
Office for Victims of Crime Trainer's Bureau: This text-only document describes the services available from the OVC's Trainer's Bureau. The offered training covers just about all areas of victim-assistance; this page supplies basic land-address and telephone information.
Pennsylvania Victim Assistance Academy: State leaders in the field of victimology, criminal justice, and victims' rights join expert practitioners and host faculty from The University of Scranton to provide a rich educational foundation grounded in practical applications across the field. The Pennsylvania Victim Assistance Academy encourages the attendance of individuals from victim service organizations and other agencies that serve crime victims. This includes volunteers and paid staff from a variety of community-based and system-based programs and other allied professionals such as law enforcement and corrections.
Treating People of Varied Cultures: Honoring the Individual in Context: Nader, Kathleen - Gift from Within - USA (2008)
St. Charles Community College, MO, Associates Degree in Human Services - Victimology: Based in St. Peters, Missouri. You'll find a basic course description and contact information.
State Victim Assistance Academies - OVC Funded: The links provided on this page lead to current or previously funded State Victim Assistance Academies (SVAAs). Whenever possible, direct links to each SVAA web site are provided. Absent web site information, links to related documents from state academies are provided.
Victim Assistance Training Online (VAT Online): Provided by the Office for Victims Crime Traning and Techical Assistance Center - VATOnline is a basic victim advocacy web-based training program that offers victim services providers and allied professionals the opportunity to acquire the basic skills and knowledge they need to better assist victims of crime. Specific information is also provided to meet the needs of target populations.
Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program Information and Resource Center - Training Services: VORP offers background information on the concept of victim-offender mediation as a whole, on-line articles, training information and technical assistance.
Victim Services Strategic Planning Toolkit: Under a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, NAVAA conducted the "NAVAA Training for Strategic Planning" project. This project provided training and technical assistance to six states/territories pursuing victim services' strategic planning. The linked materials were utilized in the project and have been supplemented with additional information and materials to assist all states in their strategic planning efforts.
