Capacity Building
OVC’s Vision 21 Report emphasized the necessity of building capacity in the crime victims field to better serve victims of crime. To help ensure that victim service organizations possess the capability to meet current and future crime victim needs, the Report recommended strengthening the following areas:
- Increased availability of funding;
- Organizational flexibility;
- Diversity in staffing and leadership; and
- Strengthening collaborations to further victims’ rights and services.
OVC programming in FYs 2013 and 2014 focused on building capacity in a number of key areas. OVC funding supported efforts to strengthen service organizations’ ability to reach underserved victim populations, from particularly vulnerable victim groups to those in rural and isolated areas to those who have experienced victimization abroad. Additionally, OVC maintained its commitment to supporting training and technical assistance, expanding existing offerings, releasing new opportunities, and making courses accessible for free online at any time. OVC also strengthened its collaborations with its federal, tribal, state, and local partners and other stakeholders to support comprehensive projects to assist victims in all walks of life and areas of the Nation, from military bases to Indian communities to inner-city neighborhoods.
The following accounts provide a snapshot of the many capacity-building program areas that OVC supported in FYs 2013 and 2014: