|
|
2006 National Crime Victims' Rights Week The honorees received special recognition during the awards ceremony hosted April 21, 2006, by the Office for Victims of Crime to honor victim advocates, organizations, and programs in the field of victim services.
To view more details, click on a photo for an enlarged view. Awards for Professional Innovation in Victim Services
Colorado State Patrol Victims' Assistance Unit The Victims' Assistance Unit is an integral resource within the Colorado State Patrol (CSP). The CSP is one of only three highway patrols in the United States serving victims of unexpected and violent traffic crimes in this manner. Because of Colorado's level of tourism, many of the victims served are not residents and do not have family and friends nearby for support. Previously, these individuals did not have acceptable access to needed victim services. When arriving at the scene of a crash, a victim advocate does not know if criminal charges will be filed or if the victims will be subject to the specific protections afforded by Colorado's Victims Rights Act. From the beginning, CSP has made it a priority to serve every crash victim with the same standard of excellence, applying victims' rights standards to every crash and every situation. In 2004, seven advocates provided direct services to more than 3,000 victims and family members. These included providing on-scene crisis intervention, care for injured pets, lodging for uninjured passengers, transportation for out-of-state family members, and assistance to school principals and counselors of young victims. Members of the CSP Victims' Assistance Unit are well educated in victims' rights and bring a sense of integrity into situations in which victims must feel confident that they will be taken care of. CSP's Victims' Assistance Unit was nominated by Chief Mark Trostel, Colorado State Patrol.
Regina Mainor North Central Victim Services (NCVS) addresses numerous issues that result from the victimization of law-abiding citizens living in North Philadelphia, one of the hotbeds of violent crime and drug trafficking in the city of Philadelphia. One area of concern that NCVS, under the direction of Executive Director Regina Mainor, has identified is the lack of appropriate health care available to crime victims. Although able to provide victims of crime with a variety of short-term medical services without charge at a number of hospitals, medical centers, and dental offices, NCVS was determined to do more. NCVS recognized that many of the victims it served faced difficulties in having prescriptions filled due to gaps in existing prescription plans or the lack of any plan at all. NCVS actively sought assistance from both hospitals and Rite Aid Pharmacy, one of the major pharmacies operating in the city, to ensure that victims could receive vital prescriptions despite the lack of traditional prescription plan coverage. NCVS's advocacy and success in convincing a major pharmaceutical chain to cooperate and fill prescriptions at no charge to victims was a novel idea that greatly assisted victims of crime in North Philadelphia. NCVS also used the prescription program as a basis for obtaining additional funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to further expand this program. The success of this program has garnered praise from the Commission. Regina was nominated by Marcia Thomas Bayne, Victim Witness Coordinator, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center The Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center, Inc., (MCVRC) was founded by Roberta and Vincent Roper in 1982 in memory of their slain daughter, Stephanie, to provide direct support services and advocacy for victims' rights. MCVRC's history of service and achievement distinguish it as one of the Nation's most effective organizations for crime victims. In addition to its basic support and advocacy services, MCVRC recognized that legal assistance was an important and emerging issue for many crime victims. Consequently, ensuring that victims' rights were fully protected and enforced became a major priority for both victims and victim service providers. MCVRC launched the groundbreaking Crime Victim Legal Advocacy Program in 1998. For the first time, MCVRC recruited and trained private attorneys to begin a collaborative partnership providing pro bono legal services to help crime victims in criminal matters. Today, this program continues to provide information and legal representation to resolve the many complex legal needs of impoverished crime victims. As a result, crime victims benefit and private attorneys discover new and resourceful ways to help those suffering the effects of crime. MCVRC also began another innovative initiative—the Maryland Compliance Project—in which it partnered with the Maryland State Board of Victim Services in the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention to work toward achieving full compliance with Maryland's existing victims' rights laws. MCVRC and the State Board in the Governor's Office restored hope to many victims and created a successful model for the Nation. Among MCVRC's most recent initiatives is the Crime Victim Law Institute (the Clinic), one of five original sites around the country that ensures that crime victims have independent legal representation throughout the criminal justice process. To date, the Clinic has powerfully demonstrated the benefit of having attorneys help victims obtain their legal rights. MCVRC is completing year three of an OVC-funded Collaborative Response to Crime Victims in Urban Areas project that seeks to address all crime victims' issues, including their often neglected spiritual needs. Finally, MCVRC was selected to administer the Helping Outreach Programs to Expand II (HOPE II) grant program that will provide new opportunities to 48 faith-based and community service providers across America to better meet the needs of crime victims. MCVRC was nominated by Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. |
|||
