OPENING REMARKS FOR

THE NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VICTIMS OF FEDERAL CRIME

BY

AILEEN ADAMS

OMNI SHOREHAM HOTEL - WASHINGTON, D.C.

FEBRUARY 10, 1997

IT'S MY VERY GREAT PLEASURE TO WELCOME ALL 700 OF YOU TO THE FIRST NATIONAL TRAINING CONFERENCE FOR ALL FEDERAL VICTIM-WITNESS COORDINATORS. THIS IS AN HISTORIC OCCASION WHERE WE HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER, FOR THE FIRST TIME, SO MANY DIVERSE MEMBERS OF THE SAME FEDERAL FAMILY TO BE TRAINED ON VICTIM-WITNESS ISSUES. YOU REPRESENT DOZENS OF DIVERSE FEDERAL AGENCIES, BUT YOUR MISSION IS IDENTICAL -- TO PROVIDE JUSTICE AND HEALING FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME. WHETHER YOU ARE A VICTIM-WITNESS COORDINATOR IN THE FBI, IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, IN THE MILITARY, IN A U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, IN A FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, OR ANOTHER FEDERAL AGENCY -- TO THE THOUSANDS OF VICTIMS WHO INTERACT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, YOU ARE THEIR LIFELINE. THEY DEPEND UPON YOU TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS; THEY RELY ON YOU TO REFER THEM TO THE SERVICES THEY NEED TO HEAL; AND THEY NEED YOU TO BE THEIR ADVOCATE TO HELP GIVE THEM A VOICE WITHIN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. HAVING A VOICE, BEING LISTENED TO, IS VERY MUCH A PART OF THE HEALING PROCESS FOR MANY VICTIMS.

THE ROLE OF THE OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME, WHICH YOU WILL LEARN MUCH MORE ABOUT ON THURSDAY, GOES FAR BEYOND PROVIDING VICTIM-WITNESS TRAINING TO FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONALS, SUCH AS YOURSELVES. WE FUND MANY OF THE LOCAL VICTIM-ASSISTANCE AGENCIES TO WHICH YOU REFER VICTIMS. OVC ADMINISTERS THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND WHICH IS A UNIQUE FORM OF JUSTICE. THE FUND IS DERIVED FROM THE FINES, PENALTY ASSESSMENTS, AND BAIL FORFEITURES OF FEDERAL CRIMINAL OFFENDERS -- NOT FROM TAXPAYERS. OVER 90 PERCENT OF THESE DEPOSITS, WHICH THIS PAST YEAR EXCEEDED HALF A BILLION DOLLARS -- BY FAR THE MOST EVER -- ARE DISTRIBUTED TO STATES. WE HELP FUND OVER 2,500 LOCAL VICTIM SERVICE AGENCIES, SUCH AS BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTERS, RAPE TREATMENT CENTERS, CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTERS, AND VICTIM-WITNESS PROGRAMS BASED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTORS' OFFICES. WE ALSO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT FUNDING FOR STATE VICTIM COMPENSATION PROGRAMS. THESE FUNDS HELP TO REIMBURSE VICTIMS FOR MEDICAL EXPENSES, MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING COSTS, LOST WAGES, AND BURIAL EXPENSES.

WHAT DO THESE SERVICES SIGNIFY FOR CRIME VICTIMS? SO MANY OF YOU KNOW THIS, BUT IT BEARS REPEATING. LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF ONE SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM REFERRED TO COUNSELING BY A VICTIM-WITNESS COORDINATOR AS SHE DESCRIBES HOW VICTIM ASSISTANCE LITERALLY SAVED HER LIFE. "WHEN I WAS RAPED, MY WORLD AS I HAD KNOWN IT WAS DESTROYED. I LOST MY CONNECTION TO MYSELF, MY ABILITY TO FUNCTION IN LIFE. THERE WAS NO INNOCENCE, NO JOY, NO TRUST, NO CONTROL, AND NO BELIEF IN THE POSSIBILITY OF TOMORROW ... I HAD EXPERIENCED DEATH WITHOUT DYING. YOU HELPED ME SEE THAT ALTHOUGH MY LIFE HAD CHANGED, ALL THE PARTS OF ME I THOUGHT I HAD LOST WERE STILL THERE, DEEP INSIDE OF ME. BECAUSE I WAS RAPED, I WILL FOREVER BE A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN I WAS. BUT I HAVE FACED EVIL AND WITH YOUR HELP I HAVE MOVED BEYOND IT. YOUR WORK IS THE WORK OF ANGELS. YOUR WORDS BUILD ROADS THAT ALLOW VICTIMS TO FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO THE LIVING."

THIS LETTER FROM ONE VICTIM REPRESENTS THE VOICES OF COUNTLESS VICTIMS. MULTIPLY HER WORDS MANY THOUSANDS OF TIMES, AND YOU WILL BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THAT YOUR WORK HAS -- WHAT IT MEANS TO VICTIMS TO BE REFERRED TO NEEDED SERVICES, WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM TO HAVE SOMEBODY AT THEIR SIDE THROUGHOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS.

I THINK THIS CONFERENCE PROVIDES YOU WITH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY. YOU WILL HEAR FROM THE TOP OFFICIALS OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT THE COMMITMENT OF THEIR AGENCIES TO CRIME VICTIMS, INCLUDING INSPIRING WORDS FROM THE NATION'S TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. YOU WILL ATTEND MANY WORKSHOPS LED BY SOME OF THE LEADING VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE FIELD AND LEARN CRUCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND IN THE MOST SENSITIVE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO THE DIVERSE VICTIMS THAT WE SEE WITHIN THE FEDERAL SYSTEM. YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT CRISIS RESPONSE -- RESOURCES AND PROCEDURES YOU CAN RELY UPON SHOULD YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH A CRIME OF MASS VIOLENCE OR TERRORISM. AND YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF VICTIMS' RIGHTS LAWS -- HOW FAR WE'VE COME IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME, BUT HOW MUCH MORE THERE IS LEFT TO DO. PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET KNOW YOUR FEDERAL COLLEAGUES WHO SHARE SIMILAR CHALLENGES IN THEIR WORK -- AND LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER. HAVING THE TIME TO LEARN, TO THINK, AND TO MEET OTHERS WITH A SIMILAR COMMITMENT IS A REAL LUXURY IN OUR WORK WHICH IS USUALLY DEFINED BY RESPONDING TO ONE CRISIS AFTER ANOTHER. PLEASE MAKE THE MOST OF THIS WEEK AND LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF CRIME VICTIMS AT THIS CONFERENCE AND THROUGHOUT YOUR WORK. THEY ARE THE BEST SOURCE OF INSPIRATION AND GUIDANCE THAT WE COULD HAVE.

WE ARE HERE DUE TO THE EXTRAORDINARY WORK OF A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS. MY THANKS FIRST TO MARLENE YOUNG, THE DIRECTOR OF NOVA, WHO WITH HER STAFF HAS DONE SUCH REMARKABLE WORK FOR VICTIMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MARLENE, THE QUALITY OF THIS SYMPOSIUM -- THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED US TODAY, THE INCREDIBLE ARRAY OF EXPERTS, PRACTITIONERS, AND VICTIMS THAT YOU HAVE LINED UP TO HELP US IN OUR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE FEDERAL SYSTEM -- IS JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF THE IMMEASURABLE COMMITMENT AND GIFTS YOU BRING TO WORK WITH VICTIMS. YOU HAVE A REAL TREAT IN STORE FOR YOU WHEN MARLENE ADDRESSES YOU LATER THIS MORNING FOR SHE IS TRULY ONE OF THE GUIDING LIGHTS AND GREAT ORATORS OF THE VICTIMS MOVEMENT.

MANY OVC STAFF MEMBERS HAVE ALSO HELPED TO MAKE THIS CONFERENCE A REALITY. I WANT TO PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE SUE SHRINER. SUE HAD THE VISION TWO YEARS AGO TO SAY TO ME, "WE NEED A MEGACONFERENCE TO GIVE FEDERAL AGENCY VICTIM-WITNESS COORDINATORS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRAIN TOGETHER." IT'S HARD TO SAY NO TO SUE, AND WHEN YOU GIVE HER THE GO AHEAD YOU KNOW THAT SHE WILL DEVOTE WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THE JOB DONE WELL. THANK YOU, SUE, FOR TRULY BEING THE MOVING FORCE BEHIND THIS CONFERENCE. I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE TOM KILMARTIN WHO HEADS OUR FEDERAL CRIME VICTIMS DIVISION AND HIS STAFF WHO WILL BE HERE TO ASSIST YOU AND CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY THEIR BADGES.

NOW, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE SEVERAL HIGH-RANKING JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS AND ONE IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. THE MAKEUP OF THE PANEL OF SPEAKERS WHO ARE HERE TO WELCOME YOU EXPRESSES FAR BETTER THAN MERE WORDS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS SYMPOSIUM. IT IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESIDENT'S DIRECTIVE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THIS PAST SUMMER TO "HOLD THE FEDERAL SYSTEM TO A HIGHER STANDARD OF VICTIMS' RIGHTS THAN EVER BEFORE...AND TO WORK WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES WHOSE MISSIONS INVOLVE THEM WITH CRIME VICTIMS IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT A COMMON AND COMPREHENSIVE BASELINE OF PARTICIPATION FOR VICTIMS CAN BE ACHIEVED." THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE. TO WORK TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY HOW WE CAN BEST ACHIEVE THIS COMMON AND COMPREHENSIVE BASELINE OF RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS IN THE WORK WE ALL DO. AS THE PRESIDENT SAID WHEN HE ENDORSED THE VICTIMS' RIGHTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, "WHEN SOMEONE IS A VICTIM, HE OR SHE SHOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS, NOT ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN."

TO EXPRESS HIS AGENCY'S COMMITMENT TO VICTIMS OF CRIME, I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO INTRODUCE WELDON KENNEDY, WHO HAS BEEN THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT BY DIRECTOR FREEH IN AUGUST 1995. HE HOLDS A MASTERS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND HAS HAD A DISTINGUISHED CAREER WITH THE FBI, WHICH HE JOINED IN 1963. DEPUTY DIRECTOR KENNEDY WORKED AS A SPECIAL AGENT IN THE FIELD IN LOCATIONS FROM PORTLAND, OREGON TO MIAMI, FLORIDA. HIS VARIED RESPONSIBILITIES HAVE INCLUDED TIME AS AN ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SERVICE IN FBI HEADQUARTERS, AND ELEVEN YEARS AS A SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE. WE HAVE HAD INCREASING OPPORTUNITY TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE FBI IN ITS EXPANDED VICTIM-WITNESS PROGRAM, AND ARE DELIGHTED THAT DEPUTY DIRECTOR KENNEDY COULD JOIN US TODAY.

CAROL DIBATTISTE WAS APPOINTED IN JULY 1994 AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS, IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. SHE PROVIDES OVERSIGHT OF AND SUPPORT TO THE 94 OFFICES OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS, WHICH ENCOMPASSES APPROXIMATELY 5,000 ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS AND 5,000 SUPPORT STAFF -- INCLUDING A STAFF OF VICTIM-WITNESS COORDINATORS AROUND THE COUNTRY. MS. DIBATTISTE CAME TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOLLOWING A TWENTY-YEAR CAREER WITH THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, WHERE AMONG OTHER THINGS, SHE SERVED AS ONE OF 17 AIR FORCE CIRCUIT PROSECUTORS. SHE PROSECUTED SUCH FELONY CRIMES AS CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, RAPE, AND PREMEDITATED MURDER. OVC WORKS QUITE CLOSELY WITH THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, CAROL DIBATTISTE, AND HER STAFF IN HELPING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF FEDERAL CRIME VICTIMS. IT IS BECAUSE OF THE COLLECTION EFFORTS OF U.S. ATTORNEYS THAT THE CRIME VICTIMS FUND LAST YEAR REACHED AN ALL-TIME HIGH.

KATHLEEN HAWK, WAS APPOINTED THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS IN DECEMBER 1992. SHE HAS A DISTINGUISHED CAREER OF PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS, WHERE HER WORK INCLUDED DIRECT COUNSELING WITH JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. DR. HAWK HOLDS A MASTERS AND DOCTORATE DEGREE IN COUNSELING AND REHABILITATION, AND AS DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS SUPERVISES 90 FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE ROLE OF THE CORRECTIONS COMMUNITY IN PROVIDING SERVICES TO VICTIMS IS GROWING, AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT VICTIMS' NEEDS DO NOT END WHEN A TRIAL ENDS. BOP HAS BEEN A LEADER WITH ITS INNOVATIVE EFFORTS TO COLLECT RESTITUTION FROM INMATES. IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE TO CONTINUE OUR WORK TOGETHER HERE WITH BOP.

THE PREVIOUS THREE SPEAKERS HAVE TAKEN US FROM FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE INVESTIGATION TO PROSECUTION TO CORRECTIONS -- BUT IN OUR SYSTEM OF JUSTICE THERE IS A PARALLEL COMPONENT --THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM.

JEANNE FITES, REPRESENTING THAT SYSTEM, WAS APPOINTED DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR REQUIREMENTS AND RESOURCES IN JULY 1994. MS. FITES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A RANGE OF ISSUES RELATING TO DEFENSE MANPOWER, AND HAS HELD A NUMBER OF POSITIONS WITHIN DEFENSE. SHE HOLDS A MASTERS DEGREE IN PERSONNEL AND INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY. MS. FITES HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN IMPLEMENTING NOT ONLY THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT'S VICTIM-WITNESS PROGRAM, BUT ALSO ITS DEFENSE INCIDENT-BASED REPORTING SYSTEM WHICH TRACKS CRIMINAL CASES AND VICTIMS FROM THE TIME OF AN INCIDENT THROUGH POSTCONVICTION. SHE HAS ACTIVELY COLLABORATED WITH THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ON A MYRIAD OF VICTIMS ISSUES. THANK YOU, JEANNE, FOR JOINING US.