The following information resources may offer victim assistance information, research findings, educational materials, or strategies for program and policy development specific to this topic. A general listing of all OVC publications is also available.

Crime Victims with Developmental Disabilities: Report of a Workshop (2001)
Report from a workshop convened October 28-29, 1999, in Irvine, California, by the National Research Council's Committee on Law and Justice, at which authors of several commissioned papers delivered the results of their research. The report draws attention to gaps in knowledge about the criminal victimization of people with disabilities.

First Response to Victims of Crime (April 2008)
This educational multimedia package, produced by the National Sheriffs' Association, looks at the impact of crime on victims and describes steps that law enforcement can take, as first responders, to meet victims' needs. Among the types of victimizations covered are sexual assault, drunk driving, homicide, human trafficking, and mass casualties. The special needs of older victims, child victims, immigrants, and victims with disabilities are addressed as well. This 30-minute video is available in DVD (NCJ 211619) and VHS (NCJ 211618). A companion guidebook (PDF 470 kb) (NCJ 217272) is also available.

First Response to Victims of Crime Who Have a Disability (October 2002)
This handbook for law enforcement officers (NCJ 195500) describes how to approach and help victims who have Alzheimer's Disease, mental illness, or mental retardation or who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard of hearing. It is designed as a field guide for personnel who respond first to crime victims and includes contacts for assistance.

Promising Practices for Serving Crime Victims With Disabilities Bulletin and Toolkit (October 2008)
This updated bulletin (NCJ 223965) provides a snapshot of the scope and dynamics of an OVC-funded demonstration project undertaken by SafePlace to improve the local response of criminal justice personnel and victim service providers to people with disabilities. The companion toolkit (NCJ 223966) provides more indepth detail on the strategies and activities of each subgrantee, and includes such useful tools as sample needs assessments, sample forensic protocols, and lessons learned vignettes.

Two-in-One DVD: Serving Crime Victims With Disabilities (April 2007)
This DVD (NCJ 213366) presents two popular, award-winning videos, "Meet Us Where We Are" and "The Time Is Now," originally produced in December 2002, in a new, user-friendly format. "The Time Is Now" helps crime victim service providers reach out and serve people with disabilities. "Meet Us Where We Are," which presents first person accounts of how crime affects people with disabilities, educates disability service providers and people with disabilities about crime victims' rights and resources.

Victimization of Individuals with Disabilities, National Victim Assistance Academy Text (2002)
The NVAA text emphasizes foundations in victimology and victims' rights and services, as well as new developments in the field of victim assistance, and contains a chapter on victims with disabilities (chapter 15).

Victims of Crime with Disabilities: A Training and Technical Assistance Resource Guide
Online, searchable directory of training resources for service providers who work with crime victims with disabilities. Developed as a collaboration between the American Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, and OVC, this resource database includes books, publications, videos, training programs, and contact information for organizations and other resources that may be helpful to practitioners in the disability and victim advocacy fields.

Victims with Disabilities: Collaborative, Multidisciplinary First Response (March 2009)
This training DVD and guide (NCJ 223940) were developed under the guidance of a national advisory board to demonstrate effective techniques for first responders who have been called to the scene of a crime in which the victim has a disability. This educational multimedia package not only provides guidelines for interacting with adult and adolescent victims of crime who have communication and/or intellectual disabilities, but also helps law enforcement personnel gain a deeper understanding of the lives, personal attributes, and abilities of individuals with disabilities. (PDF, 870 kb)

Victims with Disabilities: The Forensic Interview-Techniques for Interviewing Victims with Communication and/or Cognitive Disabilities (April 2007)
This 57-minute DVD (NCJ 212894) and companion discussion guide (PDF 831kb) provide a specific set of guidelines for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim advocates, forensic interviewers, and others for interviewing adults and children with communication and/or cognitive disabilities. A complete transcript of the DVD and a glossary of terms and concepts used in the film are provided.

Working with Victims of Crime with Disabilities (September 1998)
This bulletin (NCJ 172838) presents recommendations on improving services to crime victims with disabilities, based on discussion at an OVC-funded 2-day symposium of victim assistance providers and related professionals. The bulletin identifies issues, service gaps, and barriers to access; recommends needed changes; and spotlights successful programs and promising practices that reach and serve crime victims with disabling conditions.
HTML, ASCII (90 kb), or PDF (163 kb)