The development of some competencies in this section will require practice and experience. Thus, assessment of these competencies should not be undertaken for several months, until the victim assistance provider has had an opportunity to achieve competency.

COMPETENCY STANDARD 2.1: The victim assistance provider describes the purpose of his/her program and its place within the justice and service systems of the community.

Elements include the ability to:

• Describe a variety of resources for services, referral, advocacy, and outreach.
• Apply strategies for communicating and collaborating with other service providers, both within and outside the program.
• Apply procedures for thorough and appropriate case handling, including conducting assessments, planning, linking to resources, monitoring progress, and terminating services.
• Describe the basic aspects of services provided at referral agencies, including eligibility requirements, hours of service, accessibility (e.g., for individuals with disabilities, who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing, or who have limited English proficiency), and contact information.
• Value the benefits of providing multidisciplinary services to victims/survivors and service providers.

COMPETENCY STANDARD 2.2: The victim assistance provider collaborates on efforts to improve systems, laws, institutions, and policies that affect crime victims/survivors.

Elements include, as appropriate to personal and program goals, the ability to:

• Describe social change needs that would support the victim/survivor population served by one's program.
• Recognize the need to advocate for social change using terms and concepts that engage administrators, prospective funding sources, legislators, and the public.
• Apply strategies for coordinating community education campaigns, such as serving on speaker's bureaus, distributing brochures and educational materials, speaking with media representatives, and conducting outreach to underserved populations.
• Apply strategies for coordinating in-service training for coworkers and cross-disciplinary training for other professionals.
• Value the need to transmit one's own learning to others.
• Value the need to stay abreast of the most current research-informed or evidence-based practices in order to inform and improve systems and policy.