Office for Victims of Crime
Community-level Replication Guide
 September 2012 Text size: decrease font size increase font size   Send e-mail icon

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Step 3. Developing a Strategic Plan


People with disabilities didn’t know about us, so they didn’t reach out to us even though we put the word out. It wasn’t until our disability service provider partners vouched for us that the doors opened.
Stephanie Smith-Bowman
Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio, Columbus


Once armed with solid information about the challenges, service gaps, and experiences of crime victims with disabilities in your community, as well as recommendations for action, it is time to move confidently to the next step—developing a plan.

The strategic plan follows neatly from the community needs assessment. However, partners will need to discuss which recommendations of the assessment to follow, along with when and how.

You might find, as the three pilot sites did, that the strategic plan focuses largely on—

  • Increasing the accessibility of your agency and partner agencies.
  • Developing accessible materials or adapting mainstream materials for use by people with disabilities.
  • Providing outreach and education to persons with disabilities and community members.
  • Providing training to disability and Deaf service providers, law enforcement, and domestic and sexual violence and other victim service agency staff.

Step 3 involves the following tasks: