This information was published as a Network Information Bulletin [Volume 1, Number 2; November, 1984 by NOVA [National Organization of Victim Assistance. This information was produced with funding from the Office of Justice Assistance, Research and Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice. The contents do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Department of Justice or NOVA. STARTING A VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM Article 1 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF VICTIM SERVICES The prospect of initiating or expanding a program in victim services is exciting. Sometimes it is so exciting, that it is often difficult to think about postponing actual service delivery for six months or a year in order to do planning. Yet the programs which have the greatest chance of success are those which do take the time to prepare for service. Making the decision to do thorough planning prior to starting a new program is the key. Planning can help us to: 1. Interest potential financial contributors by developing a vision of future services and describing attainable program goals; 2. Satisfy a sponsor's desire to know exactly what he or she is supporting; 3. Be accountable because we know how our money is to be spent and what it will do; 4. Evaluate more realistically our success or failure by establishing specific, reasonable performance standards; 5. Manage more effectively because we know what to do, when it is to be done and by whom; 6. Initiate a positive public relations campaign based on an accurate and concise understanding of why we exist and what we hope to accomplish. The early stages of program development are usually dependent upon people assuming positions as leaders and planners. While the leaders and planners may in fact be the same individuals, leadership and planning are two different roles. Leaders are generally people with vision, the ones who have the "bright idea" in the first place and persuade others to help support it. Planners are the ones who take that idea and provide the blueprint for establishing a reality. Leaders may be planners but often they do not have the time, skills, or inclination to do the job well and instead rely on the aid of others. -0- PLANNING COMMITTEE SELECTION Whether considering a new service for a community or a new component of an existing program, it is wise to seek advice and support from as many sources as possible. Prior to the selection of a planning committee, talk to civic groups, criminal justice professionals, elected officials, health and mental health professionals, educational groups and so on. While the actual planning committee - the one that will have the time and energy to do all the work - may be quite small, it is helpful to 'appoint' a larger group to oversee the effort. In this way the entire community can feel involved in the planning process and will be likley to support the final product. Potential members for the large planning committee might be selected from the following groups: 1. government and elected officials; 2. criminal justice representatives; 3. direct service providers: other victim services, crisis lines, self-help groups; 4. supplemental service providers: victim compensation, mental health, education, social and aging services, crime prevention; 5. civic group representatives; 6. victims, their families and friends. Members of the working group should be selected on the basis of skills, experience and committment rather than professional status. Useful skills and experience include: budget management; olanning; victim services; criminal justice and and health services; communication (oral and written); and public relations. Some attention should be paid to the ingriedients of an effective committee. Personalities do play a large role in group dynamics. Consider carefully balancing the group to take this into account: a. aggressive and submisive personality styles; b. people who work well as individuals or who work well as a team member; c. creative, imaginative people or more practical, common- sense personalities. With the existance of a skilled facilitator all of these people can provide valuable contributions to the effort. Media involvement at the initial planning stages can be very helpful. Newspaper, television and radio coverage of your plans will promote involvement and provide a good educational background for the general public. The media can do stories on the issues: the trauma of crime victimization, victims rights, services needed by victims, how things are being handled in other cities or states. Media coverage gives credence to what may be seen as a 'new concept' that some may be reluctant to support initially. However, you should be careful to avoid public controversies or arguements that can result in negative headlines. -0- EDUCATING THE PLANNERS People doing the planning need to know and understand the task before them. They will need information in three areas: 1. the particular planning techniques they will be using; 2. an historical perspective of the victims movement; 3. the crime victim's experience. It is important to acknowledge that not all of your planning committee may have-had planning experience. The leaders should tell the committee exactly what is expected of them (i.e., planning a community needs assessment or a new victim service agency) and how long they have to work on it (i.e., four months, one year, as long as it takes). Some planning committees may need a workshop on planning in order to better understand the decision-making process and conflict resolution. having a session to answer questions about planning functions can avoid problems later. Set time aside right at the beginning for a history lesson. It will be important for people to work from a common base. The history should involve a discussion of the roots of the victims movement, various influences along the way, the concept of victims rights, the range of victim-oriented legislation both enacted and contemplated, the variety of service models and responses, the federal response to crime victims. In addition to having some historical perspective on the victim's movement, it is important for planners to understand the victimization experience. They should be presented with such issues as: a. What is the financial, physical and emotional aftermath of crime? b. Who does or can help crime victims? c. What are the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement, the prosecutor, the judge, the probation officer? d. What happens in a court room or at the law enforcement agency? e. What are crisis intervention programs and how do they differ from more traditional social service and mental health responses? f. What are the roles and responsibilities of hospitals, mental health agencies, medical professionals and so on? It is often helpful to have individual planners share their personal involvement with victim issues to stimulate further discussion. ASSESSING A COMMUNITY'S NEEDS Since the ultimate goal is to either initiate or expand services, it is important to determine the level of need for these services. Concrete information is necessary to decide the priorities in your community. Such information will give the project a baseline for later measuring program impact. Information should be collected describing the nature of crime in your area. Consult the FBI Unified Crime Reports, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, police reports and with local criminal justice and mental health authorities for data. Some helpful questions include: a. What kinds of crimes are reported, ie., property, personal, violent, at what hours of the day? b. What geographic areas have the highest incidence of which crimes? c. Who is most likely to report a crime, ie., young, old, male, female, of what race? d. How many crimes are reported? e. What physical injury occurs and what is the cost to the victim? f. What is the nature of the emotional trauma? g. What problems occur with family and friends? h. What percentage of property loss is not covered by insurance? i. How much time is lost from employment (due to both emotional trauma and participation in the criminal justice system) and j. What is the value of that time? k. What costs must a victim absorb due to participation in the criminal justice process, ie., childcare, transportation, personal safety? Many of the above questions are not readily answered through local information but still should be kept in mind for planning purposes. Data should also be collected on the criminal justice process. Check with your prosecutor, the court administrator, even the public defender for information on procedures. Ask questions such as: a. What is the actual process for handling misdemeanors and felonies? b. How many and what types of cases: are investigated> involve an arrest? involve a bail hearing? are dismissed? are plea bargained? are settled through diversion? go to trial? result in conviction? c. What are the average sentences for each type of criminal case which result in conviction? d. Who are the participants and decision-makers at each of the stages of the criminal justice process? e. What are the various stages in the criminal justice process at which victims are involved? Anecdotal information is important. Talk to police, prosecutors, judges, health professionals about which victims most need service and what kind of service they need. Talk to other victim programs, whether service or advocacy oriented, special-interest or comprehensive. Ask about problems created for victims by the system and by society. Talk with victims about specific examples of where they needed help and were unable to obtain it. Since this process may require two or three months of hard work, it may be appropriate for the program leaders to arrange for a needs assessment prior to the planning process and to put the results in succinct form for the planning committee. NOVA has developed a needs assessment package for use on a statewide basis by state planning committees. NOVA also has sample community-based needs assessment forms for reference. STARTING A VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM ASSESSING A COMMUNITY'S RESOURCES Part 2 After examining the current level of need for victim services, you will want to determine what resources already exist in the community. Start by identifying all programs in the community which may have contact with victims. Suggested sources include: 1. police department; sheriff's department a. crisis intervention unit b. community relations and/or crime prevention office c. specialized units for sexual assault, child abuse, etc. 2. prosecutor's office 3. corrections department (probation and parole) a. probation caseworkers b. pre-sentence investigators c. restitution unit 4. courts a. court monitoring project b. witness notification program c. jury program 5. juvenile court 6 local government a. Mayor's Office b. Department of Human/Social Services c. Senior Citizen Agency d. County Commissioners 7. other governmental programs a. mental health b. social services 8. community based and private programs, for example: a. sexual assault b. family violence c. child abuse d. elder abuse e. suicide prevention/crisis intervention programs f. hospital emergency room and social services g. shelters 9. religious programs Once the resources are identified, learn as much as possible about their operations. Think about their capabilities and their response to victims. Try to arrange face-to-face meetings to gather information, at least with those extensively involved with helping victims. Remember that this is a fact-finding mission. You are not passing judgement on their program. Instead, you should be identifying the difficulties they may be facing and trying to assess why those difficulties exist. Similarly, you should try to identify their successes and the reasons for such accomplishments. Your intent is not to duplicate services but to determine where services might be lacking or need improvement. DEFINING THE PROGRAM The needs assessment defines what is needed. The resource assessment provides a picture of what now exists. The next planning step involves subtracting the resources from the needs and seeing what is left. You don't want to duplicate other services; you want to fill in the gaps. Who is not being served in the community? In what ways have they been left out? For example, crime victims may be helped by the victim/witness unit in the prosecutor's office if there is an arrest, but there may be no one responding to their emergency needs immediately after the crime, ie., food, a new lock on the door, or a ride to the hospital to have stitches taken out. The following questions must be answered in order to define both the specific goals of your project and the structure of your program. 1. Who will the clientele be? 2. What services will be offered and when? 3. Where will the program be housed? 4. What geographic area will be served? 5. What kind of funding will you seek? CLIENTELE: There are many victims and/or witnesses in need of assistance. You must decide what the scope of your program will be. You may want to serve all crime victims or provide specialized services to victims of certain types of crime such as sexual assault or family violence. You may want to focus on victims within a certain age group such as youth or elderly. You may chose to work solely with victims of property crimes or instead with all victims and witnesses of any crime. When choosing a possible client population, it may be helpful to set the following priorities: 1. how much does this group need services? 2. what is already being done for them? 3. what improvement in their care could services provide? Your decision will depend in part on the resources available to you, both financial and staffing. The larger the client group served, the more funding may be available to your program. However planners should be realistic about what size clientele can be handled. If there is any question, it is always preferable to start small and expand once the first job has been mastered. Well planned phasing of services can be critical to maintaining program quality. Keep in mind that, even if you choose a limited clientele, you will probably deal with other victims from time to time. Any victim-oriented organization or program becomes a magnet for those in need who don't know where to seek help. SERVICES: The services to be offered will depend on the client group chosen and its needs, the resources that will be available to the new program. What follows is a comprehensive view of the range of services that could be considered and when such services are critical. I. Emergency Response What kinds of services are useful? a. Crisis intervention b. Assessment of emergency needs c. Administrating of physical and emotional first-aid d. Immediate referrals as necessary When should such services occur? a. The first time a victim is seen or spoken to by anyone after the crime II. Victim Stabilization a. Crisis intervention b. Conflict mediation c. Provision of alternative shelter d. Provision of police patrol e. Preparation for participation in the criminal justice system f. Orientation to social and medical services g. Referrals to other agencies h. Dignified treatment during police interviews and investigations When should such services occur? a. At the scene of the crime following the emergency response or within the next 48 hours III. Resource Mobilization What kinds of services may be useful? a. Long-term counseling b. Referrals and follow-up monitoring c. Information on available compensation d. Information on retrieving recovered property e. Crime prevention education f. Assistance in working with public agencies g. Civil legal assistance h. Advocacy for victim rights When should such services occur? a. From the time of stabilization until the resolution of the experience IV. After Arrest What kinds of services may be useful? a. Victim consultation in charging decisions b. Victim consultation over bail decisions c. Victim consultation on future scheduling d. Protection measures as necessary e. Crime prevention education f. Advocacy for victim rights When should such services occur? a. Just after the arrest of the accused V. Pre-Court Appearance What kinds of services may be available? a. Orientation and preparation b. Information on case status c. Advance hearing notification d. Witness preparation of testimony e. Employer intervention f. Consultation on plea bargaining g. Counseling h. Advocacy for victim rights When should such services occur? a. After the charging decision and before victim or witness must appear for a hearing or trial VI. Court Appearance What kinds of services may be useful? a. Complimentary transportation b. Separate waiting room for witnesses c. Escort service d. Counseling e. Childcare facilities f. Preparation for case outcomes When should such services occur? a. At the time of any court appearance by a victim or witness VII. Pre-Sentence What kinds of services may be useful? a. Notification of the verdict or plea b. Assistance in preparation of a victim impact statement c. Assistance in preparation of restitution plans d. Long-term counseling e. Civil legal assistance f. Escort or support at sentence hearing When should such services occur? a. After the trial or the entry of a guilty plea VIII. Post-Sentence What kinds of services may be useful? a. Preparation of a victim impact statement b. Notification of probation and parole hearings c. Notification of hearing outcomes d. Notification of any release e. Long-range counseling f. Civil legal assistance g. Escort and support during release hearings When should such services start? a. Immediately after sentencing and at any future hearing The question of hours of operation must be included in the discussion of what kinds of services to offer. Will your program be available 24 hours a day or only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Will you respond right after the crime, do telephone or personal outreach the next day or a few days later? Or, will you provide services only at the victim's initiation? When faced with the range of services that victims need and the immediacy of such need, it is understandable that you may feel overwhelmed. Remember that a small well-run program can be expanded as additional money and staff become available. It is much more difficult (and dangerous because of the damage to your credibility) to reduce the service levels of a program once they have been initiated. Be realistic from the outset about what is feasible and stick to your decision. PROGRAM LOCATION: Planners of victim services often feel that determining the sponsoring agency or organization must be of primary, and lengthy, concern. Yet the final decision is often easy because there is only one option. There may be only one group in the community willing and able to sponsor the program. Should you have options for a sponsor, the real choice may be between basically two categories: community-based or system- based. There are excellent programs in each setting. Community- based could mean hospital, area office on aging, mental health center as well as church, civic club or independent private, non- profit. System-based could mean police department, sheriff's office, prosecutor's office, probation department or courthouse. Speak with other victim programs about the advantages and disadvantages of locating in a particular type of agency. Community-based programs allow more flexibility since most directors are their own boss. There is less vulnerability to political change and better control over a focus on victim advocacy. Services may be provided to victims whether they report the crime or not, and before and after as well as during adjudication. Because it is not part of a bureaucracy, there are less restrictions on hiring and firing, raising funds, and use of volunteers. System-based programs often find it easier to obtain cooperation from the criminal justice system, as well as access to police and prosecutor records. The official status of the program may make it easier to establish credibility with the victim. Using the authority of the office can be effective when advocating for victims. As part of the system, these programs may be more able to relieve the burdens of police and prosecutors. Finally, funding may be easier to obtain and costs are often lower since some can be assumed by the sponsoring agency. If your project is an extension of an existing program, the decision as to sponsor may be moot. But whether extension or entirely new service, the choice of physical location may still be possible. One consideration to add to the above is that of comfort for the victims. Will victims feel at ease in this setting? Can they come and go as they wish? Are there comfortable chairs and a play area for children? Is there easy access to food and to bathrooms? Can counseling be done in private. GEOGRAPHIC AREA Integral to the discussion of clientele, services and sponsorship is the issue of what area you will serve. Will the program be single or multi-jurisdictional? Will the size of the area be limited to a neighborhood, a city or town, one or more counties or the entire state? Factors to be considered here are: a. funding and other resource possibilities; b. possible duplication; c. amount of cooperation required. STARTING A VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM SEEKING FUNDS: PART 3 You now know what services you wisk to provide, to whom and where the program might be located. A final factor in designing your program will locating funds to put your plans into action. The first step is to create a budget. Include all the items that would be needed to make a program function. Be reasonable. Make sure that you have enough but don't ask for more than you need. Indicate which items will be donated and which must be funded. Show the cost savings of volunteers by multiplying the hours they will be donating by the minimum wage. Find ways to demonstrate cost effectiveness: cost per client, cost per hour, cost per capita. Use multiple strategies to insure ongoing funding. Look for short-term, intermediate, and long-term funding sources. Be grateful for all amounts, whether large or small. Even in a sustem-based program where basic funding may be more predictable, one can be creative in looking for and using contributions and donations to expand your service. There are both public and private sources of funds. Public funds come from local(city and county), state and federal coffers. Private funds include businesses and labor organizations, foundations and community trusts, voluntary organizations (Junior League, Rotary, etc.), annual fundraising and memberships. Many funding sources will require you to submit a proposal. Ask for help from your state coordinator or write to NOVA for information on proposal writing. A significant source to consider is the 1984 Victims of Crime Act allowing for federal dollars to be granted to the states to support direct victim services. This funding is available to those programs which: a. give a priority to victims of sexual assault, spousal abuse or child abuse; b. have a proven record of service and financial support from other sources; c. utilize volunteers; d. promote coordinated efforts to help crime victims; e. assist victims in seeking victem compensation. NOVA can provide more information on funding available under both the Justicwe Assistance Act of 1984. Guidelines will be developed for the distribution of funds at a state and local level. Some additional thoughts about funding. a. Your sources of funding may have some impact on the structure of your program. Perhaps the funder's particular interest is crime prevention or crisis intervention or witness preperation. Your planning must reflect that interest in the services you will provide. b. It is often necessary to demonstrate the usefulness of the program before major funding will be available. Try to find seed money to keep the program running long enough to accomplish this. c. Once funding sources are identified, get to know their goals and purposes. If you plan to apply for federal funding, make sure that you know the guidelines and the philosophy of the legislation or the agency from which you will seek funds. When considering private donors you may awant to attend their meetings, read their reports, put them on your newsletter list. It is harder to say no to people one knows personally. d. It is usually necessary to educate your potential (and actual) funding sources about your issue and your organization. It is not reasonable to assume that they know anything about victims or about your goals and commitment, e. You must work continuously on funding. be diligent and patient. Constantly search for other financial resources. designate one person or sub-committee to do funding and free others to provide your program services. f. Again, remember to start small. Don't promise what yu can't hope to accomplish. PUTTING THE PLAN IN WRITING: All of the good work you have done to this point must next be captured on paper. While creating a statement of purpose and defining goals and objectives will take some time, it is an important part of effective program planning process-needs assessment, resource assessment, planner education-will be lost to the organization if the information is not synthesized in writing to provide your program a sense of direction. The first step is to draw up a statement of purpose. This statement will guide all subsequent program development. The statement should answer these questions: 1. Why do we exist? 2. What do we do? 3. What is our most important service? 4. Whom do we serve? Who are our clients? 5. Why are we unique? What wiuld be lost if we did not exist? 6. What philosophical issues are important to us? Where are we heading? The leaders could prepare a draft of the statement for the planners and provide them with a checklist of the above questions to consider in preparing the final version. Next, set goals. Goals are the things you want to accomplish. They come in three forms: 1. those that can be reached without increasing your level of activity or use of resources (not applicable for new programs); 2. those which entail areasonable expansion of activities; 3. those which represent your fondest dreams-your 'wish list'. To establish goals look at the victim needs targeted through the needs ans resource assessment. Then remember the discussions of kinds of services possible, the clientele that could be served, the possible sponsors, the geographic area to be covered, the potential funding sources. Through all those discussions and surveys you have no doubt been setting some priorities. Now is the time to finalize those priorities. 1. What must be done? 2. What should be done, i.e., can be phased in? 3. What would be desirable to do? Goals should be set for each of these catagories remembering always that it is impossible to do everything at once. Once goals are set, objectives must be defined. Objectives ar the specific things you want your program to accomplish in a given time period. They are a statement of the results expected. (Sample) Goal: to provide victim/witness services to all crime victims and witnesses. Objective # 1: to notify all victims and witnesses of scheduled court dates. Objective # 2: to provide pre-trial advocacy to all homicide survivors and sexual assault victims. Remember that objectives are result oriented. Ask yourself: 1. What end product is expected? 2. How will it be measured? 3. How much change is necessary to define success? 4. What is the time frame for achieving success? 5. What are cost limitations to consider? (Note that the sample set of objectives may set unachievable standards even though they relate to the general goal. It is probably impossible to notify all victims and witnesses. It might be more realistic to modify both the general goal and objective to reflect what might be acheived.) Having set goals and objectives it is time to draw up an action plan. action plans are the bridge between hopes and reality. If objectives are the end, action olans are the means. One action plan must be established for each objective. An action plan stipulates: 1. the specific activities to be done; 2. who is responsible for carrying out the activities; 3. what deadlines must be met; 4. what cost is involved. This last item is essential because funding considerations are critical to developing successful action plans. Action plans are sometimes more successful when they include contributions and ideas developed by the staff and/or volunteers who will implement the program. This may be difficult when initiating an entirely new program but it can be considered as a standard procedure once the program is in place. The process should include brainstorming strategies to meet the objective, determining and prioritizing major action steps, adding supporting steps and assigning deadlines, and drawing up a budget. The process of stating goals and objectives and drawing up action plans must be repeated on a periodic basis. This evaluation allows for feedback and a chance to get back on target. What were the objectives? How effective were we in meeting them? We were too ambitious, too limited? What problems occurred to impede progress? What corrective action should be taken? The corrective action will be transalated into new objectives. With evaluation the planning process may begin anew. Involve whose jobs will be affected by the decisions. Consensus can increase the level of committment to the organization from your staff. However, recognizt that there will be times when consensus is impossible and decisions must then be made by majority vote or by the leader (s). It is also important not to mistake some verbal agreements with consensus. Less assertive individuals may simply 'give up' in a group environment and resent the process. The program director should seek contributions in both a grour environment and on a 'one-on-one' basis. STARTING A VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM Your Organizational Structure It is now time to put your plans into action. Staffing patterns must be determined, policies and procedures written and clear lines of authority delineated. Without a concrete structure the program cannot be effective. In any program or agency there will be one person or group charged with policy making and decision making. For non-profits this will probably be the Board of Directors. While the Board membership will be different from group to group, it is this body which is ultimately responsible for the nature of the organization and for its continued existence. In a public agency there will probably be one person primarily responsible for decisions regarding a particular program. Whether your program is in a public agency, a community based program or is entirely independent, an advisory board is recommended. The advisory board should include representatives of the organizations to which you refer, those from whom you get referrals, funding sources and other interested persons. This group can be a sounding board for trying out new ideas as well as a conduit for relaying changes in their organizations which will affect your program. A by-product of advisory boards is that they often bring together people who should know each other but don't. As a result communication and cooperation may occur. For example, the prosecutor handling sexual assault and the physician doing most of the rape exams may create a new protocol which reduces the trauma of the victim and incidentally makes both of their jobs easier. When establishing staffing patterns it is important to consider both paid and non-paid staff. In a public agency you may be limited in the use of volunteers. Or your community may have few volunteers available. However, many victim service programs rely heavily on volunteers. In a time of limited funding, volunteers can make the difference between success of failure of a program. Even when funding is fairly ample there are many tasks which may be well suited to volunteers. It should also be noted that victim services provide unique professional opportunities for volunteers, thus making this experience beneficial for both the program and the helper. Whether paid or non-paid all staff should have a thorough understanding of what the job entails. An important part of the organizational structure is written documentation of office policies and procedures. These include written job descriptions, contracts and written policies and procedures including a grievance procedure. Financial documents should include an established accounting system, financial reports, procurement, payroll, and travel policies, and a minimum of bi-annual audit. Correspondence files should be up to date and accessible. Even the smallest program should have a central library of information on victim services for easy reference by all staff. Attention should be paid to detailing management procedures: 1. develop case forms; 2. keep track of case records within office; 3. assign a back-up to each case; 4. record all client contacts; 5. discuss special problems regularly; 6. develop a referral resource system. (NOVA has management information system forms available which can help new programs track and maintain case files. Some of the forms will also assist in tracking other kinds of program activities such as legislative advocacy, public education, or costs of service.) Hiring of paid staff and recruitment of volunteers should be handled in a serious manner. While previous experience in victim services may be desirable, because of the recent growth in the field, it may be difficult to find someone with such experience. Other qualifications are equally desirable such as the ability to function non-judgmentally, the ability to work and make decisions in a stressful environment, and flexibility in time management and job assignments. (NOVA can provide sample job descriptions for victim counselors, victim advocates, fundraisers, court liaison officers, witness managers.) When hiring an administrator, look especially at the abilities to supervise and motivate. Can this person describe the specific task to be done and how it fits into the organizational scheme? Does s/he set timeliness and schedule periodic check-ins with individual staff/volunteers? Can s/he delegate and encourage people to work independently? Will s/he keep staff/volunteers informed of changes in program direction and policy? Will s/he recognize people for their accomplishments? Are staff/volunteers acknowledged as the backbone of the program? Will ways be sought to reinforce their self-esteem? Both paid and non-paid staff should be provided with thorough training and orientation before they begin their jobs. In addition to procedural information, the training should mimic the education of the planners with time spent briefly on the history of the movement and extensively on the victimization experience. Periodic inservice training should be required for all staff to maintain and improve their skills. Finally your relationships with other agencies and organizations, i.e., criminal justice and social services, should be formalized. A written agreement or contract which itemizes what each agency expects from the other and what each agrees to provide to the other can be useful to both parties. It reduces the chances for confusion and misunderstandings. Although there was an extensive bibliographical reference at the end of this document that listed agencies in every state and in some cases, more than one. However, this information is grossly out of date. We at NOVA, hope that the overview of this planning program will be of assistance to you in developing your victim services program. Please contact us at the National Organization for Victim Assistance if you need more detailed information on establishing your program, program management, or other victim related issues. For more information ask for the NOVA Program Directory. Write to: NOVA 1757 Park Road, NW. Washington D.C. 20010 (202)232-8560