Bridging Research and Practice to Expand Our Reach Slide 1: Bridging Research and Practice to Expand Our Reach * Nancy Smith * National Resource Center on Reaching Victims * March 21, 2019 * This webinar was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety under Award # 2016-XV-GX-K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this webinar are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Slide 2: Goals Ą Provide an overview of the needs assessment we conducted to better understand the factors contributing to some communities being underserved, Ą Share the key findings from our assessment, and Ą Discuss implications for our work and field. Slide 3: About Us: The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims Ą The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims is a one-stop shop for victim service providers, culturally specific organizations, criminal justice professionals, and policymakers to get information and expert guidance to enhance their capacity to identify, reach, and serve all victims, especially those from communities that are underrepresented in healing services and avenues to justice. Ą We are supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. Slide 4: About Us: The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (2) We are working to: Ą increase the number of victims who receive healing supports by understanding who is underrepresented and why some people access services while others donŐt; Ą design and implement best practices for connecting people to the services they need; and Ą empower and equip organizations to provide the most useful and effective services to crime victims. Slide 5: A Spotlight onÉ. Ą Children and youth Ą People with disabilities and Deaf people Ą Older adults Ą Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals Ą Individuals with limited English proficiency and immigrants Ą Individuals who are formerly incarcerated Ą Men of color Ą Other historically marginalized Ą Native American/tribal/First Nations Ą Religious minorities Ą Women of color Ą Other emerging categories of crime victims Slide 6: About Us: The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (3) We are a collaboration among: Ą Caminar Latino Ą Casa de Esperanza Ą Common Justice Ą FORGE Ą The National ChildrenŐs Advocacy Center Ą The National Center for Victims of Crime Ą The National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later in Life Ą Vera Institute of Justice Ą Women of Color Network, Inc Slide 7: Background Ą The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims Slide 8: CHART: Crime Victim Funds Cap by Year Ą The chart shows a steady and three-times increase in crime victim funds funding from 2000, when the amount released was $500,000,000 to 2018, when the amount released was $4,436,000,000. Slide 9: Victims Reporting Crimes Ą Each year, millions of people in the United States become victims of crime. Yet, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, only about 13% of victims of serious violence report receiving victim services. That number drops to 5% for crimes that go unreported to the police.1 Slide 10: Assessment Overview In this section, we will cover: Ą Goals Ą What We Did Ą Who Participated Slide 11: Key Activities Ą Informational interviews (103) Ą Listening sessions (60) Ą Field survey Ą Literature reviews Ą Practice material reviews Slide 12: over 1900 People Participated Slide 13: Field Survey Respondents 1,519 responses Ą 99% English Ą 1% Spanish About the respondentsŐ agencies Ą 38% Domestic Violence Agency Ą 28.5% Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Center Ą 13.75% Child Advocacy Center Ą 10.38% Corrections Ą 7.84% Law Enforcement Ą 7.77% Culturally Specific Ą 7% Adult Protective Services Ą 4.88% Disability Services Ą 1.1% Tribal Ą Slide 14: Field Survey Responses (2) Ą 45% of agencies have 10 or fewer full-time staff Ą 50% of respondents are in management/supervisory positions Ą 50% of respondents were in the crime victims field 8 or more years Slide 15: Key Findings Ą Survey Results Slide 16: Finding 1 Growing awareness Slide 17: Has your program/organization identified victims from certain communities as underserved? Ą 63% of respondents from the field survey indicated that their program/organization had identified victims from certain communities as underserved by their program; while 37% indicated that they have not identified groups of victims as underserved by their program/organization. Slide 18: Quote 1 Ą ŇWhile our county is fairly homogenous, we know that we are not serving as many people of color, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community, elderly, as we would likeÉ We know that there are many stigmas and prejudices for different minority populations; we attempt to alleviate those, but we could always learn more in order to do better.Ó Slide 19: Finding 2 Fear and mistrust Slide 20: Quote 2 Ą ŇThe other issue is a lack of trust, and that lack of trust is completely rational because most of my clients have had lengthy interactions with systems that say theyŐre there to help, but they donŐt, or in some cases, they make their lives worse.Ó Slide 21: Crime victims are often not met by advocates or service providers from their communities. Ą We're a mostly white agency, and governmental. Many people hurt or harmed by crime will never feel comfortable approaching us for help. Đ Survey Respondent Slide 22: Many survivors are also reluctant to reach out for help based on negative interactions theyŐve had with systems and fears that they will lose more than they will gain by accessing services. Ą Elders who are being abused by family members are much less likely to reach out, either because they do not know about the services or they do not want to complain about their family for fear of alienation, retaliation, or loss of independence. Đ Survey Respondent Slide 23: Finding 3 Outreach vs. Engagement Slide 24: Quote 3 I think as an agency we haven't had a specific plan or made it an agency priority to do intentional outreach to a variety of marginalized populations, nor have we made it a part of our work culture before to have intentional, long-term trainings for our staff who provide direct services. Đ Crime Victim Advocate Slide 25: Language Matters Ą In 20 years, I have never met someone who wasnŐt a crime victim, but they donŐt identify that way. The words we use are not the words our clients use. Language Suggestions Ą People harmed by violence Ą Anyone affected by violence Ą Survivors of trauma or harm Other Suggestions Ą Emphasize the benefits of advocacy and services Ą Center healing Slide 26: Finding 4 In this section: An abundance of barriers Slide 27: Survey Table 1. This table represents the reasons why survivors are understood, and the percentages of respondents who agree with the stated reasons. Respondents most agree with the following reasons: Lack of public awareness of services available (65%); lack of trust (61%); physical barriers (61%). Respondents also agree with the following reasons: Cultural barriers (53%); Lack of services to meet the need (52%); Language/communication barriers (50%); Lack of staff knowledge on how to serve (49%); Eligibility restrictions (45%); Lack of collaboration with culturally-specific programs (43%); Programmatic barriers (35%); and Staff bias/attitudinal barriers (24%). Slide 28: Finding 5 Many competent programs shut out Slide 29: Many Competent ProgramsÉ Ą May not label themselves as Ňvictim servicesÓ Ą Use approaches and provide services that are not recognized as victim services by mainstream funders and providers Ą Provide healing work with little financial support Ą Face barriers to getting VOCA funding Ą Funding conditions constrain many programs Slide 30: Quote 4 Ą We are needing to fit survivors of trauma into particular categories dictated by our funding (e.g., domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, child abuse). That limits our ability to serve all community members who have experienced trauma and are in need of supportive services (e.g., victims of community violence, for example, [or] people experiencing grief and loss). Slide 31: Finding 6 Limited to no partnerships Slide 32: Finding 7 Gaps exist between funding priorities/strategies and the need Slide 33: Implications In this section: What does this mean? Slide 34: Quote 5 Ą ŇI don't think our agency's clients completely represent the whole picture of who lives in our 17-county region and I think we have to make a concerted effort through training (ourselves), creating a diverse staff, and have an intentional and intersectional community outreach plan in order to make our services more accessible to all the people in our service area. I also believe we have to make our organization feel safe to all groups of people so they feel comfortable seeking services with us.Ó Đ Survey Respondent Slide 35: Questions? Slide 36: Contact information Ą Nancy Smith Ą Vera Institute of Justice Ą nsmith@vera.org