Victim Assistance Project

OVC’s mission is to enhance the nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing policies and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. OVC achieves this mission, in part, by administering award programs supported by the federal Crime Victims Fund (CVF) to develop innovative training and technical assistance, and to provide direct services to improve the overall quality of victim assistance.

The overall goal of the Fiscal Year 2019 Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program is to provide support to tribal communities to improve services for victims of crime. Under the solicitation, OVC solicited applications for funding to support a comprehensive range of activities including needs assessment, strategic planning, program development and implementation, program expansion, and other activities needed to address the needs of a wide variety of crime victims in tribal communities.

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska will use the funding it received under Purpose Area 2: Coordination and Expansion of Existing Victim Service Program, to: hire a 1.0 FTE Project Outreach Coordinator, 1.0 FTE Trafficking Victim Advocate, and a .25 FTE Administrative Assistant to staff the project; promote awareness of the services available to victims of violence against women, including victims of human trafficking, through the tribe’s victim services program; revise its tribal code to address human trafficking and create a human trafficking task force; increase crime victims’ access to trauma-informed traditional healing and clinical mental health counseling services; and provide victims with access to financial assistance with housing, re-location, transportation, food, and other emergency needs.
(CA/NCF)