National Native American Heritage Month
During this National Native American Heritage Month, learn about OVC and OVC-funded programs and resources to support victim services in Tribal communities.
Call for Art for National Indian Nations Conference
We are seeking original artwork from survivors, advocates, and representees from Tribal communities to be featured during the next National Indian Nations Conference, tentatively scheduled for December 2024.
- Eligibility: Individuals and artists, of all ages, with lived experience and allies in the Tribal victim services field. Submissions can be individual or as a group/collective.
- Deadline: extended through 11:59 p.m., eastern time on Friday, December 22, 2023.
Learn more and submit your artwork
Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside (TVSSA) Funding
OVC administers the TVSSA formula grant program that funds critical victim services in Tribal communities, including services to family members of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons.
OVC will host a virtual Tribal Consultation on the TVSSA for Fiscal Year 2024 on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, and Thursday, January 18, 2024, from 1:00−3:30 p.m. eastern time each day. In preparation, OVC presents the OVC FY 2023 Crime Victims Fund Tribal Set-Aside Program report that provides a brief history of the program and how Tribal Set-Aside funds were obligated in FY 2023.
Tribal Victim Services Training and Technical Assistance (T-VSTTA)
T-VSTTA is a capacity-building program for American Indian and Alaska Native communities that provides tailored, victim-centered, and trauma-informed training and technical assistance to grantees and potential grantees as they develop sustainable victim services programs.
Learn more about T-VSTTA and contact them by email to [email protected] or 833-887-8820 to request training or technical assistance.
Financial Management Support to Tribal Grantees and Applicants
Visit the OVC Tribal Financial Management Center website to learn how the Center helps Tribes create strong applications for funding opportunities and supports their efforts to successfully manage their grant awards. Financial specialists are available to provide services (at no cost), including onsite and offsite requests for technical assistance and general questions.
Tribal Resource Tool
Search the Tribal Resource Tool to help locate services available to American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of crime and abuse. The Tool was created by the National Center for Victims of Crime, National Congress of American Indians, Tribal Law and Policy Institute, and StrongHearts Native Helpline with funding support from OVC.
Additional Information
Visit the American Indian and Alaska Native Victim Services Resources and the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons sections of our site for more initiatives, publications, videos, and other resources.
Forensic Nurses Week
Forensic nurses provide critical specialty care to patients impacted by violence. Forensic nursing ensures that patients impacted by violence receive expert, compassionate, and comprehensive care, which best addresses the acute and long-term consequences of violence, improves patient recovery, and lowers healthcare costs.
To honor the extraordinary work of these nurses, we commemorate Forensic Nurses Week on November 5-11, 2023.
The International Association of Forensic Nurses provides a 2023 Forensic Nurses Week Toolkit to help raise awareness. The toolkit offers sample outreach materials and additional resources.
We also highlight the following OVC program and guide.
Expanding Access to Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations
This OVC program seeks to increase the number of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE) programs to ensure that trauma-informed specialty care is available for patients.
SANE Program Development and Operation Guide
The SANE Program Development and Operation Guide provides a blueprint for nurses and communities that would like to start a SANE program. The guide is also a resource for established SANE programs that may want to enhance or expand their services.
Transgender Day of Remembrance
On Monday, November 20, 2023, we recognize the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Help raise awareness about anti-transgender violence by using the resources available on GLAAD’s Transgender Day of Remembrance website.
Learn about some of OVC’s efforts below to support victims who identify as LGBTQ.
The OVC Responding to Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault Toolkit provides culturally sensitive, respectful care when working with transgender victims of sexual violence and their families. OVC recently awarded funding to FORGE to update the toolkit it developed in partnership with OVC in 2014. The updated toolkit will address all major types of violence and crime against transgender individuals, including a focus on the experience of transgender women and girls of color.
The OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC) offers a Victim Assistance Training Online module on “Specific Considerations for Providing Victim Services to LGBTQ Populations.” Sign up for this free, self-paced training to learn about—
- language, terms, and concepts commonly used in LGBTQ communities;
- the differences between gender identity and sexual orientation;
- a historical and legal perspective of LGBTQ rights and recognition;
- barriers people in the LGBTQ community face when accessing services; and
- ways to increase your agency's capacity to effectively serve LGBTQ people.
Also watch these OVC TTAC recorded trainings:
- The Vulnerabilities of LGBTQ and Homeless Youth to Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
- Serving LGBTQ Survivors of Violence
Be Counted in the National Census of Victim Service Providers
The Office for Victims of Crime wants to ensure that every program that provides services to victims of crime is counted in the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP).
The NCVSP is critical to understanding the current landscape of victim services across the country and providing national data on victim service provision. By accurately gathering information on all provider organizations, we can identify gaps and funding needs for programs responding to the needs of crime victims and survivors in communities nationwide.
If your organization provides services to victims of crime as its primary function or through specific programs or personnel and you did not receive an invitation, or are not sure if you did, fill out this NCVSP quick form.
This project is supported by grant number 15PBJS-21-GK-02597-RESS awarded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.