Key Findings From a Comprehensive Needs Assessment of the Crime Victims Field

To better understand the reasons why some victims are not receiving services and what resources and tools the field needs to reach more people, the NRC undertook a comprehensive assessment of the crime victims field and related
fields.

From July 2017 through March 2018, the NRC completed the following activities:

• Conducted 103 informational interviews with victim service providers, advocates with relevant lived experience, and other experts in the crime
victims field

• Completed more than 15 informational interviews
with VOCA administrators

• Conducted 45 listening sessions with stakeholder groups representing the voices and needs of various groups of victims who have been historically underrepresented

• Carried out five listening sessions with VOCA administrators

• Distributed a survey to the crime victims field and allied professionals and received more than 1,500 responses

• Reviewed more than 500 practice documents related to the victimization experiences and needs of survivors who often do not access services

• Conducted a communications audit of the victim services field to understand the strengths and weaknesses of current outreach and service strategies. This included an analysis of more than 75 brochures and other outreach materials from crime victim service programs from across the country, a survey of 35 leaders from the crime victims field, and in-depth interviews
with 15 experts in serving crime survivors from underserved communities.

This report summarizes the findings and crosscutting themes that the NRC gleaned from these activities and outlines its strategies to support the crime victims field’s goal of reaching more people and closing service gaps.