Promoting Accessible and Inclusive Services for Victims with Disabilities: A Webinar for VOCA Administrators
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistic’s 2016 report, people with disabilities were more than three times more likely to experience violent crime than people without disabilities from 2010-2014. At the same time, only 13% of violent crime victims with disabilities received assistance from non-police victim services agencies. The recent increases in state VOCA victim assistance grants creates a unique opportunity to increase the number of crime victims with disabilities who access victim services. Through this webinar, the Vera Institute of Justice, as part of the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims, provide VOCA Assistance Administrators with foundational information on the victimization of people with disabilities and will enhance their ability to address the needs of people with disabilities at each stage of the grant-making process. Presenters discuss the following topics: including the voices of people with disabilities in your needs assessment and strategic planning process, writing Requests for Proposals that solicit applications that address the needs of victims with disabilities, assessing applicants’ budgets for accessibility, and assessing qualifications to serve victims with disabilities, among others.