“Building Capacity for Accessible Victims Services”
Session 1: Building the Foundation: Terminology and Identifying Barriers- August 26, 2022
Session 2: Action Planning for Accessibility – September 13, 2022
Session 3: Lessons Learned and Building Relationships for the Future- October 17, 2022
All sessions are from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the virtual training series, “Building Capacity for Accessible Victim Services”. Offered with support from the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC-TTAC), this three-part training series will assist participants in identifying barriers to accessibility for victims with diverse abilities, as well as practical guidance on developing accommodations to address those barriers. As each training session builds on the previous session, participants are strongly encouraged to attend all three sessions.
Part 1 - “Building the Foundation: Terminology and Identifying Barriers”
In order to start to have meaningful conversations about accommodations and accessibility for victims with disabilities, there must be an understanding of common language and vernacular. During this session, participants will explore common terminology, the barriers that exist for victims with disabilities, and begin to assess their organization’s current accessibility and capacity to serve individuals with disabilities in a trauma-informed manner.
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
- Understand how the terms “reasonable accommodations” and “inclusive environment” relate to providing trauma-informed services to victims with disabilities.
- Establish goals to identify physical and social barriers that discourage victims with disabilities from reporting crimes or seeking out victim services.
- Identify and select tools and strategies to assess their organization's ability to support survivors with disabilities in an inclusive environment.
Part 2 - "Action Planning for Accessibility"
This session will allow participants time to share what they learned related to their organization’s current ability to provide meaningful support to victims with disabilities and develop specific strategies to increase accessibility. Additionally, participants will work together to engage in creative problem solving and the prioritization of the strategies included in their planning.
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
- Report back what participants learned about their organization's accessibility and capacity to serve individuals with disabilities in a trauma-informed manner.
- Identify needs (immediate, mid-term, and long-term) and then prioritize the needed accommodations or modifications.
- Develop an action plan to meet or plan to meet the prioritized needs.
Part 3 - “Lessons Learned and Building Relationships for the Future”
This final workshop will allow participants to reflect on the progress and planning from earlier sessions and make longer term plans. Additionally, participants will discuss outreach and collaboration with new partners that will continue their organizational growth related to the meaningful integration of accessibility practices for victims with disabilities.
As a result of this training, participants will be able to:
- Report on progress, share accomplishments, aha moments, barriers, and creative solutions.
- Identify meaningful ways to provide outreach and collaborate with individuals with disabilities in their communities.
- Identify possible community partnerships to enhance their agency's ability to better support survivors with disabilities and review how to work with those partners to develop intermediate and more long-term action plans.
Presenters:
Marcie Davis is an internationally recognized and award-winning victim assistance and disability advocate, speaker, author, and socialpreneur. Her passion is providing accessible and culturally appropriate support services to individuals with disabilities, people with substance and opioid use disorders, seniors, Native Americans, and other underrepresented populations. Ms. Davis has worked in the victim services field for more than 30 years, including as the chief of victim services and Victims of Crime Act grants management for the Florida Attorney General’s Office. She created the first victim services office in the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Ms. Davis is the founder and CEO of Davis Innovations; a project director for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, where she mentors rural and frontier sexual assault programs and leads statewide efforts supporting survivors with disabilities and seniors; and the founder of Soulful Presence, a nonprofit organization seeking to empower underserved populations by creating awareness through policy, research, education, and social action. She assists Assistance Dogs International members on issues specific to assistance, courthouse, and crisis response canines. Ms. Davis helps social service leaders create and implement transformational solutions through program development and management, training, technical writing, grant writing, marketing and outreach, and research and evaluation services. She works with local, state, tribal, and federal governments and nongovernmental organizations to create and implement innovative ideas and approaches. Ms. Davis co-authored Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook and created the podcast Working Like Dogs on Pet Life Radio, which covers topics related to all types of working dogs, including courthouse and crisis response canines. She established International Assistance Dog Week, which is celebrated in more than 40 countries. Ms. Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in Paralegal Studies and a master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is accompanied by her service dog, Fenway
Participant Registration and Cost: This training series is free. Participants need to register in advance for the training. Participants should attend all three sessions in this training series, if possible. Click here to register.