TITLE
The Mayor and Council shall discuss and take action to provide consent to submit an application to the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice for a professional development scholarship of up to $5,000 to attend the 2014 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Trafficking in Seattle, Washington. Consent to submit an application designates the City Manager and Police Chief to sign all necessary documents to complete the process. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The Office for Victims of Crime provides professional development scholarships up to $1,000 for individuals and up to $5,000 for multidisciplinary teams of victim service professionals seeking continuing education opportunities. The scholarship program is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC). OVC TTAC provides comprehensive quality training and technical assistance resources to victim service providers and other professionals.
Scholarship awards are based on eligibility, are limited to available funds, and are processed in the order in which applications are received. Scholarships are nontransferable and can be used only for professional development related to an applicant's responsibilities for serving victims of crime. OVC TTAC must receive the completed Individual or Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Professional Development Scholarship application and all application materials at least 45 calendar days prior to the event or the request will be rejected.
Eligible applicants include service providers from any organization - public, nonprofit, or faith-based - who assist victims of crime within the United States, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any other territory of the United States, but do not have an adequate budget to support training and are eligible for the OVC Professional Development Scholarship Program:
1. Victim service providers;
2. Victim service advocates;
3. Social service providers;
4. Mental health workers;
5. Healthcare professionals;
6. Substance abuse workers;
7. Law enforcement professionals (who provide direct victim services);
8. Prosecutors (who provide direct victim services).
Individuals as well as multidisciplinary teams of up to five individuals may apply (e.g. prosecutors, victim service providers, law enforcement professionals, health care providers, etc.).
Staff, volunteers, advocates, and allied professionals must provide documentation of one (1) year of experience serving crime victims. An emphasis is placed on individuals or multidisciplinary teams who deliver direct services to victims, and on allied practitioners in small victim services and advocacy organizations with very limited operational budgets.
Organizations sponsoring staff or volunteers may be public, nonprofit, or faith-based. In all instances, these agencies must demonstrate that their budgets are insufficient to support the training needs of direct service staff, volunteers or program managers. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis if the need for training, budgetary constraints and appropriateness of target population served are established, or if the training objectives will be enhanced by sending a multidisciplinary team of several staff from different agencies, but from the same jurisdiction.
This item will be presented by Steve Stahl, Police Chief.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends provide consent to submit an application to the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice for a professional development scholarship of up to $5,000 to attend the 2014 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Trafficking in Seattle, Washington. Consent to submit an application designates the City Manager and Police Chief to sign all necessary documents to complete the process.