The District has won a $195,000 federal grant to launch an academy for the litany of professionals who work with victims of crime.
Lawyers, judges and victim advocates will have the opportunity to participate in the five-day seminar, initially funded by a three-year award from the U.S. Department of Justice.
A broad-based, university-level curriculum will be developed during the next year, officials said, and the pilot academy should be ready to go by late 2007.
“Multiple systems come with different attorneys, different courts and different protocols that are hard to navigate without some focused training and background,” Mayor Anthony Williams said last week. “Working knowledge of this complex judicial system in the District is going to be beneficial for those who attend the program.”
Williams called the award an “honor.” The Justice Department, he said, is “treating the District of Columbia like a state instead of a city.” Some 25 states, but no cities until now, received grants to create similar academies.
The academy’s curriculum will be developed by D.C. professionals from the fields of victims services, academia, law enforcement and the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
Its purpose is to educate participants about the rights, needs and concerns of homicide, robbery and sexual assault victims.
Specialized courses are being designed as well, including a lesson for judges on domestic violence among immigrant couples.
“We have newcomers coming into the field, and we want them to have really good training,” said Melissa Hook, director of the District’s Office of Victim Services.
Academy participants
» George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
» D.C. Rape Crisis Center
» D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence
» Wendt Center for Loss and Healing
» D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center
» Freddie Mac Foundation Child and Adolescent Protection Center
» D.C. Superior Court Research and Training Office
» D.C. Crime Victims Compensation Office
» D.C. Office of the Attorney General
