Frequently Asked Questions

An extensive range of services and resources is available to help crime victims obtain justice and heal. Review What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime, the Help for Victims section of our site, and the Victim Rights and Services section of our website for information.

Guidelines on how to write a victim impact statement are available in the OVC report, Promising Victim-Related Practices in Probation and Parole - A Compendium of Promising Practices. See Chapter 2: Impact, Notification, and Informational Services for information related to victim impact statements and Appendix B for a sample form. 

The most recent tally of Americans killed as a result of terrorist attacks can be found in the U.S. Department of State annual Country Reports on Terrorism.

To sign up for the OVC TTAC listserv, fill out and submit the online request form. Once you have registered, you will receive notification of future OVC TTAC training events and announcements.

Visit the Training and Technical Assistance section of the OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center website for specific eligibility requirements and application information for training and technical assistance or requesting an event speaker.  

Requests for assistance must be submitted at least 90 days prior to the date of the event.

A program can apply directly to OVC for funding. A certain percentage of discretionary monies in the Crime Victims Fund are used to support national scope training and technical assistance projects to improve services to victims of crime. For available funding opportunities, visit the Current Funding Opportunities section of our website.

The Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) system allows crime victims across the country to obtain timely and reliable information about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day—via phone, email, text message (SMS) or TTY device. Please visit the VineLink website to register.

Federal victim notification information is available on the U.S. Department of Justice's Victim Notification System (VNS) website. For additional information, visit the Victim Notification section of our website.

When Your Child is Missing: A Family Survival Guide, an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention report, contains helpful information for families about what to do when a child is missing.

For additional information, visit the Child and Youth Victimization section of our website.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has created A Family Resource Guide on International Parental Kidnapping, which provides information about and guidance on what to do if an international parental kidnapping has occurred.

Also, the U.S. Department of State has an International Parental Child Abduction page to assist the parent of an abducted child. Assistance may also be obtained from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

For additional information, visit the Child and Youth Victimization section of our website.