OVC is pleased to announce that the 2025 National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) Resource Guide is now available online.

Use it to help raise awareness about victims' rights, services, and resources during NCVRW (April 6-12, 2025) and throughout the year.

The 2025 NCVRW Resource Guide features -

• Tips for navigating the guide
• Materials to help plan and implement your outreach
• compelling original artwork in various sizes and formats, some of which you can customize by adding your own organization's information.
• Resources for how to keep the conversation going after NCVRW.

Please click here to access.

RASA/VOJO Quarter 1 Program Reports Due April 20,2025

Quarterly Program Reports for the 2025-2026 RASA/VOJO Funding Cycle are due April 20, 2025, covering the period January 1, 2025, through March 31, 2025. Please note that April 20^th falls on a Sunday so please consider filing the report ahead of time.

Below are instructions and important reminders concerning the program report.  

NEW THIS QUARTER!

• In Quarter 1, all victims are considered “New” victims. The number of new victims will be the same as the total number of victims served during this reporting period.

• Programs are now required to use the RASA_VOJO 2025 Program Report Worksheet below for programmatic reporting. A copy of this worksheet is found in Egrants when initiating a new RASA/VOJO program report.

Please note there is no change to the data Victim Services Programs will collect and report on for approved RASA and VOJO activities. Thus, the methodology (i.e. database) used to store RASA/VOJO victim information and data is not affected by this change. 

RASA/VOJO 2025 Report

The worksheet has three (3) tabs located at the bottom left corner of the spreadsheet.

• The first tab is the Instructional tab.
• The second tab is the RASA Quarterly Report worksheet.
• The third tab is the VOJO Quarterly Report worksheet.
• Please complete the tab(s) according to approved grant activities. The worksheet has built-in features to include auto-calculation and error messaging to ensure accuracy and save time.
• Once the worksheet is complete, please attached the form to the "Attachments Section" of the Egrants program report. When doing so, you will see the phrase, "Description is required to enable save button." Please identify the worksheet with the name of your program. Choose the "Select Attachment" button and select the file (worksheet) for upload and then select, "Save Complete."

In using this worksheet, data is no longer to be entered into these Egrants sections of the report:

• RASA Victims Served - Adult System
• RASA Victimization Types - Adult System
• RASA Demographics - Adult System
• RASA Services - Adult System
• VOJO Victims Served - Juvenile System
• VOJO Victimization Types - Juvenile System
• VOJO Demographics - Juvenile System
• VOJO Services - Juvenile System

REMINDERS: 

• Please click “No” on Main Page where it asks if you’d like to make a “Final Report.”



•  You do not need to enter anything in the “Briefly List Activities Conducted During This Period” Section on the main page of the report. You may simply enter “Not Applicable” in this section on the main page of the report and save it. 

 PCCD CONTACT INFORMATION:

It is very important to submit your program report in Egrants by the due date of April 20, 2025. If for any reason you are unable to enter your report data and submit the report by the due date, please contact the assigned Program Staff Contact listed for your grant in the Egrants system. 

• Quarterly fiscal reports for RASA and VOJO grants will also be due in Egrants by April 20, 2025. If you have any fiscal report questions, please contact the fiscal staff person listed on your grant for assistance. 

• If you need technical assistance with Egrants, you may contact the Egrants Support Line at (717) 787-5887 or by email at: RA-eGrantsSupport@pa.gov.

STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Survey

PCCD wants your input regarding how we distribute funding under the Federal STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program.

Please take this brief survey.

The data collected will assist Pennsylvania's Statewide STOP Implementation Planning Committee as it develops Pennsylvania's 2026-2029 funding and service priorities for STOP.

If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Novotny-Goles at (717) 265-8735 or nnovotnygo@pa.gov

Recordings Of PCCD's Consolidated Standards Are Available On PCCD's YouTube Channel

Pennsylvania has long been considered a leader when it comes to the OVS Consolidated Standards, in their design to deliver quality services and programming led by skilled advocates and staff. To better inform the field, OVS has launched a series of recordings that walk program staff through each of the standards. These are short recordings, up to thirty (30) minutes in length available on PCCD’s You Tube Channel: PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency (PCCD) - YouTube. Each recording counts toward OVS annual training requirements. Staff may listen to any number of recordings as they are released. 

The Standards are meant to be a guide for victim service professionals to promote excellent service delivery and to ensure the uniformity of services. The Standards provide the minimum expectations for service provision and ensure professionalism in a wide variety of victim service practices. 

The following recordings are now available on PCCD’s You Tube Channel: 

Intake Standard (formerly Assessment Standard)

Victims' Rights Notification Standard

Digital Forensics Is Taking Advantage Of Victims, Some Consumers Say

After falling prey to sextortionists, victims turn to companies promising to get rid of the content in exchange for high fees.

Please click here to read.

Cognitive Behavioral Interventions: Scaling Success To Save Lives

Based on a symposium held last year that brought together on the-ground practitioners, leading academics, government officials, and interested funders - looks at the science and practice of cognitive behavioral interventions (CBIs) and how CBIs can be scaled across the country.

Please click here to access.

Scams Devasting Impact On Victims' Families

Fraud often leaves emotional pain and financial ruin for everyone left in its wake.

Please click here to read.

Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence And Gun Violence

While intimate partner violence (IPV) is always risky, guns make IPV especially dangerous. But medical professionals may feel overwhelmed about how to approach this. A new video from Shared Safety highlights how medical professionals can connect with patients to discuss these serious issues.

Please click here to read.

How Perceived Social Breakdown Influences Teen Gun Carrying

A recent analysis looks into factors that contribute to perceived community disorder, and the role of mental health treatment in stemming gun violence.

Please click here to read.

Legal Obstacles In Addressing Gender-Based Violence

April 4, 2025

9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

3737 Vartan Way Harrisburg, PA 17110

Room A180

Legal Obstacles in Addressing Gender-Based Violence is a hybrid, daylong program curated by the Widener Commonwealth Law Review with an audience of students, educators, and practitioners. Our goal is to bring awareness to the topic of gender-based violence through panels on topics such as sexual violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking

Please click here to register.

Sexual Assault Response Conference

April 10, 2025

8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

PennWest University Campus

The April 10 schedule begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration and a light breakfast, followed by opening remarks at 9:30 a.m. Ninety-minute workshops will be presented addressing topics related to victim advocacy, law enforcement, criminal justice, mental health, and nursing/medical services.

Please click here to register.

Trauma Informed Care For Hospital Personnel & STOP Teams

May 29, 2025

2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

SAVE THE DATE

Overview

Sexual violence is a widespread public health issue with significant short and long-term health consequences. This webinar will focus on trauma-informed approaches for healthcare personnel to improve the coordination and care of acute sexual assault victims, as well as the relevance of these approaches in the context of all patients who may have a history of sexual violence.

It’s important to note that not all hospitals have forensic nurses available 24/7. This webinar will strive to increase the number of hospital staff trained on how to address sexual harm by incorporating six basic principles of trauma-informed care.

We will also share additional resources to assist with continued staff development aimed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to provide a safe and supportive environment to victims of sexual violence.

Speaker:

Dr. Tracey Vogel is an obstetric anesthesiologist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her MD degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her anesthesia training at Stanford University in California. 

She received certification as a Sexual Assault Counselor at Allegheny County’s Rape Crisis Center PAAR (Pittsburgh Action Against Rape) several years ago, where she started her work in medical advocacy and education for adult survivors of sexual trauma. This education has inspired her to initiate programs to promote medical “centers of excellence” in providing trauma-informed care for obstetric patients.

​Her hospital-based work also includes involvement with quality assurance processes, education and training of nurses, residents, and medical students, and creation of care plans for high risk obstetric patients including those with prior sexual trauma, opioid tolerance and substance use disorders, and mental health concerns. 

Dr. Vogel is part of the governor’s HEAL PA Taskforce seeking to make Pennsylvania a trauma-aware state.

Objectives

• Provide a clear explanation of trauma-informed care principles and their relevance in the context of sexual assault.
• Demonstrate how to incorporate trauma-informed approaches into routine care, focusing on communication, empathy, and creating a safe environment.
• Highlight the importance of coordinating with other professionals involved in the care of sexual assault victims, including law enforcement, victim advocates, and mental health professionals.

Target audience: physicians, RNs, APRNs, FNEs, and all hospital personnel that may interact with victims of sexual violence; advocates, law enforcement, and prosecutors.

This activity will be submitted to the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association Approver Unit is accredited as an approver of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Registration information will be provided closer to the event