Identify and research a public, private or non- profit VICTIM ASSISTANCE OR ADVOCACY PROGRAM.

This assignment will require you to identify, research and develop an informative written AND PowerPoint presentation for a local, state, or national example of a public, private or non- profit VICTIM ASSISTANCE OR ADVOCACY PROGRAM. The purpose of this important field research exercise is to afford you the opportunity to see the broad range of community efforts being made on behalf of crime victims. The organization may be designed to provide for general victim reparations for all crime types, for victim mental and emotional rehabilitation, for proactive victim prevention, or for assistance to victims of specific crimes or crimes against specific groups (i.e., children, the aged, the intimate, or the challenged). Once you have identified the organization that you will research (and have reported the name of that organization in Assignment 1.4 in Week 1), you should begin examining its enabling legislation or mission statement, interviewing someone with a significant connection to the operation (an officer or agency employee), and evaluating that organization in order to determine the effectiveness. Your examination of that organization must include information about how it addresses its victim audience, the size, shape and structure of the organization, the budget and source of funding of that organization over time and during the current fiscal year, the governance of the organization (does it have a Board of Directors, an Advisory Council, caseworkers, psychologists, social workers, state or local government staffing, private staff, etc.?) and an assessment of effectiveness of the organization in addressing its mission or enabling language. In other words, figure out if it is doing a good job. Remember that this exercise is designed to provide insight into the enormous task of advocating for victims of crime. Your interview portion of this assignment is an integral piece, affording you and your colleagues first hand opportunities to discuss this important part of our social order. Your paper and PowerPoint MUST consider the stated purposes of the organization and should relate those purposes to specific victimology theories introduced throughout your text and supplemental materials. Finally, your work should encourage you to make the connection between preventing and fighting crime AND dealing with the consequences of criminal behavior on a more personal, focused level. Your opinion about the social impact and cost effectiveness of the organization you have examined should be supported through your readings, research and interview, and any additional relevant support information you choose to incorporate.