View Research by Author - Lisa C. Newmark

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/LisaCNewmark

Many humans are trafficked across international borders for the purposes of labor or sexual exploitation. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) developed the “Services for Trafficking Victims Discretionary Grant Program - Comprehensive Services Sites.” The program provides direct services, such as legal and crisis counseling to assist victims once they are identified until they are “certified” to receive other federal benefits. Urban Institute researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with survivors and with key service providers in three evaluation sites. The in-depth interviews document victims’ service needs, their experiences using OVC-funded services, and barriers to services. They also provide a unique opportunity to listen directly to the voices of the victims.

The Judicial Oversight Demonstration (JOD) was designed to test the feasibility and impact of a coordinated community response to intimate partner violence (IPV) that placed the courts and justice agencies in a central role. The Urban Institute conducted a detailed process and impact evaluation in three sites. The demonstration received mostly positive responses from justice system agencies, service providers, offenders, and victims. However, reductions in repeat violence did not occur in all sites. The mixed results indicate that the most effective justice system responses to IPV must include a focus on protecting victims, close monitoring of offenders, and rapid responses with penalties when violation of court-ordered conditions are detected.

The Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention asked the Urban Institute to undertake a comprehensive review of the state's Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), a part of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The goal of our work was to identify program accomplishments and areas for further development, and recommend specific steps that should be taken to improve program policies, operations, and services to clients. This work was conducted in coordination with the National Center for Victims of Crime's review of direct victim services across the state.

The purpose of the study was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of victim compensation and VOCA assistance programs at helping to deliver a seamless web of support to assist victims in their struggle to recover from the financial, emotional, physical, and psychological effects of criminal victimization. We approached this task through telephone surveys, site visit interviews, and focus groups with state administrators; members of oversight bodies; victim advocacy groups; VOCA-funded local service providers; victims who claimed compensation; and victims who accessed VOCA-funded direct service programs.

In 1984, VOCA established the Crime Victims’ Fund (CVF) to supplement states’ victim compensation and assistance programs, and has disbursed over $3.2 billion. As part of an ongoing project evaluating these programs, the Urban Institute and SANDAG surveyed state administrators regarding current policies, practices, contentious issues, and areas for program improvements. Findings indicate that state programs are generally functioning well but could improve operations in several areas: planning, training, outreach, and coordination. Further development of responses to fluctuations in expenditures from the CVF and development of policies for future uses of funds currently held for victim-related spending are also needed.

This evaluation documents key features of Brooklyn's Felony Domestic Violence Court model, and traces its development, implementation, challenges, evolution, and expansion. We also conducted a pre/post evaluation of how the model influences case processing, outcomes, and recidivism. We found that the existence of the specialized court seemed to change the types of cases entering it, in that prosecutors were more likely to indict cases with less severe police charges than before. This may have influenced case processing, disposition, and sentencing patterns. FDVC victims were more likely to be assigned an advocate, and defendants on pre-disposition release were more likely to be required to participate in a batterers’ intervention program. The Court itself produced a higher rate of disposition by guilty plea, which saves the system time and money. Interpretations of recidivism findings are severely constrained by limitations in the recidivism data and the pre/post design. We consistently found that criminal history, especially criminal contempt of court orders, predicted how well defendants performed pre- and post-disposition. Recommendations for future research efforts are offered.

This report assesses the progress and accomplishments of the STOP Program through January 1998, covering the third year of STOP program authorization. The Violence Against Women Act, Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), provides for Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to states under Chapter 2 of the Safe Streets Act. The grants have been designated the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) grants by their federal administrator, the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Office of Justice Programs. They are "to assist States, Indian tribal governments, and units of local government to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women, and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women."

This guidebook is designed to help subgrantees document their accomplishments and to offer assistance to state STOP (services, training, officers, and prosecutors) coordinators as they try to support the evaluation activities of their subgrantees. The first four chapters contain general guidance for doing evaluations and working with evaluators. The next chapter explains the requirements of the Subgrant Award Report and the Subgrant Statistical Summary. The remaining chapters comprise a resource section covering specialized topics.

This report assesses the progress and accomplishments of the STOP Program in the second year of STOP program authorization. The Violence Against Women Act, Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), provides for Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to states under Chapter 2 of the Safe Streets Act. The grant have been designated the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) grants by their federal administrator, the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Office of Justice Programs. They are "to assist States, Indian tribal governments, and units of local government to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women, and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women."

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