Primary National Census of Victim Service Providers

National Census of Victim Service Providers
A study by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics to better understand the range of
services available for and provided to different types of crime victims.

Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of
information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated
to average 20 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other
aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810
Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3732),
authorizes this information collection. This request for information is in accordance with the clearance requirement of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1980, as amended (44 U.S.C. 3507). Although this survey is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your cooperation
to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely.

OMB Number: 1121-XXXX
Approval expires ______

National Census of Victim Service Providers

S1

Survey Instructions

Before you begin, please complete the following pieces of
information for your program.

SECTION A
A1

Agency Name:

The primary function of the organization is to provide
services or programming for victims of crime.
Skip to A2
Victim services or programming are one component of the
larger organization (e.g., a hospital, university, community
center, law enforcement agency or prosecutors’ office)
Proceed to A1a

Address:

Please mark your response with an “X” using blue or black ink, as in the examples below.

Address:
Example:

Example:
Right Way

City, State, ZIP:

Other, specify:

Wrong Way

Main business
phone number:
Director, Victim
Services:

 A1a. Does your organization have a specific
program(s) or staff that are dedicated to
working with crime victims?
Yes
No

Email address:


Survey Purpose and Sponsors

S2

General Instructions

The National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) is designed
to fill existing gaps in knowledge and information on the variety of
organizations that provide services to victims of crime, the types of
victims served and services provided, and staffing and resources
available for the provision of services.

Your organization is receiving this survey because it has been
identified as providing at least some services or assistance to victims
of crime. The survey should be completed by the person(s) in your
organization with knowledge of and access to information on the
provision of these services. To help you prepare to take the survey, we
will be asking for information about the number and types of services
your organization provided to victims in the past year, the types
of crimes for which victims sought your services in the past year,
the number of staff providing victim services at your organization,
and your victim services budget. The survey should take about 20
minutes to complete. Please respond to all questions.

This survey is sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Justice and funded by the federal Office for Victims of
Crime.

Important Definitions

Confidentiality Assurances

1) CRIME - An act which if done by a competent adult or juvenile would
be a criminal offense.

This survey does not ask you to provide information about individual
staff or victims, or any personally identifying information. This
survey will only ask you basic information about your organization,
for example where it is based (e.g., government, campus, medical
facility), types of victims served, and types of services offered.
The information you provide will be publicly available. This study is
voluntary, you may discontinue participation at any time and decline to
answer any questions.

2) ABUSE - Includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or
economic actions or threats to control another.
2) VICTIM - Any person who comes to the attention of your organization
because of concerns over past, on-going, or potential future crimes
and other abuse(s). This includes victims/survivors who are directly
harmed or threated by such crimes and abuse(s), but also their…
a) Family or household members,

Burden Statement

b) Legal representatives, or
c) Surviving family members, if deceased

Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor an information
collection, and a person is not required to respond to a collection
of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control
Number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing
the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden
estimate, or any other aspects of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Director,
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC
20531. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 3732), authorizes this information collection.
This request for information is in accordance with the clearance
requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended
(44 U.S.C. 3507). Although this survey is voluntary, we urgently need
and appreciate your cooperation to make the results comprehensive,
accurate, and timely.

3) SERVICE ­- Efforts that…
a) Assist victims with their safety and security;
b) Assist victims to understand and participate in the criminal justice
or other legal process;
c) Assist victims in recovering from victimization and stabilizing
their lives; or
d) Respond to other needs of victims

2

Did you provide services to victims of crime or abuse
in the past six months? By ‘service to victims of crime or
abuse’ we mean direct assistance, including ­- but not limited
to - referrals, counseling, notices of court proceedings, legal
assistance, shelter, medical response, etc. Please remember
that if victim assistance is just one part of your agency’s
or organization’s activities, we are interested in collecting
information on those victim assistance efforts.
Yes
No

S2a

Which of the following best describes how your
organization is structured to provide services to victims
of crime or abuse?

A2

Go to A1
Proceed to S2a

Which of the following best describes your organization?
Select one response.
a. Tribal government or other tribal organization
or entity
b. Campus organization or other educational
institution (public or private)
c. Hospital, medical, or emergency facility
(public or private)
d. Government agency

Which of the following best describes your
organization? Select one response.
a. Tribal government or
other tribal organization or
entity

G
 o to Section B
[Tribal], page 4

b. Campus organization or other
educational institution (public
or private)

G
 o to Section C
[Campus], page 4

c. Hospital, medical, or
emergency facility (public or
private)

Go to Section G
[Services for
Victims],
page 5

d. Government agency

Go to Section D
[Government],
page 4

e. Nonprofit or faith-based entity
(501c3 status)

Go to Section E
[Nonprofit or faith
based], page 4

f. For profit entity

 o to Section F
G
[For profit],
page 5

g. Informal entity (e.g., some other

Go to Section G
[Services for
Victims],
page 5

e. Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
f. For profit entity

type of program or group, not formally
a part of an agency, registered
nonprofit, or business; Independent
survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or
survivor network)

g. Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or

group, not formally a part of an agency, registered nonprofit,
or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)

Thank you! You do not need to complete the rest of this
survey.
Please see mailing instructions after page 8.

3

SECTION B
Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only
B1

D2

Law enforcement
Prosecutor
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other justice-based agency (please specify)

E1

Which designation best describes your campus
organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement/campus security
Campus disciplinary body or student conduct body
Physical or mental health service program
Victim services or advocacy group
Other campus-based program (please specify)

Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS],

Does your organization operate/report data on a calendar
year or fiscal year?

G1.1. W
 hat is the date of the beginning of the fiscal year at
your organization?

No

Yes

No

a. Monetary assistance? (e.g., providing
funds or offering assistance in seeking
victim compensation; public benefits
assistance; other emergency funds
assistance; etc.)

DD

For the remainder of the survey, unless indicated otherwise,
provide your answers based on the most recent 12 months
of data – calendar year or fiscal year, depending on how
your organization operates as answered in Question G1.

b. Material assistance? (e.g., emergency
or transitional shelter; food; clothing;
utility assistance; employment
assistance; etc.)

Emotional support and safety
Did your organization provide (…)
a. Mental health services? (e.g.,
individual; group counseling support
groups; other therapy; social
programming for children; etc.)
b. Crisis Counseling?

Law enforcement
Prosecution
Courts
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision
Multi-agency (e.g., task forces, response teams, etc.)
Other government agency (please specify)

c. Safety services? (Safety planning;
witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.)
(Does NOT include protective orders)

4

Yes

Financial and material assistance services
Did your organization provide (…)

G3

All responses
Go to section G [SERVICES FOR
VICTIMS], page 5

Which designation best describes your government
agency? Select one response.

No

b. Service or victimization information
and referrals? (e.g., information about
crime and victimization; medical referrals;
legal referrals; financial counseling
referrals; other referrals; etc.)

/
MM

Yes

a. Justice related information and
referrals? (e.g., information about the
justice system and the victim’s role;
notification of events and proceedings;
justice referrals; etc.)

Calendar year
skip to G2
Fiscal year
proceed to G1.1
Both
proceed to G1.1

Information and referral services
Did your organization provide (…)

G2

G4

SECTION D
Government Agencies Only
D1

In what service area/jurisdiction does your non-profit
organization operate? Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
County wide only
City wide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify)

All responses
page 5

G1

E2

We recognize that victim service organizations provide a
wide array of services to victims. For the purposes of this
survey, we are asking about general categories of services
you provided to victims, which may not capture your
victim service offerings in detail. Do your best to place
the services you provided within the general categories
provided.

SECTION G
Services for Victims

Which designation best describes your non-profit
organization? Select one response.
Coalition (e.g., State Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault
Coalition)
A single entity (may or may not have multiple physical
locations)
Other (please specify)

SECTION C
Campus Organizations Only

Did you provide any of the following services to
victims within the past calendar/fiscal year?

What designation best describes your for-profit
organization? Select one response.

All responses
Go to section G [SERVICES FOR
VICTIMS], page 5

SECTION E
Non-Profit or Faith-Based
Organizations Only

Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS],

The following questions concern services your
organization provided to victims of crime or abuse during
past calendar/fiscal year.

Private legal office/law firm
Private counseling service or other mental health care
provider
Funeral home
Other commercial or professional entity (please specify)

Go to section G [SERVICES FOR
All responses
VICTIMS], page 5

Other agency that is NOT justice-based (e.g., human
services, health, education, etc.) (please specify)

C1

F1

Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
County wide only
City wide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify)

Which designation best describes your tribal agency or
organization? Select one response.

All responses
page 5

SECTION F
For-Profit Organizations Only

In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency
operate in terms of victims served or services delivered?
Select one response.

5

Medical and health assistance
Did your organization provide (…)

G5

G10

Yes

No

a. Emergency medical care or
accompaniment?
b. Medical forensic exam or
accompaniment?

G11

Legal and victims’ rights assistance
Did your organization provide (…)

G6

Yes

No

Yes

c. Rape/sexual assault (Other than sexual
victimizations against children)

f. Child physical abuse or neglect

Yes

No

k. Human trafficking (Labor)

b. Supervised child visitation?

l. Human trafficking (Sex)

c. On-scene coordinated response?

m. Survivors of homicide victims

d. Education classes for survivors
regarding victimization dynamics?

n. Victim witness intimidation

H3

How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims
currently work at your organization part-time (less than 35
hours/week)? Count each person only once. Enter ‘0’ if there
are no paid staff of that type. Include contractual workers in your
counts. Estimates are acceptable.

g. Culturally competent services for the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and/or queer (LGBTQ) community?

s. Burglary

r. Motor vehicle theft

t. Other property crimes
u. Hate crimes

Did your organization operate a hotline/helpline or crisis
line at any time during the past calendar/fiscal year?

v. Forced marriage
w. Honor related violance (honorrelated domestic violence, including
that perpetrated by family members,
other honor-related violence,
female genital mutilation.) Specify:

proceed to G9
skip to G10

How many calls did you receive from victims in the past
calendar/fiscal year? Estimates are acceptable.

SECTION I
Funding
I1

Does your organization use volunteers to provide direct
services to victims?

H4

How many paid full-time staff dedicated to working with
victims worked at your organization at the beginning
of the past calendar/fiscal year? Count each person only
once. Enter ‘0’ if there are no paid staff of that type. Include
contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

H5

How many paid part-time staff dedicated to working with
victims worked at your organization at the beginning
of the past calendar/fiscal year? Count each person only
once. Enter ‘0’ if there are no paid staff of that type. Include
contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

x. Other violent crimes

Check box if estimate

y. Other (specify)

6

How much total funding did your organization receive
for victim-related programming and services (including
direct services, prevention, outreach, training, and
education efforts) during the past calendar/fiscal
year? Please include direct services, prevention, outreach,
training and education efforts. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

Staff at the beginning of the most recent
fiscal year

p. Identity theft
q. Financial fraud and exploitation (Other
than identity theft)

How many paid part-time staff dedicated to working
with victims did you hire in the past calendar/fiscal
year, whether to fill new positions or to fill vacancies?
Count each person only once. Enter ‘0’ if there are no
paid staff of that type. Include contractual workers in your
counts. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

Y
 es
No

o. DUI/DWI crashes

f. Specialized services for specific
settings? (e.g., military; school; college/
university; etc.)

H7

Check box if estimate

j. Robbery

a. Case management?

Check box if estimate

How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims
currently work at your organization full-time (35 hours or
more/week)? Count each person only once. Enter ‘0’ if there
are no paid staff of that type. Include contractual workers in your
counts. Estimates are acceptable.

g. Elder physical abuse

e. Culturally and ethnically specific
services?

G9

H2

i. Assault (Other than domestic/dating
violence or child/elder abuse)

Did your organization provide (…)

How many paid full-time staff dedicated to working with
victims did you hire in the past calendar/fiscal year,
whether to fill new positions or to fill vacancies? Count
each person only once. Enter ‘0’ if there are no paid staff
of that type. Include contractual workers in your counts.
Estimates are acceptable.

Check box if estimate

e. Child witness of violence

Other services

Yes
No

No

d. Stalking

h. Domestic violence/dating violence

H6

Current Staff

b. Child sexual abuse/sexual assault

c. Immigration assistance? (e.g.,
assistance seeking special visas;
continued presence applications; other
immigration relief; etc.)

G8

H1

a. Adults molested as children

b. Civil justice related assistance? (e.g.,
protective or restraining order; assistance
with family law matters; assistance with
landlord/tenant matters; etc.)

G7

Crime type for which victims sought services

a. Criminal/juvenile/military/tribal
justice related assistance?
(e.g., representation; advocacy;
accompaniment; assistance in exercising
victims’ rights; etc.)

During the past calendar/fiscal year did victims of
the following crime types seek services from your
organization?

New staff since the beginning of the most recent
calendar/fiscal year

The following questions concern staff dedicated to working
with victims of crime during past calendar/fiscal year.
Provide your answer based on the past fiscal year or the
past calendar year depending on how your organization
operates as answered in Question G1.

Check box if estimate

c. STD/HIV testing?

SECTION H
Staffing

Excluding hotline/helpline or crisis line calls, how
many unique victims received direct services from
your organization/program during the past calendar/
fiscal year? Estimates are acceptable. (Exclude services
provided through a hotline/helpline or crisis line and victims
who only received information through the mail)

7

I2

How much funding did your organization receive from each
of the following sources during the past calendar/fiscal
year? Enter ‘0’ if you did not receive funding from the source.
The total amount across all sources should equal the amount
provided in Q.I1. Estimates are acceptable.
C
 heck box if information on amount of funding by source is
not available
a. Victims of Crime Act
$
Assistance Grant (VOCA)

b. Other Office for Victims of
Crime (OVC)
c. Services, Training, Officers,
and Prosecutors (STOP)
d. Sexual Assault Services
Program (SASP)
e. Other Office on Violence
against Women (OVW)
f. Family Violence Prevention
Services Act (FVPSA)
g. Other federal funding
(please specify)

Check box if estimate

SECTION J
Record Keeping
J1

 es
Y
No
J2

$

$

$
K1

$
Check box if estimate

i. Local government funding

j. Tribal government funding

$
Check box if estimate
K2

k. Source of funds unknown

l. Other funding sources (e.g.,
foundations, corporate funding,
individual donations, insurance
reimbursements, etc.)
I3

Check box if estimate

$
K3

$

$
Check box if estimate
K4

Check box if estimate

How concerned are you about the burden of grant
reporting?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Did your organization receive any federal funding for victim
programming or services within the past 5 years? This could
include funding from VOCA, OVC, OVW, a STOP or SASP grant,
or some other funding coming from a federal agency.
Y
 es
No

How concerned are you about the predictability of future
funding for your program?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Check box if estimate

$

How concerned are you about the amount of victim
service funding that your organization received in the
past year?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

$

Check box if estimate

How concerned are you about your organization’s ability
to retain staff?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Check box if estimate

h. State government funding
(NOT state disbursement of
federal grant)

Does your electronic records system track individual
cases?

SECTION K
Current Issues of Concern to
Victim Service Providers

Check box if estimate

$

Skip to Section K

 es
Y
No

Check box if estimate

Check box if estimate

Does your organization use an electronic records system
to maintain case files?

K5

How concerned are you about your organization’s ability
to access technology?
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

8

Thank you for your participation.

Mailing Instructions
Please place the completed questionnaire into the postage-paid return envelope. If the
envelope has been misplaced, please mail the questionnaire to:
National Census of Victim Service Providers
NORC at the University of Chicago
1 North State Street - 16th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
If you have any questions, please call NORC toll free at
1-877-504-1086 or email [email protected]