NCVSP Attachments

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
2023 NATIONAL CENSUS OF VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS
List of Attachments
Attachment 1: Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132 of the Justice Systems Improvement
Act of 1979…………………………………………………………………………………...…...2
Attachment 2: 2023 NCVSP Canvassing Report………………….…………………………..….7
Attachment 3: 2023 NCVSP survey instrument……………………………………..………..…17
Attachment 4: Welcome screen for online instrument……………………….……………….…41
Attachment 5: 2023 NCVSP Cognitive Testing Report…………………………………….…...43
Attachment 6: 2023 NCVSP subject matter experts…………………………………..…….….170
Attachment 7: Prenote email and postcard…………………………………………………..…176
Attachment 8: Invitation email and letter……………….……………………...…….……...…178
Attachment 9: Reminder email and postcard………………………….…………...….………..181
Attachment 10: Reminder email and U.S. Mail/FedEx letter……………………...……..…….183
Attachment 11: Follow-up phone prompting script…………………………..……...……..…..186
Attachment 12: Last chance email and letter………………………………..………...…….….193
Attachment 13: Final effort to establish eligibility (IVR)…………………………..……….…196
Attachment 14: 2017 NCVSP Instrument Review Report………………………………..……198
Attachment 15: Public comments letter and list of recommendations…………………………255

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 1: Title 34, United States Code, Section 10132 of the Justice Systems Improvement
Act of 1979

34 USC 10132
TITLE 34 – CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Sub�tle I – Comprehensive Acts
CHAPTER 101 – JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT
SUBCHAPTER III – BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS
§10132. Bureau of Jus�ce Sta�s�cs
(a) Establishment
There is established within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney
General, a Bureau of Justice Statistics (hereinafter referred to in this subchapter as "Bureau").
(b) Appointment of Director; experience; authority; restrictions
The Bureau shall be headed by a Director appointed by the President. The Director shall have had
experience in statistical programs. The Director shall have final authority for all grants, cooperative
agreements, and contracts awarded by the Bureau. The Director shall be responsible for the integrity of
data and statistics and shall protect against improper or illegal use or disclosure. The Director shall
report to the Attorney General through the Assistant Attorney General. The Director shall not engage in
any other employment than that of serving as Director; nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in
any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Bureau makes any contract or
other arrangement under this Act.
(c) Duties and functions of Bureau
The Bureau is authorized to(1) make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with public agencies,
institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private individuals for purposes related to
this subchapter; grants shall be made subject to continuing compliance with standards for gathering
justice statistics set forth in rules and regulations promulgated by the Director;
(2) collect and analyze information concerning criminal victimization, including crimes against the
elderly, and civil disputes;
(3) collect and analyze data that will serve as a continuous and comparable national social
indication of the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent, distribution, and attributes of crime, juvenile
delinquency, civil disputes, and other statistical factors related to crime, civil disputes, and juvenile
delinquency, in support of national, State, tribal, and local justice policy and decisionmaking;
(4) collect and analyze statistical information, concerning the operations of the criminal justice
system at the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels;
(5) collect and analyze statistical information concerning the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent,
distribution, and attributes of crime, and juvenile delinquency, at the Federal, State, tribal, and local
levels;

(6) analyze the correlates of crime, civil disputes and juvenile delinquency, by the use of statistical
information, about criminal and civil justice systems at the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels, and
about the extent, distribution and attributes of crime, and juvenile delinquency, in the Nation and at
the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels;
(7) compile, collate, analyze, publish, and disseminate uniform national statistics concerning all
aspects of criminal justice and related aspects of civil justice, crime, including crimes against the
elderly, juvenile delinquency, criminal offenders, juvenile delinquents, and civil disputes in the various
States and in Indian country;
(8) recommend national standards for justice statistics and for insuring the reliability and validity of
justice statistics supplied pursuant to this chapter;
(9) maintain liaison with the judicial branches of the Federal Government and State and tribal
governments in matters relating to justice statistics, and cooperate with the judicial branch in
assuring as much uniformity as feasible in statistical systems of the executive and judicial branches;
(10) provide information to the President, the Congress, the judiciary, State, tribal, and local
governments, and the general public on justice statistics;
(11) establish or assist in the establishment of a system to provide State, tribal, and local
governments with access to Federal informational resources useful in the planning, implementation,
and evaluation of programs under this Act;
(12) conduct or support research relating to methods of gathering or analyzing justice statistics;
(13) provide for the development of justice information systems programs and assistance to the
States, Indian tribes, and units of local government relating to collection, analysis, or dissemination of
justice statistics;
(14) develop and maintain a data processing capability to support the collection, aggregation,
analysis and dissemination of information on the incidence of crime and the operation of the criminal
justice system;
(15) collect, analyze and disseminate comprehensive Federal justice transaction statistics
(including statistics on issues of Federal justice interest such as public fraud and high technology
crime) and to provide technical assistance to and work jointly with other Federal agencies to improve
the availability and quality of Federal justice data;
(16) provide for the collection, compilation, analysis, publication and dissemination of information
and statistics about the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent, distribution and attributes of drug
offenses, drug related offenses and drug dependent offenders and further provide for the
establishment of a national clearinghouse to maintain and update a comprehensive and timely data
base on all criminal justice aspects of the drug crisis and to disseminate such information;
(17) provide for the collection, analysis, dissemination and publication of statistics on the condition
and progress of drug control activities at the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels with particular
attention to programs and intervention efforts demonstrated to be of value in the overall national antidrug strategy and to provide for the establishment of a national clearinghouse for the gathering of
data generated by Federal, State, tribal, and local criminal justice agencies on their drug
enforcement activities;
(18) provide for the development and enhancement of State, tribal, and local criminal justice
information systems, and the standardization of data reporting relating to the collection, analysis or
dissemination of data and statistics about drug offenses, drug related offenses, or drug dependent
offenders;
(19) provide for improvements in the accuracy, quality, timeliness, immediate accessibility, and
integration of State and tribal criminal history and related records, support the development and
enhancement of national systems of criminal history and related records including the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System, the National Incident-Based Reporting System, and the
records of the National Crime Information Center, facilitate State and tribal participation in national
records and information systems, and support statistical research for critical analysis of the
improvement and utilization of criminal history records;

(20) maintain liaison with State, tribal, and local governments and governments of other nations
concerning justice statistics;
(21) cooperate in and participate with national and international organizations in the development
of uniform justice statistics;
(22) ensure conformance with security and privacy requirement of section 10231 of this title and
identify, analyze, and participate in the development and implementation of privacy, security and
information policies which impact on Federal, tribal, and State criminal justice operations and related
statistical activities; and
(23) exercise the powers and functions set out in subchapter VII.
(d) Justice statistical collection, analysis, and dissemination
(1) In general
To ensure that all justice statistical collection, analysis, and dissemination is carried out in a
coordinated manner, the Director is authorized to(A) utilize, with their consent, the services, equipment, records, personnel, information, and
facilities of other Federal, State, local, and private agencies and instrumentalities with or without
reimbursement therefor, and to enter into agreements with such agencies and instrumentalities for
purposes of data collection and analysis;
(B) confer and cooperate with State, municipal, and other local agencies;
(C) request such information, data, and reports from any Federal agency as may be required to
carry out the purposes of this chapter;
(D) seek the cooperation of the judicial branch of the Federal Government in gathering data
from criminal justice records;
(E) encourage replication, coordination and sharing among justice agencies regarding
information systems, information policy, and data; and
(F) confer and cooperate with Federal statistical agencies as needed to carry out the purposes
of this subchapter, including by entering into cooperative data sharing agreements in conformity
with all laws and regulations applicable to the disclosure and use of data.
(2) Consultation with Indian tribes
The Director, acting jointly with the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (acting through the Office
of Justice Services) and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall work with Indian
tribes and tribal law enforcement agencies to establish and implement such tribal data collection
systems as the Director determines to be necessary to achieve the purposes of this section.
(e) Furnishing of information, data, or reports by Federal agencies
Federal agencies requested to furnish information, data, or reports pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(C)
shall provide such information to the Bureau as is required to carry out the purposes of this section.
(f) Consultation with representatives of State, tribal, and local government and judiciary
In recommending standards for gathering justice statistics under this section, the Director shall
consult with representatives of State, tribal, and local government, including, where appropriate,
representatives of the judiciary.
(g) Reports
Not later than 1 year after July 29, 2010, and annually thereafter, the Director shall submit to
Congress a report describing the data collected and analyzed under this section relating to crimes in
Indian country.
(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, §302, as added Pub. L. 96–157, §2, Dec. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 1176 ;
amended Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §605(b), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2079 ; Pub. L. 100–690, title VI,
§6092(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4339 ; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330001(h)(2), Sept. 13,
1994, 108 Stat. 2139 ; Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, §1115(a), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3103 ; Pub. L. 111–

211, title II, §251(b), July 29, 2010, 124 Stat. 2297 ; Pub. L. 112–166, §2(h)(1), Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat.
1285 .)
Available at htp://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-�tle34sec�on10132&num=0&edi�on=prelim

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 2: 2023 NCVSP Canvassing Report

2023 National Census of Victim Service
Providers (NCVSP) Canvassing Report

Susan Smith Howley, Project Director and Research Associate
Justice Research and Statistics Association
Callie Stewart, Director of Strategic Engagement and Partnerships
National Organization for Victim Assistance

May 5, 2023

Introduction
The 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) will be a complete enumeration
of the organizations and programs serving victims of crime or abuse in the United States. The
key to a successful NCVSP starts with a thorough compilation of a roster of all organizations and
programs operating in the country. While a roster was developed as part of the first NCVSP in
2017, the field of crime victim services is continually evolving, as the levels and focus areas of
funding from government and private sources change. Victim service providers were also
affected by disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many providers will have updated
contact information, ceased operations, changed/added services, or changed structure since
the 2017 NCVSP. New agencies have also been formed.
Given these changes, developing the roster for the 2023 NCVSP involved obtaining information
from multiple sources: data from other relevant data collections administered by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS), lists of grantees from federal funders of victim services, state and local
directories submitted by agencies or gathered from the Internet, member lists of victim service
providers (VSPs) submitted from associations, and lists resulting from outreach to individual
providers through national organizations. This report describes the efforts used to obtain or
create these lists. It also provides details about each of the lists or data collections.

Lists Received from Federal Agencies
Staff from the BJS shared data sets from recent national data collections that identified
agencies providing victim services. In addition, BJS staff reached out to federal colleagues to
obtain lists of grantees under federal victim service programs. Federal datasets and grantee
lists reviewed and incorporated are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Lists of victim service providers (VSPs) obtained through federal sources.
Number
of VSPs
9,974

Federal Department Office

Description

Period

Department of
Justice

Discretionary Grantees, Human
Trafficking Grantees, and Victims
of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim
Assistance Subgrantees
OVW discretionary grantees

Oct 2021Jan 2023
Current

3,926

Services Training Officers and
Prosecutors (STOP)
Sexual Assault Services Program
(SASP) Subgrantees
2018 Census of State and Local
Law Enforcement Agencies

FY 2021

2,029

FY 2021

506

Office for Victims
of Crime
Office on Violence
Against Women
(OVW)

Bureau of Justice
Statistics

2

2018

3,854

Department of
Health and Human
Services

Administration on
Children and
Families

dataset (identifying LEAs with
victim services)
2018 Census of State and Federal
Adult Correctional Facilities
dataset (identifying facilities with
victim service programs)
2018 Census of Medical Examiner
and Coroner Offices data set
(identifying offices with victim
service programs)
2020 National Survey of
Prosecutors (identifying offices
providing direct victim assistance
or referrals)
Office on Trafficking in Persons
(OTIP) grantees
Trafficking Victim Assistance
Project (TVAP) grantees
Administration for Native
Americans grantees

2019

520

2018

199

2020

377

Current

45

FY 2022

153

Current

19

TOTAL number of VSPs obtained through federal sources

21,602

Additional Lists Included in the Roster
Additional lists of victim service providers were obtained or created to build out the roster for
the 2023 NCVSP. Strategies to obtain or create these lists included:
•

Efforts to obtain lists through the 2023 NCVSP Subject Matter Expert (SME) advisory
group;

•

Efforts to engage key contacts in each state to provide lists or directories or otherwise
offer guidance on existing lists;

•

Efforts to identify or develop lists of providers from the Internet by project team
members; and

•

Outreach to communities of victim service providers through trusted intermediaries
that encouraged providers to add themselves to the roster.

Lists through project Subject Matter Experts
Additional lists were provided or obtained through members of the NCVSP SME advisory group.
The first meeting of the SME advisory group on September 9, 2022, included a discussion of
3

strategies to complete the NCVSP roster. Suggestions of lists to collect were received at that
meeting, and SMEs were invited to share additional lists and suggestions following the meeting.
Four SMEs submitted lists.
Project staff requested lists in Excel wherever possible. Several of the Excel lists that were
shared included combined fields that project staff separated into multiple fields; for example,
all address elements were contained in a single field. Other lists were only available in the form
of a PDF or Word document, which staff converted into Excel. Other lists were provided
through Weblinks, which required staff to capture the information and create an Excel file. VSP
lists obtained through project SMEs are presented in Table 2, below.
Table 2. VSP lists obtained through SMEs
SME Organization

List

National Children’s Alliance
National Association of Victim
Assistance in Corrections
Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority
National Network to End Domestic
Violence

Nationwide list of Children’s Advocacy Centers
Post-Conviction Victim Services
Illinois Victim Service Providers

Number of
VSPs
998
60
513

Requested Member Coalitions to provide lists.
Lists received:
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic
Violence
Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence
Violence Free Minnesota VSPs
Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual
Violence
Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic
Violence
North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic
Violence
New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence
Ohio Domestic Violence Network
Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assault
Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action
Alliance

TOTAL number of VSPs obtained through SME sources

4

23
174
25
8
82
99
62
24
85
34
76
55
73
2,391

Key state contacts and lists
Project staff at the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) worked to identify
volunteer contacts in every state to assist in identifying and obtaining state and local provider
lists. Initial outreach consisted of a personal letter that was emailed to NOVA’s active network
of victim assistance professionals. This list of 12,744 professionals was comprised of NOVA
members, NOVA’s network of credentialled advocates, and other victim service providers who
have engaged in NOVA training. Of those 12,744 recipients, 33% of respondents opened the
letter and 230 responded. Of the 230 responders, 43 uploaded a victim service provider list
through a secure file upload provided by NOVA. The remaining respondents shared their
contact information, opting to learn more about the program and assist in the future
identification of state and local lists. NOVA set up webinars and meetings with those
individuals. Following those meetings and webinars, another 35 people either compiled and
shared a list or provided a link to a public directory of providers. These 78 lists are included in
Table 3, below.
These provided lists were also received in various formats; while Excel lists were requested,
responding providers shared the lists in whatever format they had. As with the lists provided
through SMEs, project staff cleaned and converted these lists into Excel.
This engagement effort also enabled NOVA to develop an initial list of key contacts in each
state, drawn from the pool of 230 interested individuals; this list was supplemented as needed
with individuals identified through outreach to local experts. This state contact list (1– 3 per
state; 198 in total) will later be tapped to encourage participation in the 2023 NCVSP.

Lists compiled through additional outreach and Internet resources
To round out the state and local lists of providers received from programs, project staff
engaged in additional outreach to provider organizations and conducted online research to
identify state and local provider directories or to compile lists of providers. Those lists are also
included in Table 3.
Project staff ini�ally conducted online searches of the websites of organiza�ons suggested by
the SMEs to iden�fy lists of providers. Staff then searched the websites of state VOCA
Assistance Administrators, State Atorneys General Offices, and state coali�ons of vic�m service
providers to iden�fy virtual directories or provider lis�ngs. These searches were supplemented
by general Google searches using strings such as [“Missouri” AND “vic�m” AND (“assistance” OR
“program” OR “associa�on” OR “network” OR “coali�on” or “service”)]. Addi�onal searches
were conducted based on the ini�al results of the general search. Tailored searches were also
conducted to iden�fy subsets of service providers of interest, using search strings such as
[“Missouri” AND “sexual” and (“SANE” or “FORENSIC”)] to iden�fy lists of sexual assault nurse
5

examiner programs, or [“Missouri” AND “vic�m” AND (“VWAP” OR “prosecutor” OR “atorney”]
to iden�fy lists of prosecutor vic�m/witness coordinators.
When a list was iden�fied, project staff reached out to the organiza�on to request the
informa�on in an Excel format. If an Excel file was not available staff created an Excel file using
the informa�on provided. In the case of large lists (more than 30 providers) not available in
Excel, staff compared the list to previously obtained lists of federal grantees; any unique
providers were then entered into an Excel file. The numbers in Table 3 reflect the total number
of providers on the list received.
Table 3. Additional national and subnational lists of service providers
National Lists
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children
Anti-Violence Project Members
State Attorneys General, Victim/Witness Assistance Programs
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Victim Assistance Coordinators
Elder Abuse Service Providers additional listings nationwide
Tribal Service Providers
Additional National Victim Serving Organizations
Subnational Lists
Alaska Additional VSPs
Alabama Victim Service Providers for Human Trafficking Victims
Alabama Additional VSPs
Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Shelters by City
Victim Rights Arkansas
Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Service Providers
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence, Program Resource List
California Additional VSPs
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Providers
Colorado Additional VSPs
Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Member List
Washington D.C. Victim Assistance Network
Delaware Victim Service Agencies
Florida Office of the Attorney General
Florida Additional VSPs
Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, Victim Witness Advocate Contacts
Georgia Additional VSPs
Hawaii Additional VSPs
Iowa Sexual Abuse Service Providers
Iowa Crime Victim Compensation Division Victim Service Providers
6

Number
of VSPs
50
42
46
19
195
62
361
13

19
8
14
14
19
19
125
52
81
25
13
184
115
343
11
98
29
8
63
29

State of Iowa, Community-Based Victim Service Programs
Illinois Additional VSPs
Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Fayette County Domestic Violence Resources (Kentucky)
Louisiana District Attorney's Association, Children's Advocacy Centers
Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance
Massachusetts Additional VSPs
Calvert County Sheriff's Office, Victim Service Providers (Maryland)
Maryland College and University Victim Services
Maryland SAFE Programs
Maryland Additional VSPs
Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence
Maine Office of the Attorney General, Victim Service Providers
Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Victim Advocates
Michigan Additional VSPs
Minnesota Alliance on Crime
Minnesota Office of Justice Programs, Victim Service Provider Directory
Minnesota Forensic Nurses
Mississippi Department of Corrections, Division of Victim Services
Montana State List of Victim Service Providers
Montana Board of Crime Control, Victim Service Providers
Montana Additional VSPs
Native Alliance Against Violence (Oklahoma)
North Carolina Additional VSPs
CAWS North Dakota, Advocacy Centers
Nebraska Crime Commission, Victim Advocacy Program
Justiceworks, UNH, New Hampshire Victim Services Directory
New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault
New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
New Mexico Additional VSPs
Nevada Victim Service Providers
New York Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence
New York Additional VSPs
Ohio Prosecutor-Based Victim Advocacy Programs
Oklahoma Additional VSPs
Pennsylvania Office of Victim Services
Pennsylvania Additional VSPs
Puerto Rico Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer VSP Directory
Rhode Island Helpline
South Carolina 2022 VSP List, Office of the Attorney General
South Carolina Additional VSPs
South Dakota Statewide Victim Service Provider List
South Dakota Network Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault
7

56
4
44
12
14
82
6
91
6
22
6
21
29
83
5
55
198
15
31
70
67
15
26
5
24
29
44
31
13
50
20
181
23
141
21
250
29
116
11
122
6
50
69

Tennessee Department of Corrections
TennesseeWorks Service Guide, Domestic Violence Services
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Victim Resource Directory
Texas Department of Public Safety Victim Services Counselors
Utah Office for Victims of Crime, Victim Resource Connect Roster
ACTS Sexual Assault Services (Virginia)
Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Victims Assistance Directory
Virginia Additional VSPs
Vermont SANE Programs
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, Tribal Programs
Wisconsin, Child Advocacy Centers, and CASA Programs
Wisconsin Department of Justice, Medical Forensics Programs
Wisconsin Sexual Assault Service Providers
Wisconsin Additional VSPs
West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information & Services
Wyoming Division of Victim Services, SANE, V/W, CASA, and More
Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

33
77
1,139
16
183
19
136
8
12
11
26
53
68
6
41
49
35

TOTAL number of VSPs obtained through other lists received or created

6,162

Outreach to recruit individual providers
In addition to efforts to obtain lists of providers, project staff targeted special interest groups
that would have access to networks across the country. The goal was to identify victim
assistance programs that may not appear on existing provider lists because they are not
federally funded, a part of a national network, or associated with networks of state victim
assistance providers. A survey form, developed through Survey Monkey and approved by BJS,
was designed, and provided to partnering organizations to send out to their community via
listserv, allowing for individual victim service providers within those networks to add their
programs to the NCVSP roster. Project staff identified key organizations with ties to specific
victim assistance communities which may have been missing from the existing roster and lists.
Project staff and BJS worked with these organizations and agencies, performing outreach and
arranging meetings with all entities to explain the purpose and importance of the project.
These efforts secured buy-in to engage the special-interest network and helped lay the
foundation for future support in marketing and outreach once the 2023 NCVSP is launched.
Once the special interest organization agreed to assist in recruitment, the organization was
provided a template letter with the survey link to distribute through their large email lists,
inviting individual victim service providers to add their programs to the NCVSP roster. (A copy of
the survey form and template letter are attached as appendices.) Specifically, entities engaged
in outreach to develop the 2023 roster were:
•

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), to reach VSPs serving victims of elder
abuse and neglect
8

•

The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the Clery
Center, to reach campus-based VSPs

•

The International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), to reach sexual assault
nurse examiners and other forensic examination programs

•

United Against Slavery, to reach those serving victims and survivors of human
trafficking

•

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), to reach new victim service providers and
other interested providers

The result of these efforts was a new list of 1,184 victim assistance programs with recent
contact information and addresses to be added to the roster. Given that information was
submitted via an online survey, we don’t know the number of total programs that signed up
from each of these four entities.

Final Results
The canvassing efforts outlined above resulted in an initial roster of 31,339 VSPs.
All lists included in this roster were provided to project partner Westat, who will incorporate
them into a master file and deduplicate listings to produce a final roster for the 2023 NCVSP.
Table 4. Summary of Sources of VSP Information
Source of VSP information

Number of VSPs Listed

Percentage of TOTAL

Federal agencies
SMEs
Other lists
Individual recruitment

21,602
2,391
6,162
1,184

69%
7%
20%
4%

TOTAL

31,339

100%

9

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 3: 2023 NCVSP survey instrument

06.06.23

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 30 minutes per response, which
includes 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 (34 USC 10132), 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 USC 3507). Although this survey is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your
cooperation to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely.

OMB Number: 1121-0355
Approval Expires:
1

06.06.23

National Census of Victim Service Providers
SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS
Survey Purpose and Sponsors
The National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) is designed to fill existing gaps in knowledge
and information on the variety of organizations and programs that provide services to victims of crime
or abuse, the types of victims served and services provided, and staffing and resources available for the
provision of services. This survey is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice
Statistics.

Important Definitions
1) CRIME – An illegal act which if done by a competent adult or juvenile would be a criminal offense.
2) ABUSE – Includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or economic actions or threats to control
another.
3) VICTIM – Any person who comes to the attention of your organization because of concerns over past,
ongoing, or potential future crimes and other abuse(s). This includes victims or survivors who are
directly harmed or threated by such crimes and abuse(s), but also their…
a) family or household members,
b) legal representatives, or
c) surviving family members, if deceased.
4) SERVICE - Efforts that…
a)
b)
c)
d)

assist victims with their safety and security;
assist victims to understand and participate in the criminal justice or other legal process;
assist victims in recovering from victimization and stabilizing their lives; or
respond to other needs of victims.

2

06.06.23

General Instructions
(Including who should complete this survey)
Your organization is receiving this survey because it has been identified as providing at least some
services or assistance to victims of crime. If your organization or a program within your organization
does not provide services to victims of crime or abuse, you will be able to report this near the beginning
of this survey.
•

•

This survey is best completed by someone with knowledge about the available services for
victims of crime or abuse, victim service funding, and staffing for victim services within your
organization. Some organizations have specific programs or staff dedicated to working with
victims of crime or abuse. In these instances, the survey is best completed by someone with
direct knowledge of these programs or activities.
This survey will ask for information about your organization’s operations. Unless otherwise
noted, please answer questions using January 1, 2023 as a reference. These questions will
cover:
- The services your organization provided to victims
- The types of crimes for which victims sought services
- The number of staff providing victim services
- Your organization’s victim services annual budget, funding sources, and estimated
percentage of the budget covered by federal grants

Burden Statement
On average, it will take 30 minutes to complete this survey, including time for reviewing instructions,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
This study is voluntary, you may discontinue participation at any time and decline to answer any
questions. Send comments regarding any 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. Although this survey is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your
cooperation to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely.

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06.06.23

Information about Your Organization
S1. Before you begin, please complete the following for your organization. If your organization is part
of a multisite organization, please use the physical address of your site. If the physical address of your
site or main office is confidential, please provide a mailing address.
Organization Name: _____________________________________________________
Organization Address: ____________________________________________________
City: _______________________________________________________
State: _____________________________________________________
ZIP: _________________________________________________________
Business Phone Number: _____________________
Organization Website: ____________________________________________________
S1a. Please provide information about the individual who is completing this survey.
First Name: ____________________________________
Last Name: ____________________________________
Job Title: _____________________________________
Work Phone Number: _________________________
Email Address: _____________________________________

S2. Has your organization provided services to victims or survivors of crime or abuse through specific
program(s) or designated staff in the past six months? By ‘services to victims or survivors of crime or
abuse’ we mean direct assistance, including - but not limited to - referrals, counseling, notices of court
proceedings, legal assistance, shelter, and medical response.
Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a

The survey will use the term victim to mean victim or survivor from this point forward.

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06.06.23
S2a. Does your organization maintain an active victim services referral program? This includes, but is
not limited to, hotlines.
Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2b
S2b. Has your organization ever provided services to victims of crime or abuse through specific
program(s) or designated staff?
Yes
No
S2c. Does your organization plan to provide services to victims of crime or abuse in the future,
through specific program(s) or designated staff?
Yes
No
Indirect support
S2d. Does your organization indirectly support victims of crime or abuse
in any of the following ways?
Providing grants or funding to support direct services to victims of crime
or abuse.

Yes

No

Formally contracting out all direct services to another organization.

Providing training and technical assistance for direct service providers or
engaging in issue advocacy.
Other indirect support
(please specify) ___________________________________

S3. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government, tribal coalition, or other tribal organization
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private)
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private)
Government agency
Nonprofit or faith-based organization (501c3 status)
For-profit organization
Informal organization (for example, some other type of program or group, not formally a
part of an organization, registered nonprofit, or business; independent survivor advocacy
and support groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)
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If web/CATI  Skip to END
If paper, display:
Thank you!
You do not need to complete the rest of this survey.

A. Organizational Structure
A1. Which of the following best describes how your organization is structured to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse?
The victim services program(s) is one component of the larger organization’s activities (for
example, victim services program functions within a hospital, university, community center,
multiservice agency, law enforcement agency, or prosecutor’s office)  Proceed to A1a
The primary function of the organization as a whole is to provide services or programming for
victims of crime  Skip to A1.5
A1a. Does your organization have a specific program(s) or staff that is designated to provide
services to victims of crime or abuse?
Yes  Proceed to A1.5
No  IF paper, display: “Thank you. You do not need to complete the rest of this
survey.” IF web/CATI, skip to END.
A1.5. Are your victim services activities fully virtual? (This means no direct victim services are
offered from a physical location connected to the organization.)
Yes  Skip to A2
No  IF A1=2 (PRIMARY), proceed to A1.6a. IF A1=1 (EMBEDDED), skip to A1.6c.
[IF A1=2 (PRIMARY)]
A1.6a. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total count
of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple sites
providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer to staff working from home or hybrid).
Please select the most appropriate description of your victim services organization.
Organization operating through one single site  Skip to A1.10
Organization operating through multiple sites (for example, branch or satellite locations,
chapters, or field offices)  Proceed to A1.6b
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A1.6b. What is the best description of your site, in relation to your organization’s other sites? Select
one response.
The main office  Skip to A1.8
One site or location that reports to a main office (for example, branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices)  Skip to A1.7a
Other (please specify) ________________________________________ Skip to A1.10

[IF A1 = 1 (EMBEDDED)]
A1.6c. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total count
of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple sites
providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer to staff working from home or hybrid).
Please select the most appropriate description of your victim services program(s).
Victim services program(s) operating through one single site  Skip to A1.10
Victim services program(s) operating through multiple sites (for example, branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices)  Proceed to A1.6d
A1.6d. What is the best description of your victim services site, in relation to your organization’s
other victim services sites:
The main office for the victim services program(s)  Skip to A1.8
One victim services site or location that reports to a main victim services program office
(for example, branch or satellite locations, chapters, or field offices)  Proceed to A1.7a
Other (please specify) ________________________________  Skip to A1.10

A1.7a. Please provide the following contact information for your victim service program’s main office.
Use the physical address unless that is confidential. If so, provide a mailing address.
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City: ______________________________________________
State: ______________________________________________
ZIP: _______________________________________________
 Skip to A1.10

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[IF A1.6b=1 OR A1.6d=1 (MAIN)] A1.8. Please enter or upload a list of all the victim services locations
for your organization that you would list in a directory or on your website. If the street address is
confidential, please enter mailing address.
If you have a web link to current site information, please paste the link here: ____________
If you prefer to upload a list, please do so here (only Excel and CSV files accepted): _________
Otherwise, please enter:
Location or Site Name: __________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
City: ________________________________________________
State: _______________________________________________
ZIP: _________________________________________________
Add location?
Yes [Repeat prompts for org name, address, city or state or zip]
No  Proceed to A1.9

A1.9. This survey includes questions about the number of victims served, staffing, and basic funding
information. Are you able to provide this information for all of your locations that provide direct
victim services?
Yes  Skip to A2
No  Proceed to A1.9.5

A1.9.5. Do you offer direct services to victims of crime or abuse through your main office?
Yes  “Please respond to the remainder of the survey as the questions relate to activities at
your main office”  Proceed to A2
No  IF paper, display: “Thank you. You do not need to complete the rest of this survey.” IF
web/CATI, skip to END

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A1.10. Is your victim services site physically located at the site of a different organization (for example,
a nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency, or a law
enforcement victim services program operating out of a Family Justice Center)?
Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please select
the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of organization
where you are physically located.” Proceed to A2
No  Proceed to A2

A2. Which of the following best describes your victim services organization? Select one response.
Tribal government, tribal coalition, or other tribal organization  Proceed to Section B [Tribal]
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private)  Proceed to Section C
[Campus]
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private)  Proceed to Section G [Services for
Victims]
Government agency  Proceed to Section D [Government]
Nonprofit or faith-based organization (501c3 status)  Proceed to Section E [Nonprofit or faithbased]
For-profit organization  Proceed to Section F [For-profit]
Informal organization (for example, some other type of program or group, not formally a part of
an organization, registered nonprofit, or business; independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)  Proceed to Section G [Services for
Victims]

B. Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only
B1. Which designation best describes your tribal agency or organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement agency
Prosecutor’s Office
Court
Offender custody and supervision (for example, probation, parole, or corrections)
Juvenile justice agency
Social services or child or adult protective services agency
Health services agency
Advocacy program
Tribal Coalition
Multi-agency (for example, task force, responses team, Family Justice Center)
Other (please specify) ____________________________________

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B2. In what service area or jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served
or services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide  Skip to G2
Reservation wide  Skip to G2
Statewide  Skip to G2
Regional or Multi-state or Multi-county or Multi-city  Skip to G1
Multi-Tribe or Reservation and surrounding area  Skip to G1
Countywide only  Skip to G1
City-wide only  Skip to G1
Village-wide only  Skip to G1
Specific neighborhood(s) only  Skip to G1
Other (please specify) _________________________________  Skip to G1

C. Campus Organizations Only
C1. Which designation best describes your campus organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement or campus security
Campus disciplinary body or student conduct body (including Title IX office)
Physical or mental health service program
Victim services or advocacy group
Other campus-based program (please specify) ________________________________
All responses  Proceed to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]

D. Government Agencies Only
D1. Which designation best describes your government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement agency  Skip to D2
Prosecutor’s Office (for example, District Attorney, County Attorney)  Skip to D2
Public defender  Skip to D2
Court  Skip to D2
Offender custody and supervision agency (for example, probation, parole, corrections)  Skip to
D2
Juvenile justice agency  Skip to D2
Social services or child or adult protective services agency  Skip to D2
State or territory victim compensation program  Skip to D2
State or territory victim funding administrator  Proceed to D1a
Multi-agency (for example, task force, response team, Family Justice Center)  Skip to D2
Other government agency (please specify) _____________________ Skip to D2

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D1a. Does your organization provide any direct victim services itself, in addition to grantmaking?
Yes  [In completing the remainder of the survey, please confine your responses to your
own direct victim services activities, not the grant-making and related functions.]
No  IF paper, display: “Thank you. You do not need to complete the rest of this survey.”
IF web/CATI, skip to END
D2. In what service area or jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served
or services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide  Skip to G2
Statewide  Skip to G2
Regional or Multi-state or Multi-county or Multi-city Skip to G1
Countywide only  Skip to G1
City-wide only  Skip to G1
Specific neighborhood(s) only  Skip to G1
Other (please specify) ____________________________________ Skip to G1

E. Nonprofit or Faith-Based Organizations Only
E1. In what service area or jurisdiction does your nonprofit organization primarily operate? Select one
response.
Nationwide  Skip to G2
Statewide  Skip to G2
Regional or Multi-state or Multi-county or Multi-city  Skip to G1
Countywide only  Skip to G1
City-wide only  Skip to G1
Specific neighborhood(s) only  Skip to G1
Other (please specify) ________________________ Skip to G1

F. For-Profit Organizations Only
F1. What designation best describes your for-profit organization? Select one response.
Private legal office or law firm
Private counseling service or other mental health care provider
Funeral home
Other commercial or professional organization (please specify)
_____________________________
F2. In what service area or jurisdiction does your for-profit organization primarily operate? Select one
response.
Nationwide  Skip to G2
Statewide  Skip to G2
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Regional or Multi-state or Multi-county or Multi-city  Skip to G1
Countywide only  Skip to G1
Citywide only  Skip to G1
Specific neighborhood(s) only  Skip to G1
Other (please specify) _____________________________________________ Skip to G1

G. Services for Victims
G1. How would you describe your service area? Select all that apply.
Urban
Suburban
Rural
G2. For the purposes of this survey, we would like our reference date to include January 1, 2023.
Please let us know how you will answer questions with this reference date.
By calendar year (January 1, 2023–December 31, 2023)  Skip to G3
By fiscal year which includes January 1, 2023  Proceed to G2.1
[For conditional displays, IF G2=1, display “calendar”. IF G2=2, display “fiscal”]
G2.1. What is the date of the beginning of the fiscal year at your organization?

[MM and DD]

In this question series, please tell us whether your victim services activities included any of the
following services. 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 your
organization provided to victims, which may not capture your victim service offerings in detail. Do your
best to place the services your organization provided within the general categories.
Information and referral services
G3. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …
Justice-related information and referrals? (for example, information
about the justice system and the victim’s role, notification of events and
proceedings, and justice referrals)
Service or victimization information and referrals? (for example,
information about crime and victimization, medical referrals, legal
referrals, financial counseling referral, and other referrals)

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Yes

No

06.06.23
Financial and material assistance services
G4. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Monetary assistance? (for example, providing funds or offering
assistance in seeking victim compensation, public benefits assistance,
and other emergency funds assistance)
Shelter or housing assistance? (emergency or transitional)
Childcare services?
Job training, financial literacy, career services, or employment
assistance?
Other material assistance? (for example, food, clothing, utility, public
assistance)

Mental health support and safety
G5. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …
Crisis Counseling? (whether by a licensed professional, advocate, or
peer)
Emotional support services? (for example, peer or advocate-led support
groups, and social programming for children)
Mental health services provided by a clinician? (for example, individual
or group counseling or other therapy services by a licensed professional
counselor)
Safety services? (for example, safety planning, witness protection,
address confidentiality, and self-defense) (Does NOT include protective
orders)
Substance use treatment?
Medical and health assistance
G6. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …
Accompaniment to medical care or forensic medical examinations?
Providing medical care? (emergency or follow-up)

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Providing forensic medical examinations?
Providing STD or HIV testing, prophylaxis, or treatment?

Legal and victims’ rights assistance
G7. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …

Yes

No

Yes

No

Assistance navigating the justice system from a victim’s perspective?
(for example, representation, advocacy, accompaniment, assistance in
exercising victims’ rights)
Criminal legal support to victims who are defendants, including
defense services?
Legal assistance with protective or restraining orders?
Civil legal assistance in family law, landlord or tenant, or employment
matters?
Immigration assistance? (for example, assistance seeking special visas,
continued presence application, other immigration relief)
Other services
G8. During the [fiscal/calendar] year that includes January 1, 2023, did
your victim services include …
Case management? (working individually with victims to assess their
needs and create a service plan, and then support them in that plan)
Supervised child visitation?
Responding to the scene of the crime or abuse in coordination with
other organizations?
Education of survivors regarding victimization dynamics? (one-on-one
or in group settings)
Transportation services? (including direct transportation, bus tokens,
arranging for ride-share)
Language access? (providing or arranging for translation or
interpretation services, use of language line, or bilingual staff)
Assistance making funeral, burial, cremation, memorial, or other
related arrangements for people who died as a result of violence?
Services designed and targeted specifically to meet the needs of
culturally or ethnically specific populations?

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G9. Did your organization operate a hotline or helpline or crisis line at any time during the
[calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023?
Yes  Proceed to G9a
No  Skip to G10.1
G9a. How many hotline or helpline or crisis line calls did your organization receive from victims in the
[calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023? Estimates are acceptable.
__________________ select box if estimate
G10. Excluding hotline or helpline or crisis line calls, how many unique victims received direct services
from your organization during the [calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023? Estimates are
acceptable. (Exclude victims who only received information through the mail.)
__________________ select box if estimate

 Skip to G11

G10.1. How many unique victims received direct services from your organization during the
[calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023? Estimates are acceptable. (Exclude victims who
only received information through the mail.)
__________________ select box if estimate

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G11. Please report whether your organization provided services for victims of the following types of
crime or abuse during the [calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023. (Include any crime types
for which your organization provided services regardless of whether it was the crime for which the victim
first sought services, or a crime that was identified later and for which your organization also provided
services to the victim.)
Youth (under age 18; services to victim or nonoffending parent or caregiver)
Child physical abuse or neglect
Child rape or sexual assault or sexual abuse
Child witness of violence
Child marriage or forced marriage
Adults molested or abused as children
Adults
Domestic violence (DV) or dating violence or violation of DV
protective orders
Stalking or violation of stalking protective orders
Rape or sexual assault or sexual abuse (other than against children)
Physical assault (other than domestic or dating violence, child or elder
abuse, or rape or sexual assault or sexual abuse) (including
attempted homicide, gun violence, strangulation, threat with a
weapon)
Robbery
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Homicide (serving surviving family members) (including murder, nonnegligent manslaughter)
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (based on race, gender or gender identity, religion,
disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity)
Honor-related violence (physical violence or threats or retaliation in
the name of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI or DWI crashes
Community violence or gang violence
Terrorism or mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes (please specify) _____________________
Other property crimes (please specify) __________________
Other (please specify) ____________________
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Yes

No

06.06.23
G12. Do your victim services focus on victims of particular types of crimes or abuse? For example,
domestic violence, trafficking, family members of homicide victims.
Yes, our services focus on particular types of crime or abuse  Proceed to G12.1
No, our services do not focus on particular types of crime or abuse  Skip to G12.2
G12.1. Indicate the top type(s) of crime or abuse your victim services primarily target, though you may
serve victims of other types of crimes as well. For example, you focus on victims who are seeking
services because of domestic violence or sexual assault. Select up to 4. Please do your best to fit your
response within the general categories provided.
Select up to 4
Violent crimes
Domestic violence (DV) or dating violence
Stalking
Rape or sexual assault or sexual abuse (other than domestic or dating
violence)
Physical abuse or neglect (other than domestic or dating violence)
Physical assault (other than domestic or dating violence, including
attempted homicide, gun violence, strangulation, threat with a
weapon)
Survivors of homicide (including murder, non-negligent
manslaughter)
Any or all violent crime
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (based on race, gender or gender identity, religion,
disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
DUI or DWI crashes
Community violence or gang violence
Terrorism or mass violence
Any or all felonies
Financial crimes
Financial exploitation or identity theft or fraud (other than domestic
or dating violence)
Other crime types
Other (please specify)_______________________
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G12.2. Do your victim services focus on specific populations of victims? For example, such as certain
racial or ethnic groups of victims, victims with disabilities, and victims who are LGBTQ, elder victims.
Yes, our services focus on specific populations of victims  Proceed to G12.3
No, our services do not focus on specific populations of victims  Skip to Section H
G12.3. Indicate the top populations of victims your services primarily target, though you may serve
victims from other groups as well. For example, you make specific efforts to serve victims who are part
of the LGBTQ population. Select up to 4. Please do your best to fit your responses within the general
categories provided.
Age-related populations
Adolescent or teens
Children
Elderly or dependent adults
Gender or sexual orientation-related populations
Female
Male
LGBTQ
Race or ethnicity-related populations
Indigenous, including Native American or Alaska Native
Another race or ethnicity
Other populations
Deaf or hard-of-hearing
Formerly incarcerated
Incarcerated
Disabled
Immigrant or refugee or limited English proficiency
Other (please specify) _________________

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Select up to 4

06.06.23

H. Staffing
[IF A1 = 2 (PRIMARY)]
H1.1 During the pay period that includes January 1, 2023, how many paid staff dedicated to working
with victims work at your organization full-time (35 hours or more per week)? Count each person only
once. Include contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
No full-time staff
1 full-time staff person
2–3 full-time staff
4–10 full-time staff
11–20 full-time staff
21–30 full-time staff
31–100 full-time staff
More than 100 full-time staff
 Skip to H2.1
[IF A1 = 1 (EMBEDDED)]
H1.2 During the pay period that includes January 1, 2023, how many paid staff dedicated to working
with victims work in your victim service program(s) full-time (35 hours or more per week)? Count each
person only once. Include contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
No full-time staff
1 full-time staff person
2–3 full-time staff
4–10 full-time staff
11–20 full-time staff
21–30 full-time staff
31–100 full-time staff
More than 100 full-time staff
 Skip to H2.2
[IF A1 = 2 (PRIMARY)]
H2.1 During the pay period that includes January 1, 2023, how many paid staff dedicated to working
with victims work at your organization part-time (less than 35 hours per week)? Count each person
only once. Include contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
No part-time staff
1 part-time staff person
2–3 part-time staff
4–10 part-time staff
11–20 part-time staff
21–30 part-time staff
31–100 part-time staff
More than 100 part-time staff
 Skip to H3
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06.06.23
[IF A1 = 1 (EMBEDDED)]
H2.2 During the pay period that includes January 1, 2023, how many paid staff dedicated to working
with victims work in your program part-time (less than 35 hours per week)? Count each person only
once. Include contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
No part-time staff
1 part-time staff person
2–3 part-time staff
4–10 part-time staff
11–20 part-time staff
21–30 part-time staff
31–100 part-time staff
More than 100 part-time staff
H3. Did your organization use volunteers (for example, staff that are not paid) to provide direct
services to victims during the [calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023?
Yes
No

I. Funding
[IF A1.6a or A1.6c = MULTISITE]
I1. These next questions refer to overall funding and funding sources during the [calendar/fiscal] year
that includes January 1, 2023. Will you be answering the funding questions for your site or location
only, or across the victim services programming for all locations?
My location
All victim services programming across the organization
I2. What was the estimated total annual funding for your victim services programming for the
[calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023? Estimates are acceptable. NOTE: this includes all
costs, not only personnel.
Less than $100,000 per year
$100,000 to $499,999 per year
$500,000 to $999,999 per year
$1 million to $4,999,999 per year
More than $5 million per year

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I3. During the [calendar/fiscal] year that includes January 1, 2023, was your victim services
programming supported by any grants?
Yes  Proceed to I4
No  Skip to section J
Unsure  Skip to section J
I4. Which type of grant(s) supporting victim services did you receive during the [calendar/fiscal] year
that includes January 1, 2023? Select all that apply.
Federal grants passed through a state or local agency (for example, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA);
Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP); Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP);
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA); and Community Development Block Grants
(CDBG))  Proceed to I5
Other federal grants (directly from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office on Violence Against
Women, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, or others)  Proceed to I5
State or local government grants that are NOT pass-through federal grants (they are funded only
with state or local dollars)  Skip to J1
Non-government grants, including from foundations, corporations, nonprofits, or other nongovernment source  Skip to J1

[IF I4=1 OR 2 (THOSE SELECTING FEDERAL GRANTS)]
I5. Please estimate the percentage of your victim services budget supported by federal grants
including those passed through a state or local government office for the {IF G2=1: calendar/IF G2=2:
fiscal} year that includes January 1, 2023.
Less than 25%
25% to 49%
50% to 74%
75% to 100%

J. Record Keeping
J1. Does your organization use an electronic records system to maintain case files?
Yes
No  Skip to Section K
J2. Does your organization’s electronic records system track individual cases?
Yes
No
21

06.06.23

K. Current Issues of Concern to Victim Service Providers
K1. How concerned are you about vicarious trauma and staff burnout among victim service staff at
your organization? (“Vicarious trauma” refers to staff exposure to the trauma of others that puts the
staff at risk for a range of negative consequences.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
K2. How concerned are you about the ability of your victim services program to reach and serve all
victims equally? (This includes but is not limited to racial equity, gender identity or sexual orientation
equity, equity for those with disabilities, and equity for those with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

COVID-Related Organizational Impacts
March 2020 is generally recognized as the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many activities were
affected, including victim services delivery.
K3. Did you make or experience any changes in your organization or the way you deliver services
because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
□ Yes  Proceed to table K3.a
□ No  Skip to End
Not Applicable–our organization started after the COVID-19 pandemic began  Skip to End

22

06.06.23
K3.a. Please indicate which of these organizational changes happened because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
FOR COVID-RELATED REASONS:

This change
did not
happen

Victim services staff resigned
Victim services staff were laid-off
Victim service staff worked partially or fully
remote
Some or all in-person meetings with victims
were suspended
Virtual and phone meetings with victims
increased
Service needs changed as the numbers of
some crimes went up or down
Service needs changed as the levels or severity
of violence used in crimes or abuse increased

END.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this important survey!

23

This change
happened
temporarily

This change has
continued through
the present

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 4: Welcome screen for online instrument

Please Enter your PIN
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 30 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 (34 USC 10132), 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: 1121-0355

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 5: 2023 NCVSP Cognitive Testing Report

National Census of Victim Service Providers
Cognitive Testing Report

Susan Howley, Project Director, and Research Associate
Kristina Lugo-Graulich, Senior Research Associate
Derek Mueller, Research Associate
Bradley T. Brick, Research Associate

April 26, 2023

Table of Contents
Executive Summary........................................................................................................................................ i
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Methodology................................................................................................................................................. 1
Cognitive Interview Findings ......................................................................................................................... 4
S. Screening Questions.............................................................................................................................. 4
A. Organizational Type and Structure ..................................................................................................... 12
B. Tribal Agencies .................................................................................................................................... 24
C. Campus Organizations ........................................................................................................................ 26
D. Government Agencies ........................................................................................................................ 27
E. Nonprofit Organizations...................................................................................................................... 30
F. For-Profit Organizations ...................................................................................................................... 30
G. Services for Victims............................................................................................................................. 31
H. Staffing ................................................................................................................................................ 54
I. Funding................................................................................................................................................. 58
J. Recordkeeping ..................................................................................................................................... 65
K. Issues of Concern to VSPs ................................................................................................................... 66
Appendix 1. Cognitive Testing Sample Emails ............................................................................................ 72
Appendix 2: NCVSP 2023 Cognitive Testing Protocol Round 1 ................................................................... 74
Appendix 3: NCVSP 2023 Cognitive Testing Protocol Round 2 ................................................................. 100

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Executive Summary
The National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) collection provides national data on all
programs and organizations that served victims of crime or abuse within the six months prior to the
survey. The NCVSP captures information related to the number of VSPs in the United States, where they
are physically located, estimates of victims served, the types of services they provide, and estimates of
staffing and funding. The NCVSP was first administered in 2017 and is being readministered to victim
service providers (VSP) in 2023.
As part of readministering the NCVSP, the research team examined the 2017 NCVSP instrument,
resulting data, and feedback to identify any issues. It became clear that the 2023 NCVSP needed new
and revised questions to accurately capture information related to VSPs including VSP type and
structure, the focus of programming including crime type or population served, and estimates of staffing
and funding. In addition, minor changes to question wording and structure were made to better capture
data from VSPs.
The research team conducted two rounds of cognitive interviews: testing questions revised from the
2017 NCVSP in the first round, revising questions based on findings from that round, and testing those
revisions in the second round. VSPs were recruited for cognitive testing through subject matter experts
who served as project advisors and through project staff at the National Organization for Victim
Assistance (NOVA). A total of 30 individuals from VSPs participated in Round 1 of cognitive testing and
21 in Round 2.
New or substantially revised questions were drafted and tested in the following areas:
Identification of VSPs. The NCVSP is intended to gather data from those VSPs who are intentionally
seeking to serve victims of crime and abuse—as opposed to the many social service and other entities
that happen to serve victims among their clients without any special attention. The original language in
item S2 was revised to make this distinction clearer. The question was initially revised to ask whether
providers had “intentionally” provided victim services. Findings from cognitive testing revealed that
respondents were somewhat confused by the word “intentionally.” The research team determined that
the best approach is to mirror the language used in item A1.a, which asks whether respondents
“provided services to victims or survivors of crime or abuse through specific program(s) or designated
staff.”
VSP structure and unit of analysis. Section A of the NCVSP contains a series of questions intended to
identify the structure of the responding VSPs (i.e., primary or embedded) as well as the organization
type (e.g., non-profit, tribal, government). Several new questions were introduced in the 2023 NCVSP
instrument to capture the unit of analysis more effectively, including identifying any parent-child
relationships among responding VSPs. Major revisions were made to the new survey items after each
round of cognitive testing. Respondents are now asked whether their victim service activities are fully
virtual (item A1.5) and, if not, whether their organization (for primary VSPs) or program (for embedded
VSPs) operates through a single site or multiple sites (A1.6a and A1.6b). VSPs who operate through
multiple sites are then asked to best describe their victim service site: one site that reports to a main
office (child), the main office (parent), or other (A1.6c and A1.6d). Child sites are asked to provide
contact information for the parent site; parent sites are asked to provide contact information for their
child sites. Respondents are then asked to provide contact information for those other sites via manual
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

entry or upload (A1.7-A1.8). Several other questions were added to this section to ensure that a parent
site can report data and determine what level of data they report (items A1.9, A1.9.5). Child sites are
also asked whether they are co-located in another organization (item A1.10 (primary) and A1.10a
(embedded)).
Service provision. Section G captures information on the
services provided to victims of crime or abuse of VSPs. One
new survey item and one area of major revision were made to
Section G based on the review of the 2017 NCVSP and
cognitive testing for the 2023 NCVSP. Item G1 is new to the
2023 NCVSP and asks respondents to best describe their
service area (i.e., rural, suburban, urban). Initially drafted to
require respondents to choose one option that best describes
their service area, the question was revised after cognitive
testing to allow them to select more than one response. One
area was revised: a series of questions that aims to determine
whether VSPs have a limited target clientele (G12 and G13).
The review of the 2017 NCVSP, in which VSPs were asked
about whether it was their mission to serve victims of specific
crimes or specific populations of victims, revealed that
respondents had difficulty conceptualizing a limitation tied to
their mission. The question was revised to ask whether VSPs
could “only serve” victims of certain crime types or certain
victim populations. Cognitive testing revealed that such a
strict limitation did not work for VSPs, who often reflected on
the minority of victims served outside those limitations. The
questions were further revised to ask about focus of services,
by crime type or victim population. Response options are
limited to 4 or fewer categories.

Additional Items Tested,
Minor wording or
Formatting Changes Only

S1. Organization Information
S2a – S2b. Questions for those
screening out
A1. Whether respondent is a
stand-alone VSP or embedded in
another organization
A2. Organization type
B1. Tribal organization sub-type
B2. Geographic scope of tribal
VSP
D1. Government organization
sub-type

Staffing. Section H gathers information on VSP staffing. The
D2. Geographic scope of
questions produced inaccurate estimates in the 2017 NCVSP,
Government VSP (identical to E1,
particularly for some embedded providers who responded
Geographic scope of nonprofit
with figures that could only apply to the larger organization. In
VSP and F2, Geographic scope of
addition, questions designed to capture turnover rates were
for profit VSP)
missing a key element: the number of staff who had left the
program during the previous year. Questions were revised to
G5, G6, G8 (formerly G4, G5,
focus embedded providers on staff related to their program,
G7). Types of services offered
and a new question was added to capture the numbers of
G11. Crime types for which
staff who had departed. Cognitive testers for the 2023 NCVSP
services were provided
had difficulty responding to these items. It became evident
that asking respondents to report actual numbers/estimates
for staffing was overly burdensome; many wanted to seek
accurate information from their HR departments which would cause a significant delay. This series of
questions has been revised to only ask about current staffing, with question variation for primary VSPs
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

and embedded VSPs. The response options are no longer open-ended but rather presented in multiplechoice format.
Funding. The series of questions that captures funding for VSPs (Section I) presented the most problems
for respondents to the 2017 NCVSP. Some respondents were unable to provide accurate information or
did not respond to these items at all. Some embedded respondents appeared to have provided budget
information for their entire organization, rather than their victim service program. The section was
revised to attempt to focus providers on their victim service budget by first asking about the
organization’s overall budget, and then the victim service budget. Open-ended questions related to
particular federal grants were changed to a matrix of checkboxes asking about the types of grants
received. Other funding sources remained as open-ended questions asking for dollar amounts. In
cognitive testing, this section was found to be overly burdensome. Testing also revealed an uneven
understanding among respondents regarding the sources of funding their organizations received. In
response, this section was further streamlined to ask respondents to select an approximate budget total
from a multiple-choice list (I2); whether their victim service budget is supported by grants (I3); if yes,
which categories of grants they receive (I4); if those include federal grants, to select an approximate
percentage of their victim service budget supported by federal grants, with response categories are
listed in multiple-choice format (I5).
Issues of concern. Section K addresses current issues of concern to VSPs. The survey items included in
the 2017 NCVSP were revised to better reflect the most pressing issues facing VSPs in 2023 based on
feedback from the SME project advisors. Item K1 (new question) asks respondents to report their level
of concern about vicarious trauma and staff burnout among victim service staff at their organization.
Item K2 (new question) asks respondents about their organization’s ability to reach and serve all victims
equally. A new subset of questions has also been added to the 2023 NCVSP that addresses the
organizational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The revisions to the 2023 NCVSP instrument highlighted in this report are aimed at improving the
identification of embedded vs. primary VSPs and single site vs. multisite VSPs, as well as the accuracy of
responses across the entire survey. The cognitive testing results indicate that respondents were better
able to conceptualize the intent of the questions and provide more accurate responses. The cognitive
testing report details the aforementioned revisions and additions in more depth as well as covers other
formatting and wording changes made to the 2023 NCVSP instrument.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Introduction
The National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) collection provides national data on all
programs and organizations that served victims of crime or abuse within the six months prior to the
survey. The NCVSP captures information related to the number of VSPs in the United States, where they
are physically located, estimates of victims served, the types of services they provide, and estimates of
staffing and funding. The NCVSP was first administered in 2017 and is being readministered to victim
service providers (VSP) in 2023.
As part of readministering the NCVSP, the research team examined the 2017 NCVSP instrument,
resulting data, and feedback from the first administration of the survey to identify any problematic
areas. The project team details the recommended revisions to the 2017 NCVSP instrument in a separate
forthcoming report. . The project team identified several areas of concern related to question wording
and content as well as with the accuracy of responses. The majority of issues involved survey items in
Section A (Organization Type and Structure), Section G (Services for Victims), and Section I (Funding).
Based on the findings described in the instrument feedback report, the project team made
recommendations to enhance the accuracy, validity, and reliability of responses in future
administrations. The revised NCVSP instrument went through two rounds of cognitive interviews. These
cognitive tests had two objectives:
1. To ensure that a wide variety of VSP types could understand and accurately answer the
proposed questions.
2. To ensure that VSP answers to each question would facilitate an accurate count of VSPs across
the United States. Questions of particular interest in this area were those capturing
organizational type, especially among multi-site organizations of various structures.

Methodology
The cognitive testing procedures for the 2023 NCVSP instrument were approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under BJS’s Generic Clearance (OMB Control No. 1121-0339). OMB
clearance was sought on December 7, 2022, and received on December 15, 2022.
VSPs were recruited for cognitive testing through subject matter expert (SME) project advisors and
JRSA’s project partner, the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA). Ten SMEs, with
networks of victim service providers, assisted in recruitment efforts. From the end of November through
December of 2022, project staff contacted each SME with a description of the types of VSPs we wanted
to include from their network (to include a range of sizes, locations, or areas of focus) to ensure a broad
group of cognitive testers and asked them to begin identifying likely testers, and to start thinking about
their recruitment.
In early January of 2023, each SME was asked to begin recruiting. Each was provided with sample
language for email recruitment, explaining the project and the process for cognitive testing. Once a VSP
responded to the SME expressing interest, the SME connected the VSP to project staff for follow-up.
Staff at JRSA then emailed the VSP, thanking them for their interest and sending a link to Calendly, a
scheduling software program that enabled VSPs to choose a convenient date and time for the cognitive
interview. (Sample language of these emails is attached.) In each round of cognitive testing, NOVA
recruited VSPs to fill gaps in the roster of testers.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 of Cognitive Testing was conducted from January 4 through February 6, 2023. Cognitive test
interviews were conducted online, using GoToMeeting. Informed consent to participate in the interview,
and consent to a video recording of the interview, were obtained at the beginning of each 1-hour
interview. The interviewer displayed one question at a time, and interviewees were asked to read and
respond to each question. Interviewers then asked probing questions to better understand their
thought processes and interpretation of the survey questions.
At the conclusion of the cognitive test interviews in Round 1, VSPs were asked whether they would be
interested in participating in a second round of testing. For those who agreed, project staff reached out
to them directly for Round 2 to affirm their continued interest and to set a date and time for the
interview, again using Calendly. To fill gaps, additional interviewees were recruited using the same
methods as Round 1. Cognitive Testing Round 2 was conducted from February 15 through February 28,
2023.
Interview protocols for Round 1 and Round 2 are attached.
Table 1 provides a summary of the VSP types interviewed in Round 1 and Round 2.
Table 1. Cognitive Interview VSP Types
Organization Type

Organization
Category*

Round 1
(n)

State VOCA Assistance Funding Administrator - no direct
services (testing screen out)

G

2

State victim compensation program

G

1

Law enforcement-based victim assistance program

G

3

Prosecutor’s victim witness program

G

1

Corrections-based victim service program

G

3

Nonprofit social service organization without victim
assistance program (testing screen out)

N

1

Campus-based – large university

C

1

Campus-based - community college/commuter

C

1

Nonprofit with chapters, headquarters

N

Nonprofit, local chapter

N

Nonprofit with satellite locations, main office

N

1

Nonprofit, stand-alone

N

1

Tribal coalition

T

1

Tribal program, small Tribe or Alaska Native program

T

2

2

Round 2
(n)

2

1

1
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Organization Type

Organization
Category*

Program serving formerly incarcerated

Round 1
(n)

N or G

Round 2
(n)
2

Hospital-based program

H

1

1

Trafficking program, culturally-specific

N

1

1

Trafficking program, established

N

2

1

Domestic violence coalition

N

1

Domestic violence program, established

N

2

1

Domestic violence program, culturally-specific

N

4

1

N or G

1

1

Sexual assault coalition

N

1

1

Sexual assault program, established

N

1

1

N or G

1

1

CAC, hospital-based

H

1

1

Total

--

30

21

Family Justice Center

Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs), stand-alone

*Key: Tribal (T), Campus (C), Hospital (H), Government (G), Nonprofit (N).

Below, each initially-tested question section is displayed in the order it appears on the survey, followed
by a summary of the feedback received during the Round 1 of cognitive testing, revisions tested in
Round 2, and the results of Round 2 cognitive testing. Each question section concludes with
recommendations for that section. The final recommended instrument is provided separately.
Table 2 below displays the NCVSP instrument section labels (first column) and names (second column).
The third column provides a yes/no indicator of whether revisions were made to a section of the NCVSP
instrument. No questions in Sections C (campus respondents), F (for-profit respondents), and J
(recordkeeping) had issues in the 2017 NCVSP, so no revisions were tested. Section F (for-profit
respondents) was not separately tested: the only change to that section was to question F2 regarding
service area, which mirrored changes to questions D2 and E1 and was tested as part of those sections.
For others, we tested multiple options to learn which was most easily understood and answered by the
widest variety of respondents.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Table 2. 2017 NCVSP Instrument Sections and Revisions
Section

Title

Revisions (Y/N)

S
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K

Screener Questions
Organization Structure and Type
Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only
Campus Organizations Only
Government Agencies Only
Non-Profit or Faith-Based Organizations Only
For-Profit Organizations Only
Services for Victims
Staffing
Funding
Record Keeping
Current Issues of Concern to VSPs

Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Y

Cognitive Interview Findings
S. Screening Questions
Organization Contact Information
Item S1 captures contact information about the respondent’s organization.
2017 NCVSP
S1. Before you begin, please complete the following pieces of information for your organization.
Address: _______________________
Address: _________________________
City, State, ZIP: _____________________________
Main business phone number: _____________________
Agency email address: __________________
Agency web site: _______________________

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Given some of the issues described in the NCVSP Instrument Feedback Report, the research team made
several minor revisions to screener question S1. These changes included replacing the word “Agency”
with “Organization” for each occurrence in the question as well as in the response fields and adding
explanatory language for the respondents to only use the physical address of their location and not the
address of the main or headquarters office. These revisions were only tested in Round 2 of the cognitive
interviews.
Round 2 Cognitive Test
S1. Before you begin, please complete the following pieces of information for your organization.
If your organization is part of a multisite organization, please use the physical address of your
location and not the address of your main or headquarters office.
Organization Name: _________________________
Organization Address: _______________________
City, State, ZIP: _____________________________
Business phone number: _____________________
Organization email address: __________________
Organization web site: _______________________

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
This question was not tested in Round 1 but was tested with 21 respondents in Round 2.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

8 respondents were able to answer the question as written.
Those who are mostly virtual may struggle to determine which address to enter (n=1).
Those working in multiple locations did not know which one to enter (i.e., they might work some
days in one office and other days in a different one) (n=3).
Organization has no general email address, or they’re unsure (n=6).
Organization uses a contact form on its website instead of an email (n=2).
Organizations may use a P.O. box for their address (n=1).
15 respondents said they would be willing to share their contact information in a directory; most
of the others did not answer. For the few who hesitated, it was due to having only a personal
email (since the organization did not have a general email) or a physical address if their location
was confidential.

Organizations with more than one location had the most difficulty determining how to answer questions
in this section regardless of organizational type.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Final Recommendations
•

•
•

Replace “physical address of your location and not the address of your main or headquarters
office." with “physical address of your site. If the physical address of your site is confidential,
please provide the mailing address.” The objective is to clarify that we are asking for the
general mailing address or location the respondent works from most of the time, excluding
telework.
Delete the request for an organizational email address.
Make the organization website field optional.

S1a was unchanged from the 2017 NCVSP.

Provided Services in the Past 6 Months
Item S2 is a screener question designed to capture whether VSPs provided services to victims of crime or
abuse within the past six months.
2017 NCVSP
S2. Has your organization or any programs or staff within your organization provided services to
victims of crime or abuse in the past six months? By ‘services 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.
Yes  Go to A1
No  Proceed to S2a

The purpose of the NCVSP is to identify programs and organizations that intentionally provide services
to victims of crime, which also includes programs that maintain an active victim service referral
program. The original question language used in the 2017 NCVSP does not explicitly state that
organizations or programs must intentionally provide services to victims of crime or abuse. The inclusion
of this descriptor is important because almost every criminal justice agency, social service organization,
health agency, and school will serve victims among all the individuals they serve, even if their mission or
programming is not focused on serving victims of crime or abuse. The SMEs indicated that the question
should be rephrased to be more inclusive to VSPs who provide direct services to non-justice systeminvolved victims, by using the word “survivor” rather than “victim.”

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Rounds 1 and 2 Cognitive Test
S2. Has your organization or any programs/staff within your organization intentionally provided
services to victims/survivors of crime or abuse in the past six months? By ‘services to
victims/survivors 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.
This survey will use the term victim to mean victim or survivor from this point forward.
Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Rounds 1 and 2
Because there were no changes to S2 between Rounds 1 and 2 of cognitive testing, findings from both
rounds are presented together.
•
•

•

The word “intentionally” struck respondents as odd, especially those from nonprofit
organizations (n=10).
Respondents were able to answer the question accurately to screen in or out (n=28).
o One state-level organization that should have screened out answered “yes” because if
someone does happen to reach out to them for help, they will make a referral for them.
o Another state-level program, a funder, screened out under those same circumstances,
reasoning that they didn’t maintain a program or even an active referral list.
A few suggested additional services to note in the italics: advocacy (n=2), compensation (n=1),
case management (n=2), and medical (n=1).

Final Recommendations
• Change the wording from “intentionally provided services” to language mirroring A1.a,
“provided services to victims or survivors of crime or abuse through specific program(s) or
designated staff.”

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Questions for Those Who Screen Out
This series of questions is designed to capture organizational-related information for respondents who
were screened out of the survey.
2017 NCVSP
S2a. Thank you. We received your organization’s name from a list of entities that served victims of
crime or abuse at some point in time. To help us update our records, please indicate which of the
following options apply (check all that apply):
Our organization has never provided services to victims of crime or abuse
Our organization functions primarily as a granting or funding agency and not as a direct provider
of services
Our organization has provided services to victims of crime or abuse, but not in the past 6
months
Does your organization plan to provide services to victims of crime or abuse in the future?
o Yes
o No
Our organization contracts out all of our victim services and/or partners with an outside agency
or agencies to provide services to victims of crime or abuse
Our organization solely provides referrals for services for victims of crime and abuse
Do you maintain an active victim service referral program?
Yes  We would still like for you to participate, please proceed to A1
No  Proceed to S2b
Our organization might serve victims of crime or abuse as part of our program, but there is no
consistent way to identify whether persons are victims.
Other (please provide brief description) ___________________________________
S2b. 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
e. Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
f. For-profit entity
g. Informal entity
(e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an organization, registered
nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support groups; volunteer,
grassroots, or survivor network)

After initial review of the instrument, the S2 questions were streamlined and reordered to improve
comprehension.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test
S2a. Does your organization maintain an active victim service referral program? This includes, but is
not limited to, hotlines.
Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a.5
S2a.5. To help us update our records, please answer a few additional questions:
a. Has your organization ever provided services to victims of crime or abuse?
Yes
No
b. Does your organization plan to provide services to victims of crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
c. Does your organization indirectly support victims of crime or abuse in any of the following
ways?
A. Contracting out all direct services to another organization.
Yes
No
B. Providing grants or funding to support direct services to victims of crime or abuse.
Yes
No
C. Providing training and technical assistance for direct service providers or engaging in
issue advocacy.
Yes
No
D. Other
Yes
No
[if yes] Please specify ________________
S2b. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government or other tribal organization or entity
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private)
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private)
Government agency
Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
For-profit entity
Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an
organization, registered nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and
support groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•
•
•

•

S2a (active referral program): 2 respondents had no difficulty; 1 wanted clarification because
they list funded programs on their website but do not offer a referral line.
S2a.5_b (ever provided services): 2 respondents had no difficulty; 1 was unsure whether this
would include ad hoc assistance.
S2a.5_c (plan to provide services): 2 respondents had no difficulty; 1 wanted to know whether
this included ad hoc responses or referred to planned programming.
S2a.5_c (indirectly support victims): 1 respondent had no difficulty; 1 food bank would have said
“yes” to contracting although their agreements with other providers are informal and relate to
mutual referrals; 1 state funder wasn’t sure whether their VS grants were contracts until they
saw the next question (re. funding) and then said “no” to contracting.
S2b (Type of Organization): No respondents had difficulty.

Revision for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
Following Round 1, the order of the answer choices A and B for S2a.5_c was changed to ask first about
funding and then about contracting.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
S2a. Does your organization maintain an active victim service referral program? This includes, but is
not limited to, hotlines.
Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a.5
S2a.5. To help us update our records, please answer a few additional questions:
a. Has your organization ever provided services to victims of crime or abuse?
Yes
No
b. Does your organization plan to provide services to victims of crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
c. Does your organization indirectly support victims of crime or abuse in any of the following ways?
A. Providing grants or funding to support direct services to victims of crime or abuse.
Yes
No
B. Contracting out all direct services to another organization.
Yes
No
C. Providing training and technical assistance for direct service providers or engaging in issue
advocacy.
Yes
No
D. Other
Yes
No
[if yes] Please specify ________________
S2b. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government or other tribal organization or entity
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private)
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private)
Government agency
Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
For-profit entity
Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an
organization, registered nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•
•
•
•

S2a (active referral program): 1 respondent understood this question, they make referrals but
no formal program.
S2a.5_b (ever provided services): 1 respondent unsure about whether this referred to
intentionally providing service or ad hoc assistance even one time.
S2a.5_c (indirectly support victims. All respondents understood and could answer.
S2b (Type of Organization): 1 respondent had no difficulty; a Tribal respondent struggled with
the available Tribal response.

Final Recommendations
•

•
•

Change the language in S2a.5_b and c (ever provided/plan to provide services) to mirror the
final language for S2 to capture intentional or resourced efforts, rather than ad hoc or
occasional.
Change S2a.5_c (indirectly support victims) contracting response option to say “Formally
contracting out…”
Change S2b (Organizational type) to ensure that response options mirror those in A2.

A. Organizational Type and Structure
This series of questions is intended to identify the structure of the responding VSPs (i.e., primary or
embedded) as well as the organization type (e.g., non-profit, tribal, government).

Organizational Type: Primary vs. Embedded
2017 NCVSP
A1. Which of the following best describes how your organization is structured to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse?
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
A1a. Does your organization have a specific program(s) or staff that are dedicated to working
with crime victims?
Yes
No

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

This question was minimally revised to include the phrase “as a whole” in describing the organization’s
function.
Round 1 and 2 Cognitive Test
A1. Which of the following best describes how your organization is structured to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse?
The primary function of the organization as a whole is to provide services or programming for
victims of crime.  Skip to A1.5
Victim services or programming are one component of the larger organization’s activities (e.g.,
within a hospital, university, community center, law enforcement agency, or prosecutors’
office)
 Proceed to A1a
A1a. Does your organization have a specific program(s) or staff that are designated to work
with victims of crime or abuse?
Yes  Proceed to A1.5
No  “Thank you. You do not need to complete the rest of this survey.”
Findings from Cognitive Testing – Rounds 1 and 2
While this question was easy for many testers, a few had difficulty:
• 1 nonprofit whose activities are split between direct service and issue advocacy.
• Programs that are embedded but think of themselves as separate (1 prosecutor-based, 1
campus-based) or weren’t sure how to identify (1 hospital-based).
• 1 DV program that just acquired or merged with a substance abuse program so now is not sure
how to respond.
• 1 law enforcement (LE) based program hesitated to choose embedded because, in a way, all LE
work is for victims.
• 2 state coalitions answered differently: one chose “primary” because everything they do
including advocacy is about victims while the other said VS was just one component of the
coalition’s activities.
Other reactions:
•
•
•
•

Would rather see the words “intentional injury” or “abuse” than the word “crime” (n=1).
Independent agencies co-located in the same facility as others may get confused (n=2).
A “multiservice” option may be necessary for agencies in which VS is one of many services they
offer, and they don’t consider any one service to be “primary” (n=6).
No respondents expressed difficulty in answering A1a.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Final Recommendations
•
•

Reword the second answer choice to include “multiservice agency.” This will also prevent
confusion among agencies that are located in the same place, but unrelated.
Switch the order of the response options, to ask about embedded before primary.

A1a is unchanged from the 2017 NCVSP.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Organizational Type: Unit of Analysis (new)
A review of the 2017 NCVSP revealed some inconsistencies in responses for embedded VSPs, with some
reporting at the parent level and others reporting at the site, or child, level. Moreover, multiple sites of
the same organization were not always identified as such, resulting in an unknown degree of
duplication. To improve the accuracy of responses for embedded VSPs, a new series of questions was
created to better capture parent-child relationships among respondents.
Multisite and Parent/Child
Round 1 Cognitive Test (New)
A1.5. Please check the most appropriate description of your organization.
Organization operating through one single location  Skip to A1.6
One sublocation of a multi-site organization (such as a branch or satellite office, or a local
chapter of a larger organization)  Proceed to A1.5a
The headquarters or main office of a multi-site organization (i.e., an office that exercises
operational control over other sites, not merely a membership organization)  Skip to A1.5b
A1.5a. Please provide the following contact information for your organization's headquarters or main
office:
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
 Skip to A1.6
A1.5b. Please provide the following contact information for each of your organization's sublocations:
Sublocation Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
Add location?
Yes [Repeat prompts for org name, address, city/state/zip]
No  Proceed to A1.7

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•

A1.5 is easy to understand (n=5).
Use of “sublocation” terminology is confusing (n=5).
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•

•

•

•

•
•

Embedded respondents were not sure whether this was referring to the organization as a whole
or the victim services component (n=7). Additionally, “program” would be clearer than
“organization” for this group.
Respondents struggled to consider this question when staff work remotely or are out on the
road (i.e., mobile services) (n=4). Allowing organizations that are 100% virtual to skip the rest of
this section may be beneficial.
Even with multiple locations, one may not be HQ or the main office, at least in everyday
understanding. Several respondents struggled with differentiating between the 2nd and 3rd
response categories (i.e., one sublocation of a multi-site organization AND the headquarters or
main office of a multi-site organization) (n=8).
2 interviewees had 2 locations that were both important. Might have been able to answer about
where the program or executive director is based. However, is the executive director base the
most significant factor in determining which is the main office? What if finance is in a different
office? Or more operations are in a different office? Would we ask, “Which location is best
designated as the one to receive important correspondence that applies to the organization or
department as a whole?”
Simplify language to help culturally-specific organizations understand the questions easier (n=1).
Interviewees indicated various levels of burden related to A1.5a and A1.5b (listing main office or
sublocations) ranging from a few minutes to several hours. Large organizations may prefer to
enter a web link to their location’s directory.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
These questions were substantially revised for Round 2. A question was added to determine whether
services were fully virtual (in which case questions regarding multiple sites would be irrelevant) and to
clarify questions regarding multisite structure and parent-child relationships. Several questions were
duplicated with slight variations in wording to better suit primary organizations and embedded
programs.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Testing
A1.5 Are your victim service activities fully virtual? (No direct victim services are offered from a
physical location connected to the organization)
Yes  Skip to A2
No  Proceed to A1.6a
[IF A1 = PRIMARY FUNCTION]
A1.6a. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total
count of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple
sites providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or
satellite locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer simply to staff working from home
or hybrid). Please check the most appropriate description of your victim services organization.
Organization operating through one single location  Skip to A1.10
Organization operates through multiple sites (including branch or satellite offices, or
local chapters of a larger organization)  Proceed to A1.6c
[IF A1 = EMBEDDED PROGRAM]
A1.6b. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total
count of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple
sites providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or
satellite locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer simply to staff working from home
or hybrid). Please check the most appropriate description of your victim services programming.
Victim service programming operating through one single location  Skip to A1.10
Victim services programming operates through multiple sites (including branch or
satellite offices, or local chapters of a larger organization)  Proceed to A1.6c
A1.6c. What is the BEST description of your victim service location or site, in relation to the
other victim service sites:
One site or location that reports to a main office or administrative office (such as a
satellite location, branch office, chapter, etc.).  proceed to A1.7
The main office, or administrative office (including the location where a victim service
director is located)  skip to A1.8
Other (tell me more)  skip to A1.10
(Continued below)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test (Cont.)
A1.7. Please provide the following contact information for your organization's headquarters,
main office, or unit director location:
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________ Skip to A.1.10a
For the remainder of this survey, please respond based only on the activities at your particular
site/location.
A1.8. Please enter or upload a list of all the victim service locations you would list in a directory or
on your website (if the street address is confidential, please use a P.O. Box):
Location/site Name: __________________________________
Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
Add location?
Yes [Repeat prompts for org name, address, city/state/zip]
No  Proceed to A1.9
[if it is more convenient, you may upload a list HERE or provide a weblink to a list]

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
A1.5a (Fully Virtual?)
•
•

19 respondents found the question clear and easy to understand.
2 respondents mentioned that they work virtually but do home/community location visits.

A1.6a or A1.6b (Single location or multisite?)
•
•
•
•

17 respondents found this question clear and easy to understand.
3 respondents mentioned that they work virtually but do home/community location visits.
Multisite but not all locations are publicly listed (n=1).
Tribal organizations: individuals working/responding for these organizations may work from
home and have multiple addresses or no address. Those with multiple addresses may receive
mail at their home address or a P.O. box and those addresses may not be in the same city. Not
sure all respondents will interpret this question the same (n=1).

A1.6c (For multisite: best description of your site in relation to the other sites)
•
•

5 respondents found this question clear and easy to understand.
“Administrative office” was confusing (n=2).
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•
•
•
•
•
•

o Alternatives “Parent” and/or “primary” do not make sense (n=4).
o Prefer “Main office” (n=3).
o Prefer “Primary” (n=2).
1 said that this should mirror A1.6 and say, “What is the BEST description of your site, in relation
to your agency’s/programs other victim service sites.”
Interpreted “your location” as where they, personally, were sitting right then rather than where
their program/agency is located (n=1).
1 main office that only houses the administrative staff was confused by “your victim service
location” since they don’t offer any services at the main office location.
Tribal was generally confused by this and probes during testing were not helpful (n=1).
Thought this question was about whether they were embedded or not again (n=1).
Thought this question was in reference to other VS organizations in the state rather than sites
within their organization (n=1).

A1.7 (Main Office Contact Information)
•

Clarify that the physical address is wanted unless confidential for security reasons. If it is, please
provide the mailing address.

A1.8 (All Locations Contact Information)
•
•
•
•
•
•

Would manually enter this info (n=4).
Would upload a list (n=2).
Would provide a weblink (n=3).
For weblinks, add “if the information is current” (n=1).
Clarify “all VS locations of your agency/program” (n=1).
Tribal: Clarify physical or mailing address. For many coalitions, the address will be the ED’s home
(n=1).

Final Recommendations
A1.6c:
•

•
•
•
•

Create two versions of A1.6c and re-number, one for organizations whose primary purpose is
victim services (new A1.6b), and the other for embedded programs (A1.6d), to more clearly
identify the appropriate main office.
Retain the term “main office” and delete other terms (like administrative or primary office).
Change “your location” to “YOUR site.”
Clarify that the question is asking, “in relation to your organization’s other sites” or “in relation
to your other victim service sites” as appropriate.
Change the order of the response options to ask about the main office first, then the other site
or location.

A1.7:
•

Create two versions of A1.7 and re-number, one for organizations whose primary purpose of
victim services (A1.7), and the other for embedded programs (A1.7a), to more clearly identify
the appropriate main office.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•

Clarify that we are asking for the organization’s physical address unless that’s confidential. If so,
then provide a mailing address.

A1.8:
•

Clarify “If this information is current” for uploading a web link.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Multisite and Parent/Child (clarification of responses)
Round 1 Cognitive Test (New)
A1.6. Is your organization physically located at the site of another organization (such as a
nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law
enforcement victim service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with
space in a commercial establishment)?
Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please
select the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of
organization where you are physically located.” Skip to A2
No  Skip to A2
A1.7. In addition to support you provide to your sublocations, do you offer any direct services to
victims of crime or abuse at your location/headquarters level? (This can include a helpline or
hotline.)
Yes  Proceed to A1.8
No  Skip to A1.9
A1.8. This survey includes questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding. Please
indicate what your responses will encompass:
Responses relate ONLY to the main or headquarters location  Skip to A2
Responses relate to all locations of this organization (headquarters plus all sublocations) 
Skip to A2
A1.9. Are you able to answer questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding for
all your organization’s sublocations?
Yes  “Please respond to the remainder of the survey as the questions relate to all of your
organization’s sublocations”  Proceed to A2
No  “Thank you. You may exit the survey.”

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•
•

QA1.6 was clear to all respondents who answered.
QA1.7 was clear to all respondents, but 1 said to make sure only HQs/Main offices see this
question.
QA1.8 was a little more confusing. Of those who answered, 2 HQs said they would report
aggregate numbers that included all locations, but without any sublocation breakdowns. They
were not sure which one we were asking for. 1 said that the HQ would report staffing and
funding to include all locations even though only some offer victim services.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•

QA1.9: 1 hospital-based violence intervention program asked to specify “all locations that
provide victim services” because not all hospitals in their system do.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
This question series was reordered, and the wording of questions was revised for further clarity.
Round 2 Cognitive Test
A1.9. In addition to support you provide to the other sites, do you offer any direct services to
victims of crime or abuse at your location (the main office or headquarters)? (This can include a
formal helpline or hotline.)
Yes  Proceed to A1.9.5
No  Skip to A1.9.7
A1.9.5. This survey includes questions about the number of victims served, staffing, and funding.
Will your answers relate to the victim services provided across the organization, or only those
related to your main office location?
The victim services provided across the entire organization  skip to A2
Only victim service activities at my site/location  skip to A2
A1.9.7 Are you able to answer questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding for
all your organization’s victim service locations?
Yes  “Please respond to the remainder of the survey as the questions relate to all of your
organization’s sublocations”  Proceed to A2
No  “Thank you. You may exit the survey.”
A1.10. Is your victim services organization physically located at the site of another organization
(such as a nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law
enforcement victim service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with
space in a commercial establishment)?
Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please
select the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of
organization where you are physically located.” Proceed to A2
No  Proceed to A2
A1.10a. Is your particular victim services site physically located at the site of another organization
(such as a nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law
enforcement victim service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with
space in a commercial establishment)?
Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please
select the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of
organization where you are physically located.” Proceed to A2
No  Proceed to A2

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
A1.9 (Any Direct Services provided at Main Office?)
•
•
•
•

7 respondents thought this was clear.
Forgot only the main office was receiving this question and got confused (2).
Including “helpline” was confusing because they have a helpline, but it is not housed at the main
office (1).
Tribal: Most coalitions offer support but do not offer direct services. Those coalitions would still
offer a referral for an identified need, though, and she considers that a direct service (1).

A1.9.5. (If A1.9=Yes, Answering about victims served, staffing, funding for entire org or main office?)
•
•

4 could answer this question easily.
Specify which one we want because they could do both (4).

A1.9.7. (If A1.9=No, Can you answer questions about services, victims served, staffing, and funding for
the entire org?)
•

Only a couple of people were directed to answer this. 1 thought was clear and 1 said we should
specify “BASIC questions.”

A1.10/A1.10a, depending on skip logic (Physically located at the site of another organization?)
•
•

This question was clear to respondents
1 tribal respondent said that while the coalition is not part of another organization, it is part of
the tribe. This may present a little confusion.

Final Recommendations
The objective of this question series is to ensure that a main office is able to report data and to
determine what level of data they report. Because many respondents can report at either the
organization-wide or site level, the instrument should direct respondents to provide organization-wide
information if possible, and, if not, then site level only (if they provide services at the site level).
A1.9:
•

Delete and renumber subsequent questions in this section.

A1.9.5:
•
•
•

Renumber A1.9.
Add the word “basic” regarding funding information.
Ask whether the Main Offices can report for all locations. This is the preference. If they say they
cannot, direct the respondent to A1.9.7 (renumber as A1.9.5)

A1.9.7
•
•

Renumber A1.9.5.
Ask whether they provide services at their location. If so, direct them to report on those. If not,
they exit the survey.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

A1.10.
•

Make this question clearer by specifying Is YOUR victim services site physically located at the
site of a different organization?

Organization Type
2017 NCVSP
A2. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
a. Tribal government or other tribal organization
 Go to Section B [Tribal]
b. Campus organization or other educational institution
 Go to Section C [Campus]
(public or private)
c. Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or
 Go to Section G [Services for
private)
Victims]
d. Government agency
 Go to Section D [Government]
e. Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
 Go to Section E [Nonprofit or
faith based]
f. For profit entity
 Go to Section F [For profit]
g. Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or
 Go to Section G [Services for
group, not formally a part of an organization, registered
Victims]
nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy
and support groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor
t
k)
Findings from Cognitive Testing – Rounds 1 and 2
•
•
•
•

Most respondents thought the question was clear.
4 respondents said the definition of “informal entity” was clear.
6 nonprofits paused when they were included in the same group with faith-based organizations
or suggested those categories be separated.
1 quasi-non-governmental organization (i.e., hybrid government/nonprofit organization)
struggled with which to choose.

Final Recommendation
•

Emphasize the inclusion of nonprofits and faith-based 501(c)(3)s by saying Nonprofit OR faithbased organization.

B. Tribal Agencies
This series of questions is specific to VSPs who identify as a tribal organization. These items capture
additional information about the tribal agency type and service area.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Type of Organization
2017 NCVSP
B1. Which designation best describes your tribal agency or organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement
Prosecutor
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other justice-based agency (please specify)____________
Other agency that is NOT justice-based (e.g., human services, health, education, etc.)
(please specify)____________
This item was minimally changed based on the instrument review and SME feedback. Two additional
response categories were added and several minor wording changes were made to be more consistent
with similar questions in other survey sections. This revision was only tested in Round 2 due to delays in
recruiting Tribal VSPs.

Round 2 Cognitive Test
B1. Which designation best describes your tribal agency or organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement
Prosecutor’s Office
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections)
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.)
Social services or child/adult protective services
Health services
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other (please specify)____________
ALL RESPONSES: Go to section B2 [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing—Round 2
•
•

Answered the question without any problems (2).
Might consider adding “Tribal” to response item “Coalition” (1).

Final Recommendations
•

•

Change “Coalition” to “Tribal Coalition.”
Make the response options easier to comprehend by reordering them so that criminal justice
agencies appear first, followed by other government agencies, followed by multiagency,
followed by non-governmental entities.

Round 2 Cognitive Test (New)
B2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served
or services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Reservation wide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city/
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]

Findings from Cognitive Testing—Round 2
•
•

It may be more appropriate to use the terminology “Village-wide only” as opposed to “Citywide
only” (1).
The current list of response options does not capture tribal VSPs/coalitions who may provide
services across several tribes (1).

Final Recommendations
o
o
o

Add “Village-wide” after “Citywide”.
Add a response for “Multiple Tribes or Reservation and Surrounding Area.”
Add “Multi-State” to Regional.

C. Campus Organizations
These questions presented no issues in 2017, so will remain unchanged.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

D. Government Agencies
This series of questions is specific to VSPs who identify as a government agency. These items capture
additional information about the government agency type and service area.

Type of Organization
2017 NCVSP
D1. Which designation best describes your government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement
Prosecution
Courts
Juvenile justice
Social services or child/adult protective services
Offender custody and supervision
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.)
Other government agency (please specify)_____________

After reviewing the 2017 open-ended responses, slight revisions were made to clarify the categories of
agencies, and two categories were added: victim funding administrators, and victim compensation
administrators.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

A follow-up question, D1a, was added for victim funding administrators as a further screening question,
asking whether they also provided direct services.

Round 1 Cognitive Test
D1. Which designation best describes your government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement  Skip to D2
Prosecutor’s Office (such as District Attorney, County Attorney, etc.)  Skip to D2
Courts  Skip to D2
Juvenile justice  Skip to D2
Social services or child/adult protective services  Skip to D2
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections)  Skip to D2
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.)  Skip to D2
State or territory victim compensation program  Skip to D2
State or territory victim funding administrator  Proceed to D1a
Other government agency (please specify)_____________  Skip to D2
D1a. Does your organization provide any direct victim services itself, in addition to grantmaking?
Yes  “In completing the remainder of the survey, please confine your responses to your
own direct victim service activities, not the grant-making and related functions.”  Go to
section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
No  “Thank you. You may exit the survey.

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•

Question D1 worked for 6 of 8 respondents. Note: Question D1a was not tested (no VOCA
programs or other funders, that engaged in cognitive testing, provide any victim services; they
screened out earlier).
o A family justice center working out of a Mayor’s office had difficulty selecting a response.
They would have liked a local government option.
o 2 respondents could have chosen more than one (a prosecutor’s office in AZ also offered
victim compensation; a state compensation program had other programs) but were able to
choose a BEST response.
o 2 indicated that adding the term “agency” to the response options (i.e., “Juvenile justice
agency” would be clearer, even if redundant).

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
Two changes were made: the term “agency” was added to response options (i.e., “Juvenile justice
agency”), and Family Justice Center was added as an example for “Multiagency” for Round 2 testing.
This question was tested with 3 respondents.

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Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•

The family justice center working out of a Mayor’s Office still had trouble selecting whether their
VSP should be identified as multi-agency or city government. In the end, they chose multiagency
as the most appropriate response choice.

Final Recommendations
No changes recommended.

Scope of Service

2017 and Round 1 Cognitive Test
D2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency operate in terms of victims served or
services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]

(NOTE: This question is identical to E1 and F2.)
D2 was tested both with Government and Nonprofit responders. The final survey instrument asks
Government VSPs (item D2), Nonprofit VSPs (item E1), and For-Profit responders (F2) the same question.
Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•

•
•

17 respondents easily responded and or said the question was clear.
2 respondents stumbled because they may serve victims outside of their typical service area. A
criminal justice agency may serve a victim who has moved out of the area or state; a nonprofit
may occasionally serve someone from another state or even another country.
1 respondent who reported struggling with these cases suggested we ask about the “primary”
service area, or area the agency “primarily” operates.
1 respondent suggested we ask people to “check all that apply.”

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
The question was revised to ask about the area in which the agency primarily operates.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
D2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served
or services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•
•
•

13 respondents said this question was clear or were able to answer it without much difficulty.
1 would like “Regional” amended to include multistate.
1 sheriff’s office program struggled to choose county because they will help enforce a protective
order from anywhere in the country. Chose “other.”

Final Recommendations
•
•
•

Clarify question to ask about the jurisdiction in which they “primarily” operate.
Add “multistate” to the “regional” response.
Mirror D2 changes in E1 and F2.

E. Nonprofit Organizations
Addressed above under question D2.

F. For-Profit Organizations
Addressed above under question D2.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

G. Services for Victims
Service Area (new)
Round 1 Cognitive Test (New)
G1. How would you best describe your service area? (An urban area is within a principal city of a
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A suburban area is within an MSA but not within the principal
city of that MSA and a rural area is outside of an MSA. An MSA can generally be defined as an area
with a city and surrounding communities closely linked to one another by social and economic
factors.)
Urban
Suburban
Rural

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
G1 was tested with all respondents who did not indicate their service area was nationwide or statewide.
•
•
•

8 respondents in Round 1 could answer with no difficulty.
15 would select 2 or more choices as they cover multiple cities or counties. One state coalition
indicated their members serve entire counties which may include all 3 types of areas.
2 follow-up responses indicated that respondents were thinking about these classifications using
their own conceptions rather than the provided definitions.
o Some programs will select urban if they are serving a non-white population even if they
are not located in a city.
o Some will select based on their grants even if they cover a wider area.

This was not retested in Round 2.
Final Recommendation
•

Change the instruction to ask respondents to “check all that apply.”

G2 (original G1) was not problematic in 2017 and was not changed.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Services Offered
2017, Rounds 1 and 2 Cognitive Test
Did your organization provide any of the following services to victims within the past calendar/fiscal
year? 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 your organization
provided to victims, which may not capture your victim service offerings in detail. Do your best to place
the services your organization provided within the general categories.

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
While this introductory language to the series of questions regarding services did not change, it was so
closely tied to tested service questions that it was included in cognitive testing.
During cognitive testing, several respondents were unsure about how to answer the service questions
when services were provided by a contractor (some on-site, some off-site). Some said they included
those contracted services in their PMT counts for the Office for Victims of Crime.
Final Recommendation
•

Clarify that the services can be provided through staff or contractors.

G3 and G4 were not revised from the 2017 NCVSP and were not retested.

Emotional/Mental Health Support and Safety
2017 NCVSP
Emotional support and safety
G4. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Mental health services? (e.g., individual or group counseling; support
groups; other therapy; social programming for children; etc.)
Crisis Counseling?
Safety services? (Safety planning; witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.) (Does NOT include protective orders)

Following an analysis of the responses from the 2019 National Survey of Victim Service Providers, this
question was revised to include substance abuse treatment.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test
Mental health support and safety
G5. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Mental health services? (e.g., individual or group counseling; support
groups; other therapy; social programming for children; etc.)
Crisis Counseling?
Substance abuse treatment?
Safety services? (Safety planning; witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.) (Does NOT include protective orders)

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•
•

•

•
•

12 respondents were comfortable with the questions as written.
4 felt we should specify “directly provides… services” to differentiate from providing referrals to
these services. This would apply to all types of services we ask about.
8 respondents spoke strongly about the need to limit the term “mental health services” to those
provided by a licensed professional. 2 said the same about crisis counseling. One noted her main
state funder is leading this struggle over when to call something “mental health services.”
o One respondent assumed, since this was a BJS study, the question would be limited to
professional counseling.
o Many providers offer peer support or even advocate-led support, but 2 respondents
stated that this is not mental health services because they do not involve a clinician.
One specified that they considered peer support to be trauma-informed care instead.
One thought saying “mental health services OR support” would better capture that. One
suggested dividing into formal and informal, or clinician-led vs. peer-led, but 2 others
found the terms “formal” and “informal” to be offensive.
o A few extended this qualification regarding licensed professionals to “crisis counseling.”
1 respondent thought “crisis counseling” should be defined – they work with people in crisis
over the phone but is that “counseling?” Or is it “crisis support?” Another felt “emotional
support” was a separate category not requiring a clinician, as was other mental health support
such as driving individuals to their mental health clinician appointments.
1 respondent felt that the terms “substance abuse” and “substance abuse disorder” were
offensive. She wanted to see “substance use treatment” instead.
There were no problems with safety services.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
G5 was revised to include mental health support with services and to specify that this included both
clinician-led and advocate or peer-led services. Crisis counseling was also specified to include clinicians
and others.
Round 2 Cognitive Test
Mental health support and safety
G5. Did your victim services include (…)

Yes

No

Mental health services or support? (including both services by a
licensed professional counseling and peer or advocate-led support
groups; other therapy; social programming for children; etc.)
Crisis Counseling? (whether by a licensed professional, advocate, or
peer)
Substance abuse treatment?
Safety services? (Safety planning; witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.) (Does NOT include protective orders)

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•
•
•
•
•

15 respondents felt this version was clearer and easier to answer.
1 respondent wanted an “unsure” category.
2 respondents still felt that Mental Health must be provided by a clinician.
3 stated that the descriptions for mental health and safety planning helped them.
Respondents who contract with a mental health provider responded to this question differently,
with some identifying those services as being provided by their program and others unsure.

Final Recommendations
•

•
•

Separate clinician-provided services from other services:
o Mental health services provided by a clinician? (e.g., individual or group counseling or
other therapy services by a licensed professional counselor)
o Emotional support services provided by non-clinicians? (e.g., peer or advocate-led
support groups, social programming for children, etc.)
Change “substance abuse treatment” to “substance use treatment.”
Reorder services to start with crisis counseling (which is often provided immediately following a
crime), emotional support, mental health services provided by a clinician, safety services, and
substance use treatment.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Medical and Health Assistance
2017 NCVSP
Medical and Health Assistance
Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Emergency medical care of accompaniment?
Medical forensic exam or accompaniment?
STD/HIV testing?

This section was updated to better capture the growth of non-hospital victim service programs offering
forensic exams or other medical services.
Round 1 Cognitive Test
Medical and health assistance
G6. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Accompaniment to medical care or forensic examinations?
Emergency or follow-up medical care (provision of care)?
Medical forensic exam or accompaniment (provision of care)?
STD/HIV testing?

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•

•

22 respondents were able to answer this item as written in Round 1.
2 people in Round 1 weren’t sure about the second option; they accompany people to the
emergency room. Not focused on the term “provision of care.” One person suggested it would
be clearer if we said, “Accompaniment to…” and “Providing medical care, whether emergency or
follow-up care.”
o 1 hospital program in Round 2 wanted to know whether we were asking about their
program or the hospital they sit in.
1 respondent in Round 1 found this difficult. Their program has arranged for a Sexual Assault
Nurse Examiner (SANE) program to occupy space at their location, but the staffs are in no way
intertwined. They contract with the SANE but don’t PAY for the services. They report the
35

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•

number of SANE exams on their grant forms. It can FEEL like the SANE program’s services are
the program’s services.
1 respondent in Round 1 noted they will provide emergency medical care on-site while waiting
for the EMT. Another said they don’t “provide” but they call the ambulance. This one was
particularly nuanced: they have a regular physician who comes to the shelter, pro bono, to
ensure that clients are connected to appropriate medical care. After discussion, she agreed that
the doctor is more of a medical liaison.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
Following Round 1, the question was revised to standardize the format of the response options.

Round 2 Cognitive Test
Medical and health assistance
G6. Did your victim services include (…)

Yes

No

Accompanying victims to medical care or forensic examinations?
Providing emergency or follow-up medical care?
Providing forensic examinations?
Providing STD/HIV testing?

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•
•

14 respondents in Round 2 were able to answer the revised item without difficulty.
2 respondents in Round 2 initially responded “yes” to forensic exams, but then realized the
question related to medical exams. They said the question should specify “forensic medical
exams” so that forensic interviews do not get lumped in.

Final Recommendations
•

Specify forensic medical exams to avoid confusion with forensic interviews.

G7 was not revised from the 2017 NCVSP and was not retested.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Other Services
2017 NCVSP
Other services
G8. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Case management?
Supervised child visitation?
On-scene coordinated response?
Education classes for survivors regarding victimization dynamics?
Services designed to meet the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific
populations? Specify _________________________________

Following an analysis of 2017 open-ended responses and the 2019 NSVSP survey results, G8 was revised
to include transportation services and separate language access services and other culturally or
ethnically specific services.
Round 1 Cognitive Test
Other services
G8. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

Case management?
Supervised child visitation?
On-scene coordinated response?
Education classes for survivors regarding victimization dynamics?
Transportation services?
Language access? (e.g., translation or interpretation services, or bilingual
staff)
Services designed to meet the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific
populations?

37

No

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
Case management
The term “case management” was defined differently by different respondents:
•
•
•
•
•

•

•
•
•

"Survivors who need continuous, ongoing support and ongoing systems navigation and
referrals."
Working with victims as individuals, and following up with them.
Maintaining and updating each victim’s case file in their system.
Working individually with each adult or child to assess their needs and create a service plan and
goals, and then help ensure they get or are connected to the needed services.
Serving the victim from the time they were a victim through the end of a prosecution. If she was
thinking as a victim compensation person, she'd say "yes" because one coordinator manages the
whole claim from start to finish.
They have some victim-offender dialogue cases and victim wraparound services that they
manage, over time adding to case files. But case management could also mean it's around a
specific person regardless of the services.
Defines as “peer-led” scope of services that follow a case management model, following a
survivor for however long they need.
Respondent from a homicide survivor support group did not understand case management;
they work one-on-one and keep information re. survivors but not sure that's case management.
Another said "case management" is a phrase they're moving away from because it is not
trauma-informed or survivor-centered because it refers to the survivor as a case. It relates to
helping survivors navigate systems. They use the phrase "survivor advocacy."

On-scene coordinated response
•
•
•

Some respondents focused on “coordinated response” and said “yes” because they were part of
a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) or Family Justice Center (FJC).
6 respondents expressed confusion by this term.
1 Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) hesitated because they provide a coordinated response, but
do not go out to the scene.

Education classes on victimization dynamics
•

•
•

8 said one-on-one communication or embedded in other services, empowerment, rebuilding
and rehabilitation education, workshops, individual activities, and/or peer support groups, but
not formal classes. One of these said, “don’t call it education; it’s part of the conversation.” Each
victim’s needs are so different and they want to avoid being prescriptive, as a formal class would
be.
When asked about rewording, one respondent really liked "helping survivors understand
victimization dynamics."
1 campus program offers such a class to all incoming students (while there are some victims
among those students, this is primarily a prevention or awareness activity).

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Transportation
•

1 respondent was not sure whether this was limited to driving people or also included offering
bus passes or covering ride share (Uber/Lyft).

Language access
•
•

1 respondent said no to language access, then said they have translator access and pamphlets in
other languages. But she does not provide the language interpretation, so she said no.
1 respondent said language access was confusing because they don't provide it internally, but
offer it through others; e.g., if they had a Spanish-speaking victim they would use an interpreter.
She still said no, however. Maybe we could reword to say "use of translation service or bilingual
staff ..."

Culturally-specific
•

1 said "yes" to services for culturally-specific because they have pamphlets in multiple
languages.

Overall (Round 1)
•

A FJC respondent noted that FJCs might have difficulty with this matrix. Since multiple agencies
collaborate to provide services at one location, she struggled to think about what each of them
offers (as opposed to what her staff provides).

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
G8 was modified to include a definition of case management, revise “on-scene response” to define the
service, expand the definition of survivor education, provide examples of transportation services, and
define language access to include arranging for as well as providing.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
Other services
G8. Did your victim services include (…)

Yes

No

Case management? (working individually with victims to assess their
needs and create a service plan, and then support them in that plan)
Supervised child visitation?
Responding to the scene of the crime or abuse in coordination with
other organizations?
Education of survivors regarding victimization dynamics? (whether
through one-on-one or group settings)
Transportation services? (including direct transportation, bus tokens,
arranging for ride-share, etc.)
Language access? (e.g., providing or arranging for translation or
interpretation services, language line, or bilingual staff)
Services designed to meet the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific
populations?

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
Overall
•

14 respondents were able to easily answer the items in this version. Items with remaining
challenges are mentioned below.

Culturally-Specific
•

5 respondents wanted a clearer definition of culturally-specific.
o 2 wanted specific lists of groups as examples.
o 1 wanted to know whether this had to include staff members belonging to each group.
o 3 wanted “services designed and targeted specifically to meet the needs…” Otherwise,
 there could be social desirability bias (they want to be seen to care about this and
they do try to serve everyone); or
 those who simply refer individuals out to organizations with these specific services
will also say yes.

Final Recommendation
•

Revise the culturally-specific item to read: “Services designed and targeted specifically to meet
the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific populations?”
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

G9, G9a, and G10 were not problematic in 2017, so were not retested.

Victimizations Addressed
2017 NCVSP
G11. Please report whether your organization provided services for victims of the following types of
crime or abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any crime types for which your
organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting crime type or a secondary
crime type.)
Crime types for which your organization provided services:
Yes
No
Adults molested/abused as children
Child rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Rape/Sexual Assault (Other than sexual victimizations against
children)
Stalking
Child witness of violence
Child physical abuse or neglect
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Domestic violence/dating violence
Assault (other than domestic/dating violence or child/elder abuse
Robbery
Survivors of homicide victims
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other property crimes – specify __________________
Hate crimes
Child marriage or forced marriage
Honor related violence (physical violence/threats/retaliation in the
name of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Other violent crimes – specify _____________________
Other – specify ____________________

G11 was reorganized into categories of victimization to be more easily comprehended.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test
G 11. Please report whether your organization provided services for victims of the following types
of crime or abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any crime types for which your
organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime type.)
Youth (under age 18)
Child physical abuse or neglect
Child rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Child witness of violence
Child marriage or forced marriage
Adults molested/abused as children
Adults
Domestic violence/dating violence/violation of DV protective orders
Stalking/violation of stalking protective orders
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse (other than against children)
Physical Assault (other than domestic/dating violence, child/elder
abuse, or rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse) (including attempted
homicide; gun violence; strangulation; threat with a weapon, etc.)
Robbery
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Survivors of homicide (including murder, non-negligent
manslaughter)
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (racial/religious/ethnic or national
origin/disability/gender/sexual orientation)
Honor related violence (physical violence/threats/retaliation in the
name of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Community violence/gang violence
Terrorism/mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes – specify _____________________
Other property crimes – specify __________________
Other – specify ____________________

42

Yes

No

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
Youth crimes
• 20 respondents answered these items without difficulty.
• 2 government agencies responded “no” to all forms of child victimization because they do not
serve minors. They DO provide services in child victimization cases, but by law, those are
provided to the nonoffending parent or caregiver.
• 1 respondent wasn’t sure “adults molested as children” should be combined with Youth crimes.
• Child witness of violence:
o 1 government respondent was unsure about “child witness” because that’s not a crime.
[NOTE DV programs often serve those victims]
o 1 respondent suggested “child witness” be broken out into two categories: child witness
to domestic violence and child witness to homicide.
o 3 other respondents were also confused by how to count these.
• 1 respondent was unsure how to answer for some crimes where they may not provide the
services but if someone they are serving discloses they would refer them elsewhere. Specifically,
they serve child victims, but child victims of sexual abuse are referred to the CAC.
Adult crimes
• 14 respondents answered these items with no difficulty.
• 6 respondents were not sure what “homicide survivors” referred to. 2 thought it meant
someone who survives a homicide attempt and 1 suggested “surviving family members of
homicide victims.” 3 preferred “co-victims of homicide.”
• 1 respondent suggested we clarify that elder abuse, physical assault, and homicide do not
include incidents that are part of domestic violence.
Targeted crimes
• 11 respondents had no issue with answering these categories.
• 4 respondents in Round 1 were unsure about hate crimes. One of these said that, while the
victim may believe the offense was a hate crime, it may not fall within the legal definition; this
person noted that this is a BJS survey so responses should be legally accurate.
• 9 respondents in Round 1 were unfamiliar with “honor-related violence.” One person who did
not understand it would answer “yes” because she focused on the language in the parenthetical
regarding threats and violence.
• 2 respondents did not understand what we meant by “community violence.”
• 1 respondent didn’t know what was meant by labor trafficking. “The people doing the
trafficking?”
• 1 respondent was unsure what to put for DUI/DWI because they only served people where that
crime results in death.
Financial crimes
• Respondents had no trouble understanding what was being asked.
• 1 respondent stated that these crimes can be hard to disentangle from other crimes in which
they may be occurring, like human trafficking.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Property crime
• No respondents had difficulty answering these.
Other crimes
• Several other crime types were offered, including sexual harassment, attempted homicide
where there wasn’t a physical assault (hired a killer, etc.), tampering with a witness, arson,
kidnapping, child pornography, child sexual exploitation, immigration-related threats, cyberstalking or technology-facilitated abuse, international child abduction, families of victims of
suicide or accidental death, missing persons, and officer-involved shootings.
Overall
• Several respondents were confused by the “primary/secondary” distinction that appears in the
instruction prior to the matrix for G11, however, several others readily understood the
distinction and referred to it in their responses.
• The list is not too long – breaking it up helps.
• Some respondents slipped into answering about crimes they would provide services for, not
those they did in the past year.
• While most respondents could answer easily, a few wanted to check their records for some of
the crimes (hate crimes, for example) to see whether they had had victims in the past year; also
noted they don’t track everything, such as honor-related violence and intimidation.
Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
The Youth section was amended to clarify that services can be provided to the victim or nonoffending
parent or caregiver. “Survivors of homicide” was changed to “Homicide (serving surviving family
members). The phrase “in the name of family honor” was underlined to improve understanding. The
term “community violence” was eliminated.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
G 11. Please report whether your organization provided services for victims of the following types of
crime or abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any crime types for which your
organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime type.)
Youth (under age 18; services to victim or nonoffending parent or caregiver)
Child physical abuse or neglect
Child rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Child witness of violence
Child marriage or forced marriage
Adults molested/abused as children
Adults
Domestic violence/dating violence/violation of DV protective orders
Stalking/violation of stalking protective orders
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse (other than against children)
Physical Assault (other than domestic/dating violence, child/elder
abuse, or rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse) (including attempted
homicide; gun violence; strangulation; threat with a weapon, etc.)
Robbery
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Homicide (serving surviving family members; includes murder, nonnegligent manslaughter)
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (racial/religious/ethnic or national
origin/disability/gender/sexual orientation)
Honor related violence (physical violence/threats/retaliation in the
name of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Gang violence
Terrorism/mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes – specify _____________________
Other property crimes – specify __________________
Other – specify ____________________
45

Yes

No

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Findings from Cognitive Testing—Round 2
Youth crimes
• 17 respondents answered these items without difficulty.
• 2 respondents weren’t sure “adults molested as children” should be combined with Youth
crimes.
Adult crimes
• 15 respondents answered these items with no difficulty.
• 1 respondent suggested we clarify that elder abuse, physical assault, and homicide do not
include incidents that are part of domestic violence.
• 1 respondent considered referring individuals out as providing the service.
Targeted crimes
• 15 respondents understood these items clearly.
• 1 respondent was unfamiliar with “honor-related violence.”
• 1 respondent wanted a definition of mass violence: 4 or more?
Financial crimes
• Respondents had no trouble understanding what was being asked.
• 1 respondent stated that these crimes can be hard to disentangle from other crimes in which
they may be occurring.
Property crime
• One respondent was not sure what the difference was between robbery and burglary.
Other crimes
• Several other crime types were offered, including sexual harassment, car-jacking, attempted
murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson, community violence, child pornography, child
sexual exploitation, bullying, electronic harassment, violation of protective orders, reckless
driving, hit-and-run, distracted driving, motor vehicle collision, vehicular manslaughter from
traffic crashes not related to DUI, and substance abuse-related offenses.
Overall
• One respondent noted they don’t serve secondary crime types.
• All other respondents understood the instructions and thought the question worked overall.
Final Recommendation
•

The phrase “regardless of whether it was the presenting or secondary crime” should be changed
to “regardless of whether it was the crime for which the victim first sought services, or a crime
that was identified later and for which your organization also provided services to the victim.”

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Focus of Services

2017 NCVSP
G12. Is your organization’s mission to serve victims who have experienced specific types of crime or
abuse? (e.g., domestic violence, trafficking, rape or sexual assault, or some other specific type of crime or
trauma)
Yes  Proceed to G12.1
No  Skip to G13]
G12.1 Indicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse: (These are broad categories which may not reflect
the detailed focus of some organizations. Please do your best to fit your organization within the general
categories provided.)
Check all that apply
Yes
No
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Domestic violence/dating violence
Physical abuse/neglect
Financial exploitation/identity theft/fraud
Community violence/gang violence
Survivors of homicide
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Terrorism/mass violence
Hate crimes
Other (specify)
(Continued below)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

2017 NCVSP (Cont.)
G13. Is your organization’s mission to provide services to specific groups of victims?
Yes  Proceed to G13.1
No  Skip to H1]

G13.1 If specific group(s) please specify. (These are broad categories which may not reflect the detailed
focus of some organizations. Please do your best to fit your organization within the general categories
provided.)
Check all that apply

Yes

No

Child victims
Adolescent/teen victims
Elder victims
Female victims
Male victims
Victims of color
Indigenous victims, including tribal
Immigrant/refugee/limited English proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims
Victims with disabilities
Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims
Incarcerated victims
Other (specify) ___________________________________________________

While the intent of this question series had been to measure the VSPs who limit their services, a review
of the 2017 NCVSP responses revealed that many respondents indicated their mission was tied to
certain forms of victimization or types of victims, but then selected so many response categories it
seemed unlikely their responses reflected their mission. The question was revised to highlight a
limitation of services, to broaden the lists of victimizations and populations, and to better capture those
providers who limit services to certain victims suffering certain forms of crime or abuse.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test
G12. Do any of the following statements describe the types of victims or survivors your organization
serves? (select only one)
We only provide services to victims of particular types of crimes (such as domestic
violence, trafficking, identity theft, etc.)  Proceed to G12.1
We only provide services to specific populations of victims, regardless of the type of
crime (such as children, immigrants, etc.)  Skip to G12.2]
We only provide services to specific populations who have experienced specific
types of crime or abuse (such as child victims of sexual abuse, older adults who
experienced identity theft, etc.)  Proceed to G12.1 and G12.2
None of the above  Skip to Section H [staffing]
G12.1 Indicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse you are able to serve: (i.e., you could provide
services to a victim of this crime, even if they had not suffered any other type of crime) Please do your
best to fit your organization within the general categories provided.)
Check all that apply

Yes

Any/all felonies
Any/all violent crime
Community violence/gang violence
Domestic violence/dating violence
DUI/DWI crashes
Financial exploitation/identity theft/fraud
Hate crimes
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Physical abuse/neglect
Physical assault (including attempted homicide; gun violence; strangulation;
threat with a weapon, etc.)
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Stalking
Survivors of homicide (including murder, non-negligent manslaughter)
Terrorism/mass violence
Other (specify)
(Continued below)
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test (Cont.)
G12.2 Indicate the specific populations of victims you are able to serve: (i.e., you could provide
services to a victim who was within this population) Please do your best to fit your organization within
the general categories provided.)
Check all that apply

Yes

No

Child victims
Adolescent/teen victims
Elder victims/dependent adult victims
Female victims
Male victims
Victims of color OR victims of specific racial or ethnic groups please specify?
Indigenous victims, including Native American or Alaska Native
Immigrant/refugee/limited English proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims
Victims with disabilities
Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims
Formerly incarcerated victims
Incarcerated victims
Other (specify) ___________________________________________________

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
G12 (Focus on types of victims or survivors served Y/N)
•
•
•

•

•

16 respondents in Round 1 were able to answer the question easily or with some thought.
5 respondents did not understand the question generally; either it was too general or too
wordy.
1 respondent stated that was hard to select just one choice because of different grants covering
multiple VS programs. Some organizations have a main program that is directed to one group or
crime, but another program that serves people more broadly, making it difficult to classify their
agency.
Several people say they serve anyone who comes to them, and so would select “none.” In some
cases this is accurate, but one respondent was a DV/SA coalition that selected “none” because
they will turn no one away.
2 individuals were confused by seeing the list of crimes in G12.1 on the same screen, thinking
they needed to serve all of them to answer G12.
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

G12.1 (Crime types served)
•
•

•
•

7 respondents in Round 1 found this question clear OR could answer it after some thought.
When suggested to narrow down to three choices during Round 1:
o 2 respondents found that easy.
o 2 respondents found that difficult.
1 respondent in Round 1 asked us not to lump community violence and gang violence together
as that has racial undertones.
1 respondent in Round 1 stated they would like to see specified forms of violence other than
domestic violence say “other than domestic violence” afterward, otherwise they will select all.

G12.2 (Victim subpopulations served)
•
•
•
•
•

2 respondents in Round 1 did not have difficulty answering this question.
2 respondents stated that their focus population encompasses all the others (one immigrant
organization and one organization serving minors), so they would select all.
Several respondents felt compelled to select “female” because it was listed, though they did not
ordinarily identify them as a special population.
1 respondent during Round 1 stated that limiting their answer to three choices would be
difficult.
1 respondent in Round 1 stated that Limited English Proficiency and immigrant/refugee should
be separated, as it is in California regulations.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
The question series was revised from asking about limited services (“we only serve”) to “focused”
services. The series was simplified by asking about different areas of focus (victimization vs. population)
in separate questions.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
G12. In general, do your victim services focus on victims of particular crimes or abuse (such as
domestic violence, trafficking, family members of homicide victims, etc.), or do you provide
services to victims regardless of crime or abuse?
Our services focus on particular types of crime or abuse [move to G12.1]
Our services do not focus on particular types of crime or abuse  skip to G12.2
G12.1 Indicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse your victim services focus on. (i.e., you
focus on victims who are seeking services because of this type of crime or abuse) Please do your
best to fit your organization within the general categories provided.)
[list unchanged from Round 1]
G12.2. In general, do your victim services focus on specific populations of victims (such as
certain racial or ethnic groups of victims, victims with disabilities, victims who are LGBTQ, etc.) or
do you provide services regardless of the victim’s characteristics?
Our services focus on specific populations of victims [go to G12.3]
Our services do not focus on specific populations of victims  Skip to Section H.
G12.3 Indicate the specific populations of victims your victim services focus on: (i.e., you focus
services on victims who are part of this population) Please do your best to fit your organization
within the general categories provided.)
[list unchanged from Round 1]

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
G12 (Focus on particular crimes? Y/N)
•
•
•
•

•

15 respondents in Round 2 could answer this question easily or after some thought.
Organizations with some services focused on particular crimes and others that serve victims
generally struggled (1).
One respondent said they do not focus even though they are an impaired driving organization.
One was confused by seeing the list of crimes on the same screen.
o NOTE: It appears there are some issues of questions throughout this section appearing
on the same screen causing confusion that may be resolved by having them appear on
separate screens. This will be addressed in the recommendations.
Simplify and shorten the wording of this question. Note: See recommendations.

G12.1 (Crime Types of focus matrix)
•

7 respondents in Round 2 could answer this question easily or after some thought.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•
•

3 respondents forgot the question was asking about crime they focus on and started checking
off every crime for which they have seen a victim.
One respondent could limit their response to 3 choices when pressed.

G12.2 (Focus on particular subpopulations? Y/N)
•
•
•

14 respondents in Round 2 could answer this question easily or after some thought.
One respondent confused crime types and sub-populations.
One respondent would have answered G12.2 differently if she had known that G12.3 included
women, children, elderly in addition to underrepresented groups.

G12.3 (Subpopulations of focus matrix)
•
•
•

3 respondents in Round 2 could answer this question easily or after some thought.
3 respondents could not narrow down to 3 choices when pressed for focus.
2 respondents appeared to get confused when they did not see all choices on one screen.

Final Recommendations
G12, G12.1, G12.2, and G12.3, which ask programs to specify which crime types and/or subpopulations
they focus on (if any), presented particular difficulty in both rounds of testing. Some of these may be
helped by rewording questions, and others may be helped by adjusting which questions are displayed
together or separated on different screens.
Display recommendations:
•
•

Do not split G12.1 between multiple screens for desktop. This may change for mobile.
Do not split G12.3 between multiple screens. This may change for mobile.

Language recommendations:
•
•
•
•
•

Simplify the language of G12 and G12.2
Limit the number of response options to 4 or fewer.
In the matrices (G12.1 and 12.3) reorder the response options and group them to make them
easier to comprehend.
Delete “community violence” from “gang violence” to match G11.
For rape/sexual assault, physical abuse or neglect, physical assault, and financial exploitation or
identity theft, specify “other than in domestic or dating violence.”

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H. Staffing
The 2017 NCVSP asked about the number of current staff, the number of staff employed at the
beginning of the previous fiscal or calendar year, and the number of staff hired during the previous fiscal
or calendar year. This information was intended to enable a calculation of the turnover rate of
employees.

2017 NCVSP
H2. 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.
________

Check box if estimate □

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.
________

Check box if estimate □

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 □

H6. How many paid full-time staff dedicated to working with victims did your organization 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 □

H7. How many paid part-time staff dedicated to working with victims did your organization 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 □

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

In an attempt to improve the calculation of a turnover rate, new questions were drafted and tested to
capture the number of staff who had left their position during the previous fiscal or calendar year.

Round 1 Cognitive Test (New)
H5. How many paid full-time staff (35 hours or more/week) dedicated to working with victims left
their position with your organization during the past calendar/ fiscal year, whether dismissed,
resigned, retired, transferred to a non-direct services position, etc.? 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 □

H6. How many paid part-time staff (less than 35 hours/week) designated to work with victims left their
position with your organization during the past calendar/fiscal year whether dismissed, resigned,
retired, transferred to a non-direct services position, etc.? 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 □

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•

•
•

•

While smaller organizations (17) were able to answer this easily, 11 respondents indicated they
would have to request this information from their HR department or pull several records or emails
to determine, which could add response times ranging from 10 minutes to several days (if
awaiting an email response).
1 respondent wasn’t sure whether to count an employee who took extended leave.
All respondents understood what was being asked. 11 organizations found accessing this data to
answer a survey question challenging. While we did not retest other unchanged staffing questions
(number of staff at beginning of previous calendar/fiscal year; number of staff at end of previous
calendar/fiscal year), it is likely that those who found this question challenging would have the
same issue with all staffing questions.
It was also important to remind individuals whether they said they were:
o answering for their whole organization or just their program if multiservice agency, and
o answering for their whole organization or just their site if part of a multisite organization.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
After consulting with BJS on the level of detail required for their purposes, a simpler set of hiring
questions was proposed and tested in Round 2. The purpose of this revision was to simplify the section
and prevent potential attrition before the survey is complete and still provide meaningful information
on VSP staffing. The revised section is presented below, followed by the cognitive testing results for this
version and recommendations for the final instrument. Additionally, skip logic was used to direct
respondents to versions of H1 and H2 worded to fit their organizational type.

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test
[IF A1 = PRIMARY]
H1. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work at your organization fulltime (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.
________

Check box if estimate □

[IF A1 = EMBEDDED/MULTISITE]
H1. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work in your program fulltime (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.
________

Check box if estimate □

[IF A1 = PRIMARY]
H2. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work at your organization
part-time (34 hours or less/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.
________

Check box if estimate □

[IF A1 = EMBEDDED/MULTISITE]
H2. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work in your program
parttime (34 hours or less/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.
________

Check box if estimate □

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
Respondents made similar comments for both H1 and H2.
•
•
•
•
•
•

17 found these questions clear and easy to understand.
4 stated that they would have to ask HR or another staff member for this information.
11 could easily answer these questions.
11 stated that these questions would be easier to answer if they were multiple choice and
they could select a range.
3 would rather provide an exact number than answer a multiple-choice question.
1 respondent said it would be better to ask the overall FTE dedicated to the program.
Additionally, are we asking whether these are full-time or part-time employees or whether
they are dedicated to the program full-time or part-time. Few of her staff work on victim
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•

services exclusively. Multiple-choice (categorical responses including ranges) would not help
her more than giving an exact number. She also wanted to be able to say she is expecting a
large cut in VOCA funding and is expecting to have to reduce staff as a result.
1 respondent said that we should clarify whether we are asking about staff that provide
direct services only or staff numbers for the whole agency; specifically, she did not know
whether she should include her fundraiser in the count.

Final Recommendations:
•
•
•

Clarify that we are asking about total staff that directly serve victims.
Include language in the invitation that we will be asking basic questions about current staff
that directly serve victims.
Ask H1 and H2 in multiple-choice format. Use a 7-choice scale:
o 1
o 2–3
o 4 - 10
o 11 – 20
o 21 - 30
o 31 – 100
o More than 100
o No full-time staff (or No part-time staff)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

I. Funding
2017 NCVSP
I1. 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 all sources of funding received for victim-related programming
or services. Estimates are acceptable.
Amount $_________________

Check box if estimate

I2. Did your organization receive funding for victim-related programming and services from each of
the following sources during the past calendar/fiscal year? If yes, enter the dollar amount. The total
amount across all sources should equal the amount provided in item I1. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if information on amount of funding by source is not available
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Other U.S. Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Other Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) funding,
Including all other grants funded under the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA)
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
(Continued below)
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

2017 NCVSP (Cont.)
Other federal funding (please specify) _____________________________
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
State government funding (NOT state disbursement of federal grant)
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Local government funding
Yes $_______________
No

Check box if estimate

Tribal government funding
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No
Other funding sources (e.g., foundations, corporate funding,
Individual donation, insurance reimbursements, etc.)
Yes $_______________
Check box if estimate
No

Funding questions presented several problems in the 2017 NCVSP. Many embedded programs asked
about their total victim services budget often provided a figure more in line with the total agency
budget. Many questions resulted in missing data. Different revisions were tested in Rounds 1 and 2 to
see which respondents could more easily answer to provide meaningful data and prevent attrition.

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Round 1 Cognitive Test
[PROGRAMMING: remind people who are Parent/HQ organizations that they previously indicated they
were responding either
a) for just their location OR
b) across all locations]
I1. What was your organization’s total annual budget for the past calendar/fiscal year?
Amount $_________________

Check box if estimate

[FOR EMBEDDED PROGRAMS OTHER THAN NONPROFITS:]
I2. Was all or part of your victim services programming supported by your organization’s internal
budget in the past calendar/fiscal year?
Yes
No
Amount $___________________________

Check box if estimate

I3. What was your organization’s total budget for victim-related programming and services during the
past calendar/fiscal year? (Victim-related programming and services includes direct services, prevention,
outreach, training, and education efforts.)
Amount $___________ _ Check box if estimate
[INSTRUCTION] The following questions ask about external sources of funding, and will help us better
understand the mix of funding supporting victim-related programming and services.
Please indicate whether your victim services budget in the past calendar/fiscal year included funding
from any of the following. If so, please provide an amount (estimates are acceptable).
I4. Local government funding specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $__________________________

Check box if estimate

I5. Tribal government funding specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $___________________________

(Continued below)
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ϒ Check box if estimate

National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 1 Cognitive Test (Cont)
I6. Foundations, private donations, and other fundraising specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $ ____________________________

Check box if estimate

I7. Which of the following federal and state sources supported your victim services budget in the past
calendar/fiscal year, if any?
Federal funding, including funding passed through a state administrator as a subgrant
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Funding
Yes
Other funding from the Office for Victims of Crime
Yes
Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) grant
Yes
Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) funding
Yes
Other funding from the Office on Violence Against Women
Yes
Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) funding
Yes
Other federal funding
Yes
If yes, please specify ____________________________
State funding
Yes

No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No

I8. Did you receive victim services funding from any additional sources in the past calendar/fiscal year?
Yes

Please specify: _____________________________
Amount $___________________________

Check box if estimate

No
I9. Did your organization receive any federal funding for victim programming or services within the past
5 years? (This could include funding from VOCA grants; OVC grants; a STOP, SASP, or other VAWA grant;
or some other funding coming from a federal agency.)
Yes
No

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•

•

The entire section remains problematic and challenging. 12 respondents struggled with
providing estimates and 3 others who gave estimates were not confident in them. Many
embedded programs said “I have no idea” when asked about their overall organization’s budget
(which was inserted as a way to help them focus on the next question, re. VS-specific budget).
1 stated, "It is difficult for nonprofits to isolate their funding estimates to a year. Their grants all
run through different 12-month cycles."
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

•
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

13 indicated that they would not have an issue obtaining the information but that it may take
several hours/days/weeks to gather.
3 expressed confusion over what to include in the VS budget. Even if they tried to calculate it, 1
did not know whether to include a salary and 2 did not include fringe benefits or indirect in their
estimating.
4 were confused over the item related to local government funding, interpreting this to include
state funding as well.
5 were confused by the meaning of “internal budget” in I3, particularly whether this meant from
the agency of which the VS program is a part or grant-funded.
5 were confused over whether certain grants were federal or state.
4 multiservice agency respondents were confused over whether we wanted the entire agency
budget or just the victim services division in some of the later questions.
1 suggested that information be included in the invitation to have basic budget numbers handy
before answering the survey.
2 were not comfortable sharing budget numbers due to politics over government funding.
5 found reporting percentages of their budget made up of particular sources easier than dollar
amounts during Round 1 testing.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
This section was significantly revamped and simplified to promote completion and provide meaningful
information while reducing attrition. The revised section is presented below before the cognitive testing
results for this version.

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Round 2 Cognitive Test
[IF A1.6 = MULTISITE
Reminder: you indicated you are responding for [your location only/the entire victim services
programming] in your organization.
OR
This next question refers to overall funding and funding sources. Will you be responding for
funding at your location only, or across the victim service programming for all locations?
My location
All victim service programming across the organization]
I2. What is the estimated total annual funding for your victim service programming? Please make
your best estimate.
Less than $100,000
$100,000 to $500,000
$500,000 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
More than $5 million
I3. Is your victim service programming currently supported by any grants?
Yes  proceed to I4
No  skip to section K
Unsure  skip to section K
I4. Which type of grant(s) are you currently receiving? Check all that apply.
Federal grants passed through a state or local agency (including but not limited to Victims of
Crime (VOCA); Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP); Services, Training, Officers, and
Prosecutors (STOP); Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA); Community
Development Block Grants (CDBG))
Other federal grants (directly from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office on Violence Against
Women, Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, or others)
State or local government grants that are NOT pass-through federal grants (they are funded
only with state or local dollars)
Non-government grants, including from foundations, corporations, non-profits, or other nongovernment source

(Continued below)

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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Round 2 Cognitive Test (Cont.)
[FOR THOSE SELECTING FEDERAL GRANTS]
I5. Please estimate the percentage of your victim services budget supported by federal grants (including
those passed through a state or local agency):
Less than 25%
25% to 49%
50% to 74%
75% - 100%

As part of Round 2, testers were asked whether the following information, provided in advance, would
have helped them prepare for the questions in this section.

Round 2 Cognitive Test
(Potential language for the survey invitation to assist respondents)
“This questionnaire will include questions about your total victim services budget, the categories of grants
you receive, and the estimated percentage of your budget supported by federal grants. We recommend you
have basic budget information handy before starting the survey.”

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•

•

Instruction:
o 10 respondents thought this was clear and could answer whom they were reporting for.
o 1 thought we should specify whether we want total funding or victim services funding.
o 1 thought we should specify “all sites/locations providing victim services” in the second
choice.
I2: Total annual funding for victim services programming (multiple choice)
o 14 respondents found this question clear and could answer it.
o 3 respondents still found estimating “annual” numbers difficult because of multiyear grants.
One said we should specify “per year” in each answer choice as well.
o 2 were still confused about what to include. While 1 individual in Round 1 did not know
whether to include salaries and fringe, another individual in Round 2 did not know whether
we wanted salaries only, and was unsure whether to include shelter costs.
o Only 3 said this would take some time or they would have to ask someone.
o 1 person asked whether we were asking what they had been granted, or what they had
actually received.
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•
•

•

•

I3: Everyone could answer this. (Only one reported receiving no grants)
I4 (Types of grants receiving):
o 16 respondents found this question clear and could answer it.
o 1 would have to ask someone for the information.
o 1 wanted a choice for “Grants, but unsure of type,”
o 2 noted that they have some grants that support other activities but not victim services; one
of those suggested the question include “specifically funding victim services” to clarify.
I5 (Percentage of victim services budget supported by federal grants):
o 11 respondents found this question clear and could answer it.
o 4 would have to ask someone for the information.
o 1 respondent wanted an answer choice for “unsure.”
o 1 said it was difficult to identify grants that were pass-through federal funding.
Proposed language for the survey invitation:
o 17 agreed that this language was helpful and clear.
o 3 EDs stated that other EDs should know this.
o 1 person noted that the last sentence should say “this” basic budget information because
otherwise they would be tempted to gather much more information than they will actually
need
o 1 suggested we ask the respondent’s role at the beginning of the survey and not ask the
funding questions if the respondent is an advocate.

Final Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•

For multisite organizations ask again whether they are responding for funding for all victim services
or just victim services at their location.
Clarify I2 to note that it includes all costs, not only personnel.
Amend choices in I2 to add “per year” for clarity.
Add “supporting victim services” to the main question text of I4.
Use the advance instruction, but either delete the second sentence or add the word “this” as in “this
basic budget information”.

J. Recordkeeping
These questions presented no problem in 2017, so will remain unchanged.

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K. Issues of Concern to VSPs
This section of the instrument is designed to be topical. SME advisors discussed the 6 issue questions
used in the 2017 NCVSP and suggested other questions that are of particular current interest.
Three new questions were drafted and tested, two general issue questions and one series of questions
intended to capture the impact of COVID-19 on victim services.

General Issues of Concern
Round 1 Cognitive Test
K1. How concerned are you about vicarious trauma and staff burnout at your organization?
(“Vicarious trauma” refers to exposure to the trauma of others that puts people at risk for a range of
negative consequences.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
K2. How concerned are you about your organization’s ability to reach and serve all people equally?
(This includes but is not limited to racial equity, gender identity/sexual orientation equity, equity for
those with disabilities, and equity for those with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•

K1: As re-written above, this question was clear and answerable by all respondents.
K2 (reaching all people):
o Embedded respondents were confused as to whether they should be answering for just
victim services or their entire organization.
o Some respondents wondered if “people” was broader than “survivors” and included
offenders.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
K1 was not revised or retested.
K2 was re-worded to specify that it related to victim services and not the organization as a whole.

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Round 2 Cognitive Test
K2. How concerned are you about the ability of your victim service program to reach and serve all
victims equally? (This includes but is not limited to racial or gender identity/sexual orientation equity,
equity for those with disabilities, and equity for those with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Findings from Cognitive Test – Round 2
•
•
•
•

13 respondents found the question clear and could answer.
2 were less concerned about specifically reaching marginalized communities as they were about
reaching everyone.
1 interpreted “concern” as saying they could improve. Another felt that using the word
“concern” made it sound like they were doing something wrong.
1 interpreted “concern” to mean prioritize and that they want to keep on doing what they’re
doing to address it.

Final Recommendations
• Keep K1 as tested in Round 1
• Keep K2 as tested in Round 2

COVID-19 Pandemic Effects
This section also included a new question series to explore possible impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
on organizations and the provision of services.

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Round 1 Cognitive Test (New)
K.7 Have you made or experienced any changes in your organization or the way you deliver services
because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
□ YES [Complete table]
□ NO
This change
did not
happen

This change
happened
temporarily

This change has
continued through
the present

Staff resigned
Staff were laid-off
Staff worked partially or fully remote
In-person meetings with victims were
suspended
Virtual and phone meetings with victims
increased
Psychological services or support groups were
conducted via phone or online video platform
Shelters were partially or fully closed
Court-services in our service area were partially
or fully suspended
Court proceedings were held virtually
Service needs changed as some crimes
increased or decreased
Service needs changed due to increased levels
or severity of violence
Other changes
K.7a. If you had other changes in your services or service delivery, what were they? ____________
Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 1
•
•
•

•

Respondents in Round 1 were confused as to whether they were answering for their
organization or location, all locations in their organization, or in their communities in general (4).
At least 4 lost track that they were being asked about changes due to COVID rather than
generally.
1 interviewee indicated that not all staff were required to work remotely as a result of the
pandemic. This is particularly challenging to answer for organizations with essential workers
(e.g., staff at DV shelters, DOC) where some staff may be asked to work remotely and others
may not have an option.
Others were unsure which staff to include. All mentions of “Staff” changed to “Victim Services
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•
•
•
•
•

staff” for Round 2.
Many of these service changes do not apply to particular types of providers, if the questions
relate to their own services (not all providers offer shelter, for example).
For suspended services (in-person meetings with victims), say “fully or partially suspended” to
capture nuances where some meetings were still occurring in person, but not all (3).
1 respondent in Round 1 preferred that “court proceedings” be broadened to “criminal justice
proceedings, while another in Round 1 preferred “court proceedings.”
2 interviewees who provided responses for the “Other” covid question indicated that dialogue
between agencies was severely impacted.
2 individuals started at their organizations after COVID, so could not answer.

Revisions for Round 2 Cognitive Testing
The question was revised for Round 2. A column header, “For COVID-related Reasons” was added. The
question about remote work was revised to read “Victim services staff worked partially or fully remote”.
The questions regarding psychological services or support groups, shelters, and court services, were
removed from the list in favor of broader categories.

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Round 2 Cognitive Test
K.7 Have you made or experienced any changes in your organization or the way you deliver services
because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
□ YES [Complete table]
□ NO
For COVID-related reasons…
Victim services staff resigned
Victim services staff were laid-off
Victim services staff worked partially or fully
remote
In-person meetings with victims were
suspended
Virtual and phone meetings with victims
increased
Court proceedings were held virtually
Service needs changed as some crimes
increased or decreased
Service needs changed due to increased levels
or severity of violence
Other changes

This change
did not
happen

This change
happened
temporarily

This change has
continued through
the present

K.7a. If you had other changes in your services or service delivery, what were they? _____________

Findings from Cognitive Testing – Round 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

11 respondents in Round 2 were able to easily answer the revised matrix items.
1 respondent noted that “Have you” implies ongoing changes, and recommended “Did you”
which could relate to temporary or ongoing changes.
1 respondent in Round 2 still found it difficult to attribute staff changes to COVID.
3 respondents noted that some, but not all, of their in-person meetings were suspended so they
weren’t sure how to respond.
1 respondent in Round 2 stated that not all court proceedings were virtual, but some were, and
they wanted a way to say that.
2 respondents in Round 2 had difficulty distinguishing between “crimes increasing or
decreasing” and “levels of violence,” and would prefer one consolidated category.
1 respondent said that changing “crimes increasing or decreasing” to “the number of crimes
increased or decreased” would make it easier to see the difference between that question and
the following question regarding levels of violence.
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Final Recommendations
•
•

In the question before the matrix itself, change “Have you” to “Did you“ and add a third answer
choice: N/A – our organization was started after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Change “In-person meetings” to “Some or all in-person meetings”
o Clarify the difference between the two questions regarding service changes by
rewording the first: “Service needs changed because the numbers of some crimes went
up or down” and rewording the second: “Service needs changed as the levels or severity
of violence used in crimes or abuse increased.”
o Delete the “Court proceedings” item as well. Many do not know the answer to this for
their communities. Legal services providers can enter this on the “other” line.
o Delete “other” from the matrix since the response options don’t fit an open-ended
response.

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Appendix 1. Cognitive Testing Sample Emails
RECRUITMENT LANGUAGE FOR SME USE

Dear ________________________
I am reaching out to invite you to participate in a cognitive test of the 2023 National
Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP). I am participating as a subject matter
advisor on this project and am helping to make sure that this NCVSP works for the wide
range of victim service providers in our part of the field. Your participation is completely
voluntary, but I think that your perspective would be important to include in this test.
The NCVSP is a data collection of the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the U.S. Department
of Justice, and an important part of its Victim Services Statistical Research Program. The
work is being carried out under cooperative agreement #15PBJS-21-GK-02597-RESS with
the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), Westat, and the National
Organization for Victim Assistance. This data collection will help to inform state and
federal planners, funders, and others. That is why we are working to make sure the
survey works for all types of providers, including Tribal programs.
If you are able to participate, please let me know and I will connect you to Susan Howley
at JRSA, who will schedule the interview, which should take no more than an hour and
will take place via video call. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the
NCVSP or plans for testing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Susan Howley, the
project director at JRSA, at [email protected].

SAMPLE FOLLOW-UP EMAIL TO VSP TO SCHEDULE INTERVIEW
Hello, Ms. _______.
_________ at _________ me know that you might be able to help test some new and revised questions
for the upcoming National Census of Victim Service Providers. We would really appreciate having
someone in a _________ victim service setting give us feedback!
We are using Calendly to set these one-hour video sessions. Just click on the earliest convenient date
and time. Calendly will match you to an interviewer who is available at that time—myself or a
colleague—and set the appointment.
https://calendly.com/d/g45-yvy-hdv/ncvsp-cognitive-interview
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These interviews are pretty straightforward. We will show you one question at a time, you indicate how
you might answer it, and we ask a few follow-up questions about how you interpreted certain terms or
whether there was anything unclear about the question or response choices.
We are very much looking forward to seeing whether these questions make sense for a program like
yours. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.
And thank you!

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Appendix 2: NCVSP 2023 Cognitive Testing Protocol Round 1
Contents
Prior to the interview .............................................................................................................................. 75
Obtaining Informed Consent .................................................................................................................. 75
Verbal Consent Certification and Signature........................................................................................ 76
Verbal Consent for Recording and Signature...................................................................................... 76
Introduction to purpose and procedures of interview ........................................................................... 77
Protocol Note: These questions will be presented one at a time on slides. The skip logic instructions
will not appear on the slides but is provided here for review purposes. ............................................... 78
Section S: Screening ................................................................................................................................ 78
SECTION A ................................................................................................................................................... 80
SECTION D ................................................................................................................................................... 83
SECTION G ................................................................................................................................................... 86
Organizations restricted to serving certain groups of victims or victims of certain crimes. .................. 90
SECTION H ................................................................................................................................................... 93
SECTION I .................................................................................................................................................... 94
SECTION K ................................................................................................................................................... 97
COVID-Related Organizational Impacts .................................................................................................. 98

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Prior to the interview
1. Send recruitment email
2. Schedule interview
3. Once you log on to interview with the participant, go through the informed consent form with
them and request permission to record the interview:

Obtaining Informed Consent
Hello. My name is [NAME] and I work for [AGENCY]. Thank you for agreeing to participate in
this interview. Before we begin, I am going to discuss some details about the interview. This is
all information that was included in the e-mail you received, but I want to go over the key
points together.
• This interview will last about 1 hour.
• Taking part in the interview is up to you. You can ask to skip any questions you do not
want to answer. If you decide at any point you do not want to finish, you can ask to
stop.
• To keep your information private, we will not use your names in notes or reports. The
information provided in the interview will only be used in summary form. Nothing that
you say will be directly shared outside of the project team.
• We would like to request to record the audio and video of the interview to ensure our
notes are accurate. You can say yes or no. All recordings and notes will be stored safely
and then destroyed at the end of the study.
• During the conversation, we will be discussing what you think about the questions on
the survey itself and if you think we are asking the right questions in the right way.
If you have questions as we go, please feel free to ask.
Do you wish to continue with this interview? [Wait for response.]
Yes- great! If you have any questions about the study after we are done, I will provide you with contact
information for Susan S. Howley in the chat ([email protected]; (202) 503-3524). Her information is also
provided in the email.

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Verbal Consent Certification and Signature
I certify that the nature and purpose, the potential benefits, and possible risks associated with
participating in this interview have been explained to the below-named individual and that I fully and
accurately answered their questions.
___________________________________
First name of participant

____________________________________

_______________

Signature of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

Date

___________________________________
Printed Name of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

We would like to record the audio of the interview to help us make sure our notes are accurate. You can
say yes or no. Is it okay if I audio record this interview? [Wait for response.]

Verbal Consent for Recording and Signature

__________________________________
First name of participant

____________________________________

_______________

Signature of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

Date

___________________________________
Printed Name of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

If you do not have any questions, we can begin. [Wait for response.]
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Introduction to purpose and procedures of interview
On behalf of the [AGENCY/PROJECT PARTNERS], I would like to thank you for taking the time to speak
with me today. I greatly appreciate it.
Purpose: The purpose of this interview is to get your feedback on some survey questions for our
upcoming National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP). The National Census of Victim Service
Providers (NCVSP) is designed to fill existing gaps in knowledge and information on the variety of
organizations and programs 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.
This project is a joint effort between the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), Westat, and
the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) on behalf of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
This survey was previously administered in 2017 and before we conduct it again, we would like to test
some of the additions and changes we have made since the prior iteration. We want to understand what
the questions mean to you. Your feedback will help us improve the questions and make them as clear as
possible.
Procedure: I would like you to please answer these questions to the best of your knowledge and to
know that there are no right or wrong answers. After some of the survey questions, I may stop and ask
you follow-up questions to better understand your answer and the way you thought about the question.
Most of my follow-up questions will ask what you thought about certain words or phrases or what you
think a question is trying to ask.
As we are going through the survey, please feel free to tell me anything that comes to mind or to ask me
anything you are unclear about. Feel free to tell me what you are thinking as you are answering these
questions. We want your honest opinions about what you like and dislike and what you do and don’t
understand so we can improve this survey. I also want to remind you that you do not have to answer
any questions you do not want to, and you can end the interview at any time. If I ask you a question you
do not want to answer, you can just say “Pass.”
I will share my screen and pull up the survey questions for us to review. I ask that you read it on your
own and then verbally tell me which of the response options you select. After you read the question in
your head and tell me your response, I will likely follow up with a few questions about how you came to
your answer or what a specific word means to you and then we will move on to the next question.
Do you have any questions before we begin? [LAUNCH SCREEN SHARE, AND CONFIRM PARTICIPANT
CAN SEE THE SCREEN]

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Protocol Note: These questions will be presented one at a time on slides. The skip
logic instructions will not appear on the slides but is provided here for review
purposes.

Section S: Screening
S2. Has your organization or any programs/staff within your organization intentionally provided
services to victims/survivors of crime or abuse in the past six months? By ‘services to victims/survivors
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. This survey will use the term victim
to mean victim/survivor from this point forward.
Yes [proceed to A1]
No [proceed to S2a]
PROBE 1: If we had asked if you had provided services in the past 12 months, would that change your
answer?
PROBE 2: What do you think is meant by “intentionally”?
PROBE: Did you read the information in italics?
FOLLOW UP: If yes, was there anything confusing about it? Are there any examples that should
be added to this list?
S2a. Does your organization maintain an active victim service referral program? This includes, but is
not limited to, hotlines.
Yes [proceed to A1]
No [Screen out questions: Go to S2a.5.]
PROBE: How did you interpret “active victim service referral program”?
IF ANSWER IS YES, PROBE: How did you decide to answer yes to this question?

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S2a.5. To help us update our records, please answer a few additional questions:
a. Has your organization ever provided services to victims of crime or abuse?
Yes
No
b. Does your organization plan to provide services to victims of crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
c. Does your organization indirectly support victims of crime or abuse in any of the following
ways?
A. Contracting out all direct services to another organization.
Yes
No
B. Providing grants or funding to support direct services to victims of crime or abuse.
Yes
No
C. Training and technical assistance for direct service providers or issue advocacy.
Yes
No
D. Other
Yes
No
[if yes] Please specify ________________

PROBE: Was there anything confusing about any of these questions?

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S2b. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government or other tribal organization or entity
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private)
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private)
Government agency
Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
For-profit entity
Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an
organization, registered nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network)
PROBE 1: Did you have any trouble selecting a response?
PROBE 2: Was there anything confusing about the definition of “informal entity” provided here?

SECTION A
A1. Which of the following best describes how your organization is structured to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse?
The primary function of the organization as a whole is to provide services or programming for
victims of crime. [Skip to A1.5]
Victim services or programming are one component of the larger organization’s activities (e.g.,
a hospital, university, community center, law enforcement agency or prosecutors’ office)
[Proceed to A1a]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this to answer? Why?
PROBE 2: What were you considering when answering this question?
OPTIONAL PROBE A if they had difficulty: Can you describe how your organization is structured?

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A1a. Does your organization have a specific program(s) or staff that are designated to work with
victims of crime or abuse?
Yes [Proceed to A1.5]
No [Skip to thank you slide]
IF ANSWER IS NO, CLICK ON “NO” TO GO TO THANK YOU SLIDE
PROBE 1: How do you interpret “specific program(s)”?
PROBE 2: How do you interpret “designated staff”?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How easy or difficult is this question to answer?
OPTIONAL PROBE 2: What do you think this question is asking?

A1.5. Please check the most appropriate description of your organization.
Organization operating through one single location [Skip to A1.6]
One (sub)location of a multi-site organization (such as a branch or satellite office, or a local
chapter of a larger organization) [Proceed to A1.5a]
The headquarters or main office of a multi-site organization (i.e., an office that exercises
operational control over other sites, not merely a membership organization) [Skip to A 1.5b]
TEST WITH ALL TYPES OF PROVIDERS
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to select a response?
PROBE 2: How do you interpret “one sublocation of a multi-site organization”?
PROBE 3: Do you have any other suggestions for how to make this question easier to answer?
AFTER PROBES SELECT ANSWER TO MOVE TO THE CORRECT SLIDE

A1.5a. Please provide the following contact information for your organization's headquarters or main
office:
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
INSTRUCTION – THEY DO NOT NEED TO ANSWER WITH THIS INFORMATION. ASK:
How easy or difficult would this be for you to provide this information?
AFTER ANSWER SELECT “NEXT” ON SCREEN TO MOVE TO A1.6
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A1.5b. Please provide the following contact information for each of your organization's sublocations:
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
[Proceed to A1.7]
INSTRUCTION – THEY DO NOT NEED TO ANSWER WITH THIS INFORMATION. ASK:
How easy or difficult would this be for you to provide this information?
AFTER ANSWER SELECT “NEXT” ON SCREEN TO MOVE TO A1.7
A1.6. Is your organization physically located at the site of another organization (such as a nonprofit
program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law enforcement victim
service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with space in a commercial
establishment)?
Yes [For the next question, regarding organization type, please select the answer that best
describes your own organization rather than the type of organization where you are physically
located.] Skip to A2
[Proceed to A2]
No [Proceed to A2]
PROBE 1: In your own words, what is this question asking?
PROBE 2: IF YES, how did you decide to answer yes to this question?

A1.7. In addition to support you provide to your sublocations, do you offer any direct services to
victims of crime or abuse at your location/headquarters level? (This can include a helpline or hotline.)
Yes [Proceed to A1.8]
No [Proceed to A1.9]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult is this question to answer?
OPTIONAL PROBE: Would you like to have seen another response option (e.g., unknown; previously but
no longer, etc.)?
A1.8. This survey includes questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding. Please
indicate what your responses will encompass:
Responses relate ONLY to the main or headquarters location [Skip to A2]
Responses relate to all locations of this organization (headquarters plus all sublocations)
[Skip to A2]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult is this question to answer?
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PROBE 2: Which approach would be easier for you to take when answering questions about services,
staffing and funding?

A1.9. Are you able to answer questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding for all
your organization’s sublocations?
Yes [Please respond to the remainder of the survey as the questions relate to all of your
organization's sublocations] [Proceed to A2]
No [Move to “Thank you. You may exit the survey” slide]

A2. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government or other tribal organization [Go to Section B [Tribal], page XX]
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private) [Go to Section C
[Campus], page XX
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private) [Go to Section G [Services for
Victims], page XX
Government agency [Go to Section D [Government], page XX]
Nonprofit or faith-based organization (501c3 status) [Go to Section E [Nonprofit or faith-based],
page XX]
For profit organization [Go to Section F [For profit], page XX]
Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an
organization, registered nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network) [Go to Section G [Services for Victims], page
XX]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to choose between the different options?
PROBE 2: In the context of this question, what does the term “best” mean to you?
OPTIONAL PROBE 1: [For organizations that are co-located as indicated in A1.6] how did you
decide how to answer?
PROBE 3: Is there anything confusing about the definition of “informal entity” provided here?
AFTER PROBES SELECT ANSWER TO MOVE TO THE CORRECT SLIDE

SECTION B
Tribal Organizations Only
B1. Which designation best describes your tribal agency or organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement
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Prosecutor’s Office
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections)
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.)
Social services or child/adult protective services
Health services
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other (please specify)____________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
PROBE 1: How did you decide on your answer?
PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
IF ANSWERED OTHER: Why did you select other?
FOLLOW UP: How do you categorize yourself?

SECTION D
Government Agencies Only
D1. Which designation best describes your government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement [proceed to D2]
Prosecutor’s Office (such as District Attorney, County Attorney, etc.) [proceed to D2]
Courts [proceed to D2]
Juvenile justice [proceed to D2]
Social services or child/adult protective services [proceed to D2]
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections) [proceed to D2]
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.) [proceed to D2]
State or territory victim compensation program [proceed to D2]
State or territory victim funding administrator [proceed to D1a]
Other government agency (please specify)_____________ [proceed to D2]
PROBE 1: How did you decide on your answer?
PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
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IF ANSWERED OTHER: Why did you select other?
FOLLOW UP: How do you categorize yourself?
PROBE 3: If we included the term “agency”, such as law enforcement agency, would that make the
options clearer?

D1a. Does your organization provide any direct victim services itself, in addition to
grantmaking?
Yes [In completing the remainder of the survey, please confine your responses to your
own direct victim service activities, not the grant-making and related functions.]
No [Thank you. You may exit the survey.]
PROBE 1: What type of services were you thinking about when you answered this question?
PROBE 2: If you are a funding administrator, do you understand how this question applies to
your organization?

D2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency operate in terms of victims served or services
delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
[Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS], page XX]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: Was it difficult to select only one response? Why or why not?
OPTIONAL PROBE 1 [IF SELECTED OTHER]: Why did you select this answer?
FOLLOW UP: How would you define your jurisdiction or service area?

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SECTION G
Services for Victims

G1. How would you best describe your service area? (An urban area is within a principal city of a
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A suburban area is within an MSA but not within the principal city
of that MSA and a rural area is outside of an MSA. An MSA can generally be defined as an area with a
city and surrounding communities closely linked to one another by social and economic factors.)
Urban
Suburban
Rural
PROBE 1: How did you interpret the term “service area”?
PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was it to choose one response?
PROBE 3: If you were permitted to select more than one response, what would you select?

[INSTRUCTION SCREEN] 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.
Did your organization provide any of the following services to victims within the past calendar/fiscal
year? 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 your organization provided to
victims, which may not capture your victim service offerings in detail. Do your best to place the services
your organization provided within the general categories.
Mental health support and safety
G. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Mental health services? (e.g., individual or group counseling; support
groups; other therapy; social programming for children; etc.)
Crisis Counseling?
Substance abuse treatment?
Safety services? (e.g., safety planning; witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.) (Does NOT include protective orders)
PROBE 1: Do you have any feedback about the way the italicized instruction is worded? Was there
anything confusing about it?
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
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Medical and health assistance
G6. Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

Accompaniment to medical care or forensic examinations?
Emergency or follow-up medical care (provision of care)?
Forensic examinations (provision of care)?
STD/HIV testing?
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question.
OPTIONAL PROBE 1 IF THEY SELECTED ACCOMPANIMENT. Please tell me about the service you included
in your response.

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Other services
Yes

G8. Did your organization provide (…)

No

Case management?
Supervised child visitation?
On-scene coordinated response?
Education classes for survivors regarding victimization dynamics?
Transportation services?
Language access (e.g., translation or interpretation services, or bilingual
staff)?
Services designed to meet the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific
populations?
PROBE 1: How do you define the option “language access”?
FOLLOW UP: Are the examples we provided clear?
PROBE 2: What do you think is meant by the last category, “Services designed to meet the needs of
culturally or ethnically specific populations”?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How easy or difficult was it to select your answers this question?

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G11. Please report whether your organization provided services for victims of the following types of
crime or abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any crime types for which your
organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime type.)
Youth (under age 18)
Child physical abuse or neglect
Child rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Child witness of violence
Child marriage or forced marriage
Adults molested/abused as children
Adults
Domestic violence/dating violence/violation of DV protective orders
Stalking/violation of stalking protective orders
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse (other than against children)
Physical Assault (other than domestic/dating violence, child/elder
abuse, or rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse) (including attempted
homicide; gun violence; strangulation; threat with a weapon, etc.)
Robbery
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Survivors of homicide (including murder, non-negligent
manslaughter)
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (racial/religious/ethnic or national
origin/disability/gender/sexual orientation)
Honor related violence (physical violence/threats/retaliation in the
name of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Community violence/gang violence
Terrorism/mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes – specify _____________________
Other property crimes – specify __________________
Other – specify ____________________

Yes

No

PROBE 1: Is there anything confusing about the italicized instruction “Include any crime types for which
your organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime
type”?
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PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was this to answer?
PROBE 3: Does this question seem too long?
PROBE 4: How well do the response options capture the crime types of the victims your agency serves?

Organizations restricted to serving certain groups of victims or victims of certain crimes.

G12. Do any of the following statements describe the types of victims or survivors your organization
serves? (select only one)
We only provide services to victims of particular types of crimes (such as domestic
violence, trafficking, identity theft, etc.) [receive question G12.1, list of crimes]
We only provide services to specific populations of victims, regardless of the type of crime
(such as children, immigrants, etc.) [receive question G12.2, list of populations]
We only provide services to specific populations who have experienced specific types of
crime or abuse (such as child victims of sexual abuse, older adults who experienced identity
theft, etc.) [receive both questions G12.1 and G12.2]
None of the above [Proceed to Section H]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: How did you decide on your answer? What, in your own words, is the response option
you chose getting at?

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G12.1 Indicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse: (e.g., you could provide services to a victim of this
crime, even if they had not suffered any other type of crime). Please do your best to fit your organization
within the general categories provided.
Check all that apply

Yes

No

Any/all felonies
Any/all violent crime
Community violence/gang violence
Domestic violence/dating violence
DUI/DWI crashes
Financial exploitation/identity theft/fraud
Hate crimes
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Physical abuse/neglect
Physical assault (including attempted homicide; gun violence; strangulation;
threat with a weapon, etc.)
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Stalking
Survivors of homicide (including murder, non-negligent manslaughter)
Terrorism/mass violence
Other (specify)
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if we asked you to check no more than 3?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR THOSE WHO SPECIFY “OTHER”: Is there any other category of response that
might have fit?
OPTIONAL PROBES FOR THOSE WHO CHECK MORE THAN 3:
Can you tell me more about your thought process in selecting these categories?
Are some of those crime types more central to your work? Do you serve victims of some of these crime
types more than others?

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G12.2 Indicate the specific populations of victims you serve: (e.g., you could provide services to a
victim as long as they were within this population). Please do your best to fit your organization within the
general categories provided.
Check all that apply

Yes

No

Child victims
Adolescent/teen victims
Elder victims/dependent adult victims
Female victims
Male victims
Indigenous victims, including Native American or Alaska Native
Victims of color OR victims of specific racial or ethnic groups (OTHER THAN
Native American or Alaska Native victims) (specify)_______________
Immigrant/refugee/limited English proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims
Victims with disabilities
Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims
Formerly incarcerated victims
Incarcerated victims
Other (specify) ___________________________________________________
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if we asked you to check no more than 3?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR THOSE WHO SPECIFY “OTHER”: Is there any other category of response that
might have fit?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR ANYONE WHO SELECTED INDIGENOUS VICTIMS, OR WHO IDENTIFIED AS A
TRIBAL SERVICE PROVIDER: Would your answer change if this question asked about “Tribal victims”?
OPTIONAL PROBES FOR THOSE WHO CHECK MORE THAN 3:
Can you tell me more about your thought process in selecting these categories?
Are some of those crime types more central to your work? Do you serve victims of some of these crime
types more than others?

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OPTIONAL PROBE FOR THOSE WHO RESPONDED THAT THEY SERVE SPECIFIC POPULATIONS WHO
SUFFER SPECIFIC VICTIMIZATIONS: How easy or difficult was it to answer G12.1 and G12.2?

SECTION H
Staffing
[INSTRUCTION SCREEN] The following questions concern staff dedicated to working with victims of crime
or abuse during the past calendar/ fiscal year.
H5. How many paid full-time staff (35 hours or more/week) dedicated to working with victims left
their position with your organization during the past calendar/ fiscal year, whether dismissed,
resigned, retired, transferred to a non-direct services position, etc.? 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 □

PROBE 1: How easy/difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: What, in your own words, is this question asking?
PROBE 3: How do you understand full-time staff who left their position?
FOLLOW UP PROBE: How are you defining “left their position”?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How did you interpret what is meant by “your organization”? Were you answering
just about this location, or across all locations?

H6. How many paid part-time staff (less than 35 hours/week) designated to work with victims left
their position with your organization during the past calendar/fiscal year whether dismissed, resigned,
retired, transferred to a non-direct services position, etc.? 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 □

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
PROBE 2: How did you interpret “paid part-time staff designated to work with victims”?

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SECTION I
FUNDING
[programming: remind people who are Parent/HQ organizations that they previously indicated they
were responding either
a) for just their location OR
b) across all locations]

I1. What was your organization’s total annual budget for the past calendar/fiscal year?
Amount $_________________

Check box if estimate

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult would it be for you to get ahold of this information?
PROBE 2: Would you have any concerns about reporting this on a survey?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How confident are you in your estimate?

[For embedded programs other than nonprofits:]
I2. Was all or part of your victim services programming supported by your organization’s internal
budget in the past calendar/fiscal year?
Yes
No
Amount $___________________________

check box if estimate

PROBE 1: What do you think is meant by “organization’s internal budget”?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult to answer if it asked for the percentage of
victim services funding supported by the organization’s internal budget?
PROBE 3: Would you have any concerns about reporting this on a survey? If so, what are those concerns?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How confident are you in your estimate?

I3. What was your organization’s total budget for victim-related programming and services during the
past calendar/fiscal year? (Victim-related programming and services includes direct services,
prevention, outreach, training, and education efforts.) $___________ _ Check box if estimate
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult would it be for you to get ahold of this information?
PROBE 2: Would you have any concerns about reporting this on a survey?

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OPTIONAL PROBES FOR EMBEDDED PROGRAMS:
Does your organization maintain a separate line in your budget for victim services?
Would this question be easier to answer if it asked What percentage of your organization’s total budget
supports victim-related programming and services?
The following questions ask about external sources of funding, and will help us better understand the
mix of funding supporting victim-related programming and services.
Please indicate whether your victim services budget in the past calendar/fiscal year included funding
from any of the following. If so, please provide an amount (estimates are acceptable).
I4. Local government funding specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $__________________________

Check box if estimate

PROBE 1: What do you think is meant by the term “local government funding”?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if it asked for the percentage of the VS
budget supported by local government funding?
OPTIONAL PROBE 1 [FOR EMBEDDED RESPONDENTS IN LOCAL LEVEL GOVERNMENT
ORGANIZATIONS]: For your organization, is “local government funding” different from funding
through your organization’s internal budget?
I5. Tribal government funding specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $___________________________

Check box if estimate

PROBE 1: What do you think is meant by the term “Tribal government funding”?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if it asked for the percentage of the VS
budget supported by Tribal funding?
OPTIONAL PROBE 1 [FOR EMBEDDED TRIBAL RESPONDENTS]: For your organization, is “Tribal
government funding” different from funding through your organization’s internal budget?
I6. Foundations, private donations, and other fundraising specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $ ____________________________

Check box if estimate

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult would it be for you to get ahold of this information?

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PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if it asked for the percentage of the VS budget
supported by foundations, private donations, and other fundraising?
PROBE 3: Would you have any concerns about reporting this on a survey?
PROBE 4: How easy or difficult would it be for you to provide separate figures for funding related to
“foundations and private grants” and “private donations and other fundraising”?
OPTIONAL PROBE: How confident are you in your estimate?

I7. Which of the following federal and state sources supported your victim services budget in the past
calendar/fiscal year, if any?

Federal funding, including funding passed through a state administrator as a subgrant
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Funding

Yes

No

Other funding from the Office for Victims of Crime

Yes

No

Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) grant

Yes

No

Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) funding

Yes

No

Other funding from the Office on Violence Against Women

Yes

No

Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) funding

Yes

No

Other federal funding

Yes

No

Yes

No

If yes, please specify ____________________________
State funding
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it for you to answer these questions?
PROBE 2: What do you think is meant by the term “state funding”?

I8. Did you receive victim services funding from any additional sources in the past calendar/fiscal
year?
Yes

Please specify: _____________________________

No
Amount $___________________________
PROBE 1: What other sources were you considering?

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PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if it asked for the percentage of the VS
budget supported by other sources
I9. Did your organization receive any federal funding for victim programming or services within the
past 5 years? (This could include funding from VOCA grants; OVC grants; a STOP, SASP, or other VAWA
grant; or some other funding coming from a federal agency.)
Yes
No
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this to answer?

SECTION K
Current Issues of Concern to Victim Service Providers
K1. How concerned are you about vicarious trauma and staff burnout at your organization? (“Vicarious
trauma” refers to exposure to the trauma of others that puts people at risk for a range of negative
consequences.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: Does the definition provided for “vicarious trauma” make sense to you? Do you define this
term differently?
PROBE 3: What does “staff burnout” mean to you, in this context?

K2. How concerned are you about your organization’s ability to reach and serve all people equally?
(This includes but is not limited to racial equity, gender identity/sexual orientation equity, equity for
those with disabilities, and equity for those with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: What does the phrase “reach and serve all people equally” mean to you in this context?

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COVID-Related Organizational Impacts
March of 2020 is generally recognized as the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many activities
were affected, including victim services delivery.
K.7 Have you made or experienced any changes in your organization or the way you deliver services
because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
□ YES [Complete table]
□ NO

Staff resigned

This change
did not
happen

Staff were laid-off
Staff worked partially or fully
remote
In-person meetings with victims
were suspended
Virtual and phone meetings with
victims increased
Psychological services or support
groups were conducted via phone
or online video platform
Shelters were partially or fully
closed
Court-services were partially or
fully suspended
Court proceedings were held
virtually
Service needs changed as some
crimes increased or decreased

Service needs changed due to
increased levels or severity of
violence

98

This change
happened
temporarily

This change has
continued through
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

Other changes
K.7a. If you had other changes in your services or service delivery, what were they?
_____________________
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
IF THE RESPONDENT SELECTED ANY ONGOING CHANGES: Tell me more about the changes you said are
still ongoing?

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Appendix 3: NCVSP 2023 Cognitive Testing Protocol Round 2
Prior to the interview
4. Send recruitment email
5. Schedule interview
6. Once you log on to interview with the participant, go through the informed consent form with
them and request permission to record the interview

Obtaining Informed Consent
Hello. My name is [NAME] and I work for [AGENCY]. Thank you for agreeing to participate in
this interview. Before we begin, I am going to discuss some details about the interview. This is
all information that was included in the e-mail you received, but I want to go over the key
points together.
• This interview will last about 1 hour.
• Taking part in the interview is up to you. You can ask to skip any questions you do not
want to answer. If you decide at any point you do not want to finish, you can ask to
stop.
• To keep your information private, we will not use your names in notes or reports. The
information provided in the interview will only be used in summary form. Nothing that
you say will be directly shared outside of the project team.
• We would like to request to record the audio and video of the interview to ensure our
notes are accurate. You can say yes or no. All recordings and notes will be stored safely
and then destroyed at the end of the study.
• During the conversation, we will be discussing what you think about the questions on
the survey itself and if you think we are asking the right questions in the right way.
If you have questions as we go, please feel free to ask.
Do you wish to continue with this interview? [Wait for response.]
Yes- great! If you have any questions about the study after we are done, I will provide you with
contact information for Susan S. Howley in the chat ([email protected]; (202) 503-3524). Her
information is also provided in the email.

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Verbal Consent Certification and Signature

I certify that the nature and purpose, the potential benefits, and possible risks associated with
participating in this interview have been explained to the below-named individual and that I fully and
accurately answered their questions.
___________________________________
First name of participant

____________________________________

_______________

Signature of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

Date

___________________________________
Printed Name of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

We would like to record the audio of the interview to help us make sure our notes are accurate. You can
say yes or no. Is it okay if I audio record this interview? [Wait for response.]
Verbal Consent for Recording and Signature
__________________________________
First name of participant

____________________________________

_______________

Signature of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

Date

___________________________________
Printed Name of Person Obtaining Verbal Consent

If you do not have any questions, we can begin. [Wait for response.]

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Introduction to purpose and procedures of interview
On behalf of the [AGENCY/PROJECT PARTNERS], I would like to thank you for taking the time to speak
with me today. I greatly appreciate it.
Purpose: The purpose of this interview is to get your feedback on some survey questions for our
upcoming National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP). The National Census of Victim Service
Providers (NCVSP) is designed to fill existing gaps in knowledge and information on the variety of
organizations and programs 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.
This project is a joint effort between the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), Westat, and
the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) on behalf of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
This survey was previously administered in 2017 and before we conduct it again, we would like to test
some of the additions and changes we have made since the prior iteration. We want to understand what
the questions mean to you. Your feedback will help us improve the questions and make them as clear as
possible.
Procedure: I would like you to please answer these questions to the best of your knowledge and to
know that there are no right or wrong answers. After some of the survey questions, I may stop and ask
you follow-up questions to better understand your answer and the way you thought about the question.
Most of my follow-up questions will ask what you thought about certain words or phrases or what you
think a question is trying to ask.
As we are going through the survey, please feel free to tell me anything that comes to mind or to ask me
anything you are unclear about. Feel free to tell me what you are thinking as you are answering these
questions. We want your honest opinions about what you like and dislike and what you do and don’t
understand so we can improve this survey. I also want to remind you that you do not have to answer
any questions you do not want to, and you can end the interview at any time. If I ask you a question you
do not want to answer, you can just say “Pass.”
I will share my screen and pull up the survey questions for us to review. I ask that you read it on your
own and then verbally tell me which of the response options you select. After you read the question in
your head and tell me your response, I will likely follow up with a few questions about how you came to
your answer or what a specific word means to you and then we will move on to the next question.
Do you have any questions before we begin? [LAUNCH SCREEN SHARE, AND CONFIRM PARTICIPANT
CAN SEE THE SCREEN]

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S1. Before you begin, please complete the following pieces of information for your organization. If
your organization has multiple locations, please use the physical address of your location .
Organization Name: _________________________
Organization Address: _______________________
City, State, ZIP: _____________________________
Business phone number: _____________________
Organization email address: __________________
Organization web site: _______________________
PROBE: Why did you provide this address?

PROBE 2: If we gave you the option to share this information for a national directory, would you
be comfortable sharing this address? What about a P.O. Box (if they shared street address and
have a P.O. Box as well). What about just City, State, Zip?

Additional S
A1. Which of the following best describes how your organization is structured to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse?
The primary function of the organization as a whole is to provide services or programming for
victims of crime.  Skip to A1.5a
Victim services or programming are one component of the larger organization’s activities (e.g.,
victim services program functions within a hospital, university, community center, law
enforcement agency, or prosecutors’ office)  Proceed to A1a
A1a. Does your organization have a specific program(s) or staff that are designated to provide
services to victims of crime or abuse?
Yes  Proceed to A1.5b
No  “Thank you. You do not need to complete the rest of this survey.”

A1.5a. Are your victim service activities fully virtual? (No direct victim services are offered from a
physical location connected to the organization)
Yes  Skip to A2
No  Proceed to A1.6a
PROBE: How do you define “fully virtual”?
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Optional PROBE if YES: Tell me about your victim services?
virtual?

Are there other sites listed in any directory or on a website even if all staff are fully

A1.5b. Are your victim service activities fully virtual? (No direct victim services are offered from a
physical location connected to the organization)
Yes  Skip to A2
No  Proceed to A1.6b
PROBE: How do you define “fully virtual”?
Optional PROBE if YES: Tell me about your victim services?
virtual?

Are there other sites listed in any directory or on a website even if all staff are fully

[IF A1 = PRIMARY]
A1.6a. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total count
of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple sites
providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer simply to staff working from home or hybrid).
Please check the most appropriate description of your victim services organization.
Organization operating through one single location  Skip to A1.10
Organization operates through multiple sites (including branch or satellite offices, or local
chapters of a larger organization)  Proceed to A1.6c
o

PROBE: Why did you select this option?

[IF A1 = EMBEDDED]
A1.6b. An important goal of the National Census of Victim Service Providers is to create a total count
of organizations that provide services to victims. Some organizations may have multiple sites
providing victim services that are part of a larger umbrella organization (such as branch or satellite
locations, chapters, or field offices; this does NOT refer simply to staff working from home or hybrid).
Please check the most appropriate description of your victim services programming.
Victim service programming operating through one single location  Skip to A1.10
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Victim services programming operates through multiple sites (including branch or satellite
offices, or local chapters of a larger organization)  Proceed to A1.6a
PROBE: Why did you select this option?
A1.6c. What is the BEST description of your victim service location or site, in relation to the other
victim service sites:
One site or location that reports to a main office or administrative office (such as a
satellite location, branch office, chapter, etc.).  proceed to A1.7
The main office, or administrative office (including the location where a victim service
director is located)  skip to A1.8
Other (tell me more)  skip to A1.10
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to select a response?
PROBE 2: How do you interpret “reports to a main or administrative office”?
PROBE 3: Would it be easier or more difficult if the question asked about the
“parent or primary” site, office, or location.
PROBE 4: Do you have any other suggestions for how to make this question
easier to answer?

A1.7. Please provide the following contact information for your organization's headquarters, main
office, or unit director location:
Organization Name: __________________________________
Organization Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
 Skip to A.1.10a
For the remainder of this survey, please respond based only on the activities at your particular
site/location.
PROBE: How easy or difficult would this be for you to provide this information?

A1.8. Please enter or upload a list of all the victim service locations you would list in a directory or on
your website (if the street address is confidential, please use a P.O. Box):
Location/site Name: __________________________________
Address: ________________________________
City, State, ZIP: ______________________________________
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Add location?
Yes [Repeat prompts for org name, address, city/state/zip]
No  Proceed to A1.9
[if it is more convenient, you may upload a list HERE or provide a weblink to a list]
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult would this be for you to provide this information?
PROBE 2: Would you be more likely to enter names and addresses, provide a link, or
upload a document?

A1.9. In addition to support you provide to the other sites, do you offer any direct services to victims
of crime or abuse at your location (the main office or headquarters)? (This can include a formal
helpline or hotline.)
Yes  Proceed to A1.9.5
No  Skip to A1.9.7
Probe: Tell me about the services you offer.

A1.9.5. This survey includes questions about the number of victims served, staffing, and funding. Will
your answers relate to the victim services provided across the organization, or only those related to
your main office location?
The victim services provided across the entire organization  skip to A2
Only victim service activities at my site/location  skip to A2
PROBE 1: How did you select a response?

A1.9.7 Are you able to answer questions about services, persons served, staffing, and funding for all
your organization’s victim service locations?
Yes  “Please respond to the remainder of the survey as the questions relate to all of your
organization’s sublocations”  Proceed to A2
No  “Thank you. You may exit the survey.”

A1.10. Is your victim services organization physically located at the site of another organization (such
as a nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law
enforcement victim service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with space in
a commercial establishment)?
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Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please select
the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of organization
where you are physically located.” Proceed to A2
No  Proceed to A2

A1.10a. Is your particular victim services site physically located at the site of another organization
(such as a nonprofit program operating out of the courthouse or a law enforcement agency; or a law
enforcement victim service program operating out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with space in
a commercial establishment)?
Yes  Display a message “For the next question, regarding organization type, please select
the answer that best describes your own organization rather than the type of organization
where you are physically located.” Proceed to A2
No  Proceed to A2
PROBE 1: In your own words, what is this question asking?
PROBE 2: IF YES, how did you decide to answer yes to this question?

A2. Which of the following best describes your organization? Select one response.
Tribal government or other tribal organization [Go to Section B [Tribal], page XX]
Campus organization or other educational institution (public or private) [Go to Section C
[Campus], page XX
Hospital, medical, or emergency facility (public or private) [Go to Section G [Services for
Victims], page XX
Government agency [Go to Section D [Government], page XX]
Nonprofit or faith-based organization (501c3 status) [for testing go to D2]
For profit organization [for testing go to D2]
Informal entity (e.g., some other type of program or group, not formally a part of an
organization, registered nonprofit, or business; Independent survivor advocacy and support
groups; volunteer, grassroots, or survivor network) [Go to D2 for testing]
choice?

Optional Probe 1 if they had difficulty: Can you explain your thinking as you made your

Tribal
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B1. Which designation best describes your tribal agency, organization, or program? Select one
response.
Law enforcement agency
Prosecutor’s Office
Court
Juvenile justice agency
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections)
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, etc.)
Social services or child/adult protective services agency
Health services agency
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other (please specify)____________
All responses  Go to section B2 [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
PROBE 1: How did you decide on your answer?
PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
IF ANSWERED OTHER: Why did you select other?

B2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served or
services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Reservationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city/
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
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PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: Was it difficult to select only one response? Why or why not?
OPTIONAL PROBE 1 [IF SELECTED OTHER]: Why did you select this answer?
FOLLOW UP: How would you define your jurisdiction or service area?

D1. Which designation best describes your government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement agency  Skip to D2
Prosecutor’s Office (such as District Attorney, County Attorney, etc.) à Skip to D2
Courts  Skip to D2
Juvenile justice agency  Skip to D2
Social services or child/adult protective services agency  Skip to D2
Offender custody and supervision (such as probation, parole, corrections) agency  Skip to
D2
Multi-agency (such as task forces, response teams, Family Justice Center, etc.)  Skip to D2
State or territory victim compensation program  Skip to D2
State or territory victim funding administrator  Proceed to D1a
Other government agency (please specify)_____________  Skip to D2
OPTIONAL PROBE: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?

D1a. Does your organization provide any direct victim services itself, in addition to grantmaking?
Yes [In completing the remainder of the survey, please restrict your responses to your own
direct victim service activities, not the grant-making and related functions.]
No [Thank you. You may exit the survey.]
PROBE for Yes: Tell me briefly about the direct services you provide.

D2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency primarily operate in terms of victims served or
services delivered? Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide

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Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
Countywide only
Citywide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify) _____________________
All responses  Go to section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
Probes are optional – only change was adding term “primarily” so if there is no hesitation skip
probes.
OPTIONAL PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
OPTIONAL PROBE 2: Was it difficult to select only one response? Why or why not?
OPTIONAL PROBE 3 [IF SELECTED OTHER]: Why did you select this answer?
FOLLOW UP: How would you define your jurisdiction or service area?

G. SERVICES
Did your victim service activities include any of the following services within the past calendar/fiscal
year? 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 your organization provided to
victims, which may not capture your victim service offerings in detail. Do your best to place the services
your organization provided within the general categories.

Mental health support and safety
G5. Did your victim services include (…)

Yes

Mental health services or support? (including both services by a
licensed professional counselor and peer or advocate-led support
groups; other therapy; social programming for children; etc.)
Crisis Counseling? (whether by a licensed profession, advocate, or
peer)
Substance abuse treatment?
Safety services? (Safety planning; witness protection; address
confidentiality; self-defense; etc.) (Does NOT include protective orders)

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question.
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PROBE 2: Tell me about your services, for areas where you responded “yes”.

Medical and health assistance
G6. Did your victim services include…

Yes

No

Accompanying victims to medical care or forensic examinations?
Providing medical care (emergency or follow-up)?
Providing forensic examinations?
Providing STD/HIV testing?

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question.

Other services
G8. Did your victim services include (…)

Yes

Case management? (working individually with victims to assess their
needs and create a service plan, and then support them in that plan)
Supervised child visitation?
Responding to the scene of the crime or abuse in coordination with
other organizations?
Education of survivors regarding victimization dynamics? (whether
through one-on-one or group settings)
Transportation services? (including direct transportation, bus tokens,
arranging for ride-share, etc.)
Language access? (e.g., providing or arranging for translation or
interpretation services, language line, or bilingual staff)
Services designed to meet the needs of culturally or ethnically-specific
populations?
PROBE 1: How do you determine your answer regarding “case management”?
FOLLOW UP: Is the definition we provided clear?
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OPTIONAL PROBE: How easy or difficult was it to select your answers to this question?

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G 11. Please report whether your organization or program provided victim services for the following
types of crime or abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any crime types for which your
organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime type.)
Youth (under age 18; services to victims or nonoffending parent/caretaker)
Child physical abuse or neglect
Child rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Child witness of violence
Child marriage or forced marriage
Adults molested/abused as children
Adults
Domestic violence/dating violence/violation of DV protective orders
Stalking/violation of stalking protective orders
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse (other than against children)
Physical Assault (other than domestic/dating violence, child/elder abuse,
or rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse) (including attempted homicide; gun
violence; strangulation; threat with a weapon, etc.)
Robbery
Elder physical abuse or neglect
Homicide (serving surviving family members) (includes murder, nonnegligent manslaughter)
Targeted crime types
Hate crimes (racial/religious/ethnic or national
origin/disability/gender/sexual orientation)
Honor related violence (physical violence/threats/retaliation in the name
of family honor, female genital mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Gang violence

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Terrorism/mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation (other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes – specify _____________________
Other property crimes – specify __________________
Other – specify ____________________

PROBE 1: Is there anything confusing about the italicized instruction “Include any crime types for which
your organization provided services regardless of whether it was the presenting or a secondary crime
type”?
PROBE 2: How easy or difficult was this to answer?
PROBE 3: Does this question seem too long?
PROBE 4: How well do the response options capture the crime types of the victims your agency serves?

G12. In general, do your victim services focus on victims of particular crimes or abuse, or do you not
focus on particular types of crime or abuse? (such as domestic violence, trafficking, or family members
of homicide victims
Our services focus on particular types of crime or abuse [move to G12.1]
Our services do not focus on particular types of crime or abuse  skip to G12.2
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: How did you decide on your answer? What, in your own words, is the response option you
chose getting at?

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G12.1 Indicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse your victim services focus on. (i.e., you focus on
victims who are seeking services because of this type of crime or abuse) Please do your best to fit your
response within the general categories provided.)
Check all that apply

Yes

No

Any/all felonies
Any/all violent crime
Gang violence
Domestic violence/dating violence
DUI/DWI crashes
Financial exploitation/identity theft/fraud
Hate crimes
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Physical abuse/neglect
Physical assault (including attempted homicide; gun violence; strangulation;
threat with a weapon, etc.)
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Stalking
Survivors of homicide victims (including murder, non-negligent manslaughter)
Terrorism/mass violence
Other (specify)

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if we asked you to check no more than 3?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR THOSE WHO SPECIFY “OTHER”: Is there any other category of response that
might have fit?
OPTIONAL PROBES FOR THOSE WHO CHECK MORE THAN 3:
Can you tell me more about your thought process in selecting these categories?
Are some of those crime types more central to your work? Do you serve victims of some of these crime
types more than others?
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G12.2. In general, do your victim services focus on specific populations of victims (such as certain racial
or ethnic groups of victims, victims with disabilities, or victims who are LGBTQ) or do you not focus on
specific populations of victims?


Our services focus on specific populations of victims [go to G12.3]



Our services do not focus on specific populations of victims  Skip to Section H.
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: How did you decide on your answer? What, in your own words, is the response option
you chose getting at?

G12.3 Indicate the specific populations of victims your victim services focus on: (i.e., you make
specific efforts to serve victims who are part of this population) Please do your best to fit your responses
within the general categories provided.)
Check all that apply

Yes

Child victims
Adolescent/teen victims
Elder victims/dependent adult victims
Female victims
Male victims
Victims of color OR victims of specific racial or ethnic groups, please
specify____
Indigenous victims, including Native American or Alaska Native
Immigrant/refugee/limited English proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims
Victims with disabilities
Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims
Formerly incarcerated victims
Incarcerated victims
Other (specify) ___________________________________________________

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it to answer this question?
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PROBE 2: Would this question be easier or more difficult if we asked you to check no more than
3?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR THOSE WHO SPECIFY “OTHER”: Is there any other category of response
that might have fit?
OPTIONAL PROBE FOR ANYONE WHO SELECTED INDIGENOUS VICTIMS, OR WHO IDENTIFIED
AS A TRIBAL SERVICE PROVIDER: Would your answer change if this question asked about “Tribal
victims”?
OPTIONAL PROBES FOR THOSE WHO CHECK MORE THAN 3:
Can you tell me more about your thought process in selecting these categories?
Are some of those population types more central to your work? Do you serve victims from some
of these population types more than others?

H. Staffing
[IF A1 = PRIMARY]
H1. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work at your organization fulltime (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.
________

Check box if estimate □

[IF A1 = EMBEDDED]
H1. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work in your program 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.
________

Check box if estimate □

[IF A1 = PRIMARY]
H2. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work at your organization parttime (less than 35 hoursweek)? 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 □

[IF A1 = EMBEDDED]
H2. How many paid staff dedicated to working with victims currently work in your program part-time
(less than 35 hoursweek)? Count each person only once. Enter ‘0’ if there are no paid staff of that type.
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Include contractual workers in your counts. Estimates are acceptable.
________

Check box if estimate □

PROBE 1: How easy/difficult were these questions to answer?
Optional PROBE 2 [if estimate]: How confident are you in your estimate?
Optional PROBE 3: what if this question asked whether the current number of full-time victim services
staff were:
1
2–3
4 - 10
11 – 30
31 – 100
More than 100
No full-time staff
And something similar for part time staff.
Optional PROBE 4: [If that was still difficult] What if there were fewer choices?
1 – 10 full-time staff
11 - 50 full-time staff
51 – 100 full-time staff
More than 100 full-time staff

I. Funding
[IF A1.6 = multisite
Reminder: you indicated you are responding for [your location only/the entire victim services
programming] in your organization.
OR
This next question refers to overall funding and funding sources. Will you be responding for funding at
your location only, or across the victim service programming for all locations.
My location
All victim service programming across the organization

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I2. What is the estimated total annual funding for your victim service programming? Please make your
best estimate.
Less than $100,000
$100,000 to $500,000
$500,000 to $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
More than $5 million
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it for you to answer this question?
PROBE 2: How confident are you in your answer?

I3. Is your victim service programming currently supported by any grants?
Yes  proceed to I4
No  skip to section K
Unsure  skip to section K

I4. Which type of grant(s) are you currently receiving? Check all that apply.
Federal grants passed through a state or local agency (including but not limited to Victims of
Crime (VOCA); Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP); Services, Training, Officers, and
Prosecutors (STOP); Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA); Community
Development Block Grants (CDBG))
Other federal grants (directly from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office on Violence Against
Women, Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, or others)
State or local government grants that are NOT pass-through federal grants (they are funded only
with state or local dollars)
Non-government grants, including from foundations, corporations, non-profits, or other nongovernment source

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it for you to answer these questions?
PROBE 2: Tell me about the type of grants your organization receives for victim services.
OPTIONAL PROBE if they are a sublocation: did your answers regarding grant funding relate only to your
location, or to victim service programming across the organization?
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National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report

For those selecting federal grants:
I5. Please estimate the percentage of your victim services budget supported by federal grants
(including those passed through a state or local agency):
Less than 25%
25% to 49%
50% to 74%
75% - 100%
PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was it for you to answer this question?
PROBE 2: What grants did you have in mind as you answered this question?

PROBE 3: If the invitation to take this questionnaire said “This questionnaire will include questions about
your total victim services budget, the categories of grants you receive, and the estimated percentage of
your budget supported by federal grants. We recommend you have basic budget information handy
before starting the survey.” What would you have gathered? How much time would it have taken to
gather that information.
[in testing, display that language, then ask]

K. Issues
K2. How concerned are you about the ability of your victim service program to reach and serve all
victims equally? (This includes but is not limited to racial equity, gender identity/sexual orientation
equity, equity for those with disabilities, and equity for those with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
PROBE 2: What does the phrase “reach and serve all victims equally” mean to you in this context?

COVID-Related Organizational Impacts
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March of 2020 is generally recognized as the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many activities
were affected, including victim services delivery.
K.7 Have you made or experienced any changes in your organization or the way you deliver services
because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
□ YES [Complete table]
□ NO

FOR COVID-RELATED REASONS:

This change did
not happen

This change
happened
temporarily

This change has
continued through
the present

Victim services staff resigned
Victim services staff were laid-off
Victim services staff worked
partially or fully remote
In-person meetings with victims
were suspended
Virtual and phone meetings with
victims increased
Court proceedings in our service
area were held virtually
Service needs changed as some
crimes increased or decreased

Service needs changed due to
increased levels or severity of
violence
Other changes

PROBE 1: How easy or difficult was this question to answer?
IF THE RESPONDENT SELECTED ANY ONGOING CHANGES: Tell me more about the changes you said are
still ongoing?

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National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 6: 2023 NCVSP subject matter experts

2023 NCVSP Subject Matter Experts
Jean Bruggeman
Executive Director
Freedom Network, USA Focus: Human
Trafficking [email protected]

Jeralita “Jeri” Costa
Board Member
National Association of Victim Assistance in
Corrections (NAVAC)
Focus: Corrections-based victim services
[email protected]
Princess Fortin
Director of Strategic Planning
The Health Alliance for Violence
Intervention (The HAVI)
Focus: Hospital-Based violence intervention
[email protected]
Kim Hamm
Director of Member Services
National Children’s Alliance (NCA)
Focus: Children’s Advocacy Centers
[email protected]
Jennifer Hiselman
Research & Analysis Unit | Infonet Manager
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Focus: Illinois providers
[email protected]
Monika Johnson Hostler
President & Chief Executive
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
(NAESV)
Focus: Sexual assault coalitions and centers
[email protected]
Sarah Khan
Director of Program
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based
Violence (API-GBV)
Focus: Culturally-specific programs serving
Asian and Pacific Islander victims of sexual
assault and intimate partner violence
[email protected]

Beth Meeks
Director, Capacity Technical Assistance Team
National Network to End Domestic Violence
(NNEDV)
Focus: Domestic violence coalitions and centers
[email protected]
Daisy Pagan
Executive Director
National Association of VOCA Assistance
Administrators (NAVAA)
Focus: VOCA Administrators
[email protected]
Dawn Stover
Executive Director
Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence
(ATCEV)
Focus: Tribal programs
[email protected]
Taylan Stulting
Leadership Council Member, Research Co-Chair
Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals
Association (CAPPA)
Focus: Campus-based victim service programs
[email protected]
Cynthia Totten
Deputy Executive Director
Just Detention International (JDI)
Focus: Programs serving currently and formerly
incarcerated people
[email protected]
Heather Warnken
Executive Director
Center for Criminal Justice Reform, Univ. of
Baltimore School of Law
Focus: Underserved victims
[email protected]

Biographies of Subject Matter Experts
Jean Bruggeman is the Executive Director of Freedom Network USA. Jean served as a Human Trafficking
Fellow with the Office for Victims of Crime within the US Department of Justice from 2012-2015. She
provided leadership in the development of the Federal Strategic Action Plan for Services to Victims of
Human Trafficking in the United States, the first OVC Human Trafficking Survivor Forum, and the OVC
video series, “The Faces of Human Trafficking.” Jean has over 20 years of victim services experience and
expertise in nonprofit management, language access, immigration, human trafficking, and domestic
violence. She has developed comprehensive legal and social services programs for survivors, provided
direct legal representation to survivors, authored training resources, and developed an interpreter
service to ensure access to legal services in the District of Columbia. She is a graduate of the
Georgetown University Law Center and Bryn Mawr College, and is a member of the DC and Maryland
(inactive) bar associations.
Jeralita “Jeri” Costa. A victim advocate for more than 40 years, Jeri Costa has served as an executive
director of a statewide non-profit crime victim organization, an elected state senator and
representative, and a governor-appointed parole board chairperson. Costa currently serves as a
Community Victim Liaison with the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), providing victim
safety and support services throughout the offender release process. She also served for 5 years as the
WA DOC Prison Rape Elimination Act Victim Advocate for female inmates. For 12 years, Costa provided
consultation and evaluator services for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians on Domestic Violence, Sexual
Assault and Juvenile Justice Programs, and lead the development of a judicial bench book on domestic
violence for the Tribe. As a consultant for the past 25+ years, she has provided a wide variety of training
and technical assistance related to: crime victims’ constitutional and statutory rights; crisis intervention;
vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue& developing resilience; victim impact statements; victim safety in
offender reentry; and parole board training. She has served on the following criminal justice-related
commissions and boards in Washington State: Washington Coalition of Crime Victim Advocates (20
years); Sentencing Guidelines Commission (6 years); Jail Industries Board (9 years); Correctional
Industries Board (2 years); WA Supreme Court’s Gender and Justice Commission (6 years);
Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (5 years); and Sex Offender Policy Board (3 years). Costa is a
member of the National Association of Victim Assistance in Corrections and served as Project CoCoordinator on NAVAC’s OVC-sponsored Post-Conviction Victim Services Toolkit and Gap Assessment.
Princess Fortin is the Director of Strategic Planning for The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention
(The HAVI). She works to support organizational development, grant writing, project planning, and
efforts to build research infrastructure and evidence in the field. Princess is a public health professional
with a focus on social justice and advancing racial equity. Prior to joining the HAVI, she spent several
years working for the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she
implemented programs to reduce health disparities in disinvested communities. Princess worked most
deeply on the topics of gun and community violence prevention and served as the Director of Violence
Prevention Initiatives, leading program development and capacity building to reduce incidents of
violence across NYC neighborhoods. Princess has a background in applying mixed methods to
community health research and implementing community-based participatory approaches for
2

understanding and addressing health inequities. She holds a Master of Public Health in Community
Health Education from Hunter College (City University of New York) and a Bachelor of Arts in
Anthropology and Psychology from Temple University.
Kim Hamm serves as the Director of Member Services for the National Children’s Alliance. Prior to
rejoining the CAC movement, she served as the Deputy Director at the South Carolina Attorney
General’s Office over the Department of Crime Victim Services Training, Provider Certification and
Statistical Analysis, overseeing thousands of individual VSPs’ continuing education and our state level
data on victim service providers. Prior to that, Kim served as the Executive Director for the SC Network
of Children’s Advocacy Centers for several years and prior to that she was a victim advocate. Kim is a
certified VSP in the state of SC and have been since the 2008 inception of the certification program.
Jennifer Hiselman manages ICJIA’s InfoNet System, a web-based data collection and reporting system
used by over 100 victim service providers statewide. Jennifer joined ICJIA in 1996 as a researcher
focusing on victimization, victim services, and interpersonal violence. She worked closely with ICJIA’s
Federal & State Grants Unit to inform victim services planning, lead an evaluation of Illinois’ Sexual
Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, and managed the state’s first crime victimization survey. As
InfoNet Manager, Jennifer oversees InfoNet’s operation, provides training and assistance to users, hosts
user forums to identify new data collection needs, and works with various stakeholders using InfoNet’s
data for strategic planning. In 2018, Jennifer led efforts to rebuild InfoNet on a new technology platform
for increased performance, utility, and sustainability; InfoNet 2.0 was deployed that same year.
Currently, Jennifer is working with InfoNet users to improve the application’s capacity to facilitate more
comprehensive case management services to survivors and yield meaningful outcome measures.
Outside of ICJIA, Jennifer volunteers for a domestic violence service provider in her community. Jennifer
has an MA in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Monika Johnson Hostler is the President and CEO of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. She
previously served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
(NCCASA) since 1999 and is a founding Managing Partner of RALIANCE. In addition to working on behalf
of 90 rape crisis centers in North Carolina, Ms. Johnson Hostler is a pivotal asset to the national sexual
assault movement. She has also served on the Wake County Board of Education since 2013 and was
elected Board Chair in 2016. She received her bachelor’s degree from Fayetteville State University and a
Master’s Degree in Public Administration from NC Central University. Her leadership in the anti-sexual
violence movement and the public education field are examples of her commitment to social justice and
equality.
Sarah Khan is the Director of Programs for the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (APIGBV). She previously served as the Executive Director for a culturally specific anti-violence organization.
She draws on her 20 plus years in the field of gender-based violence and community development –
developing programs and leadership while supporting the expertise and voices of those she works with.
She has a breadth of experience providing both direct services as well as training and technical support
to the field, while working with multi-cultural communities of color. Her passion is fueled by breaking
silos and encouraging herself and others to address intersectionality in their work by addressing root
causes of gender-based violence.
3

Beth Meeks is the Director of the Capacity Technical Assistance Team at the National Network to End
Domestic Violence (NNEDV). She has spent 30 years working in the field of gender-based violence with
both victims and offenders. She has a bachelor’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Forensic Psychology, as
well as specialized training in hostage negotiations, media relations, and cultural competence. With
particular acumen in risk assessment, self-defense, and domestic homicide, Beth has provided expert
witness and trial consultant services winning exoneration for battered women charged with homicide
while defending their lives. Prior to her work at NNEDV she was the CEO of the Louisiana Coalition
Against Domestic Violence for 7 years and served as the CEO of a dual domestic violence and rape crisis
program in Ohio for more than 13 years.
Daisy Pagán is the Executive Director of the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators
(NAVAA) where she is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the
organization. In this role, her activities include collaboration, networking, leadership at the national
level, grant/resource management, training, and technical assistance, fiscal planning and oversight, and
identifying and informing public policy initiatives. Daisy has over 20 years of public policy experience in
research, analysis, and policy development, as well as over 16 years of victim advocacy, program, and
grants management experience. Previously, she held a management position with the Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency as the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Program Manager where she
oversaw the distribution of approximately $100 million in the state (Rights and Services Act and Victims
of Juvenile Offenders) and federal (Victims of Crime Act) funding throughout the state. She has a Master
of Arts in Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, and Bachelor of Science in Public
Policy from the Pennsylvania State University, College of Public Affairs.
Dawn Stover is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence (ATCEV). A
citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Dawn has been able to use her passion, dedication, and lived experience
to address domestic and sexual violence in Indian Country. Her largest demonstration of this has been
her work with the tribal coalitions. Dawn was a founding board member and then director of the
Oklahoma’s tribal coalition, and a founding board officer of ATCEV, a Native American organized and led
nonprofit that works to advance tribal sovereignty and safety of American Indian and Alaska Native
women by providing support to tribal coalitions and communities to address equal justice for survivors
of violence. Before working in Indian Country, Dawn served over ten years as the Director of the
Oklahoma Regional Community Policing Institute, influencing and strengthening partnerships between
Oklahoma’s community members and law enforcement. Dawn is the recipient of the Cherokee Nation
ONE FIRE Advocate of the Year Award (2019), Women’s Resource Center Partnership Award (2018), the
Cleveland County Woman of Influence Award (2018), the Bonnie HeavyRunner Victim Advocacy Award
(2014), the Community Oriented Policing Services Award (2009), and a graduate of the Advocacy
Learning Center (2014).
Taylan Stulting is a member of the Leadership Council, and Research Committee Co-Chair, for the
Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association (CAPPA). Taylan has over nine years of
experience working with survivors through research, grassroots organizing, policy development, direct
service, and community education with a particular focus on working with queer and transgender
survivors. Currently, Taylan is a Policy Associate at the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance
where they oversee multiple projects focusing on gender-based violence including survivor engagement,
training and technical assistance, and curriculum development. Prior to their current role, Taylan was
4

the Enough is Enough Coordinator at Kingsbridge Heights Community Center in the Bronx. In that role,
they worked with 12 colleges and universities across New York City to support gender-based violence
prevention and response efforts. Taylan is also a Circle Keeper for Hidden Water, an organization
working to end child sexual abuse through restorative justice practices. As a survivor, Taylan firmly
believes in the strength of survivor-led movements and empowering student survivors to enact change
on their campuses. Taylan approaches their work with a commitment to anti-oppression, gender
liberation, and racial justice. Taylan holds a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies from Bucknell
University, an M.A. in Gender, Violence and Conflict from University of Sussex, and an M.SW. with a
Certificate in Trauma Practice from Simmons University.
Cynthia Totten, Esq, is one of JDI’s Deputy Executive Directors, based in its Washington, D.C., office.
Cynthia leads JDI’s national training and technical assistance program, supporting the work of state and
tribal sexual assault coalitions, victim advocates, corrections officials, and funding administrators to
ensure that incarcerated survivors have access to crisis services. Additionally, she works with corrections
agencies on adopting policies that keep prisoners safe from sexual abuse. A lawyer with nearly two
decades of experience in human and civil rights work, Cynthia also advocates to bring basic international
human rights standards into U.S. prisons and jails and has contributed to JDI’s federal policy and
international programs.
Heather Warnken, J.D., LL.M. is Executive Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the
University of Baltimore School of Law. Prior to coming to the UB Law, she served as a visiting fellow at
the U.S. Department of Justice, co-affiliated with the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Office for
Victims of Crime, in the first-ever position dedicated to bridging the gap between research, policy and
practice to improve the response to individuals and communities impacted by crime victimization. These
efforts included working on the design and launch of the first-ever national Victim Services Statistical
Research Program, and supporting the equitable distribution of federal funds. She also served on the
Federal Interagency Reentry Council, the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims, the Estimating
the Financial Costs of Victimization study, and the Collective Healing National Demonstration
Initiative, working with five cities to promote trauma informed-responses, accountability and trustbuilding between police and the communities they serve. Prior to DOJ, Warnken spent five years as a
legal policy associate at the Warren Institute on Law & Social Policy at University of California, Berkeley
School of Law. While there, she worked on multidisciplinary initiatives in criminal and juvenile justice
reform, including leading two statewide needs assessments on how to improve access to services and
compensation for underserved survivors of crime.

5

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 7: Prenote email and postcard

{IF POSTCARD:
{DATE}
{FNAME} {LNAME}
{AGCYNAME}
{ADDRESS}
{CITY}, {STATE} {ZIP}}

{SUID}

{IF EMAIL:
From: [email protected]
Subject: {We need your help with the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers!}}
Dear {{FIRSTNAME} {LASTNAME}/Colleague}:
In the coming weeks you will receive an invitation to participate in the 2023 National Census of Victim
Service Providers (NCVSP). This national data collection is a collaborative effort between the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).
This national data collection is very important to create an accurate picture of the field of victim services.
The NCVSP was last fielded in 2017, and we aim to show the types of changes that have occurred since
that time – changes in the numbers of providers, types of victims served, and types of organizations
providing services.
{IF EMAIL: Is this the best email for us to send the 2023 NCVSP invitation?
Please let us know if there is a better email address we should use to send the invitation. The 2023
NCVSP is best completed by the organization or program leader—someone familiar with the staffing and
funding as well as the services offered and people served.}
Not a Victim Service Provider?
The invitation list for this NCVSP was compiled from directories of victim services, lists of federally
funded programs, and national victim services focused organizations, as well as state and local
organization that serve victims. We recognize that some organizations on this invitation list may not be
right for inclusion. If your organization does not have specific programming for victims of crime and
abuse, or designated staff people to work with victims and survivors, please let us know and we will
take you off the list. Email [email protected] and include your PIN {PIN} in the request.
For more information, email [email protected] or call {PHONE}. You may contact the project
director, Beth Rabinovich, PhD, at [email protected] or visit the BJS website at
https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvsp.

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 8: Invitation email and letter

{IF LETTER:
{DATE}
{FNAME} {LNAME}
{AGCYNAME}
{ADDRESS}
{CITY}, {STATE} {ZIP}}

{SUID}

{IF EMAIL: From: [email protected]
Subject: We need your help with the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers!}
Dear {[FIRSTNAME} {LASTNAME}/Colleague}:
Your organization is invited to participate in the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers
(NCVSP), which is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS) and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). This project is critical to understanding the
current landscape of victim services across the country and providing national data on victim service
provision and characteristics of victim service providers. This collection provides national data on all
programs and organizations that served victims of crime or abuse within the year prior to the survey. BJS
and OVC are working with the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), Westat, and the
National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) to conduct this data collection.
Your participation is extremely important to the success of the 2023 NCVSP to ensure it accurately
reflects the current field of victim service providers and changes to that field since the 2017 NCVSP. The
survey should take about 30 minutes to complete. Recognizing the time constraints affecting
organizations like yours and the need to prioritize responses to victims and survivors, we respectfully ask
that you complete the 2023 NCVSP within one month. There are no major risks or discomforts to you as
a participant. The time that you spend will result in data that will improve understanding, capacity, and
support of the victim services field.
Please visit the following secure website to complete the 2023 NCVSP using your unique username
and password:
{URL}
PIN: {WEBPIN}
This questionnaire will include questions about your current number of victim services staff, total annual
victim services budget, the categories of grants you received (federal, state or local, other), and the
estimated percentage of your budget supported by federal grants. We recommend you have this basic
information handy before starting the survey.
If you would like more information about the 2023 NCVSP, the larger project, or the many organizations
working on or supporting this effort, contact the 2023 NCVSP Help Desk at [email protected] or call
{PHONE}, or please visit the project website at https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvsp. You may also
contact Beth Rabinovich, PhD, at [email protected].

BJS is authorized to conduct this data collection under 34 U.S.C § 10132. BJS and its data collection
agents will only use the information you provide for statistical or research purposes pursuant to 34 U.S.C.
§ 10134, and will not disclose your information in identifiable form to anyone outside of the BJS project
team without your consent. All personally identifiable information (PII) collected under BJS’s authority is
protected under the confidentiality provisions of 34 U.S.C. § 10231. Any person who violates these
provisions may be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to any other penalties imposed by law.
Further, per the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. § 151), federal information systems
are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data. For more
information on how BJS and its data collection agents will use and protect your information, go to
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf.
Although this study is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your cooperation to make the results
comprehensive, accurate, and timely. We thank you for your participation in this important project.
Sincerely,

Alexis R. Piquero, PhD
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Kristina Rose
Director, Office for Victims of Crime
U.S. Department of Justice

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 9: Reminder email and postcard

{IF POSTCARD:
{DATE}
{FNAME} {LNAME}
{AGCYNAME}
{ADDRESS}
{CITY}, {STATE} {ZIP}}

{SUID}

{IF EMAIL:
From: [email protected]
Subject: {We need your help with the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers!}}
Dear {{FIRSTNAME} {LASTNAME}/Colleague}:
We recently sent you the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP).
This survey, by the U.S Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office for Victims of
Crime, is the second national data collection of all victim serving organizations and agencies. To build the
necessary capacity to better serve victims, their families, and communities, we need data on the allocation
of resources that serve victims, and on potential gaps in services or other resource limitations. Our
primary goals are to define the field of victim service providers by learning how many organizations and
agencies serve victims or survivors of different types of crime and abuse; gather information about basic
forms of service; and begin to understand staff size, budgets and streams of funding. These types of data
are critical for documenting the needs of victim service organizations and agencies, helping to plan for the
future, and attracting government and private funding to support your critical work.
If you have already completed and returned the 2023 NCVSP, please accept our sincere thanks. If not,
please do so this week. It is extremely important that we obtain a high response so that accurate
information may be presented to the victim service provider community.
Please visit the following secure website to complete the 2023 NCVSP using your unique username
and password:
{URL}
PIN: {WEBPIN}

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 10: Reminder email and U.S. Mail/FedEx letter

{IF LETTER:
{DATE}
{FNAME} {LNAME}
{AGCYNAME}
{ADDRESS}
{CITY}, {STATE} {ZIP}}

{SUID}

{IF EMAIL: From: [email protected]
Subject: We need your help with the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers!}
Dear {[FIRSTNAME} {LASTNAME}/Colleague}:
The 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) is quickly coming to a close and we
have not yet received your response.
The research team has made multiple attempts to reach you by phone and mail over the past couple
of months. The 2023 NCVSP is a very important survey by the U.S Department of Justice’s Bureau
of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and is the second national data
collection of all victim serving organizations and agencies. To build the necessary capacity to better
serve victims, their families, and communities, we need data on the allocation of resources that serve
victims and on potential gaps in services or other resource limitations.
Our goals are to obtain current information about how many entities serve victims or survivors of
different types of crime and abuse, gather information about basic forms of services, and to understand
staff size, budgets, and funding sources. These types of data are critical for documenting the needs of
victim service organizations and agencies, helping to plan for the future, and attracting government and
private funding to support your important work. The results of the 2023 NCVSP will also provide
information about how the landscape of victim service providers has changed since 2017.
Your participation is extremely important to the success of this study. Participation from all entities
that offer support or services to crime and abuse victims is critical for the 2023 NCVSP to accurately
reflect the broad field of victim service providers. The survey should take about 30 minutes to
complete. There are no major risks/discomforts to you as a participant.
We ask that you take a short amount of time to respond to the 2023 NCVSP by web or telephone
by: {DATE}.
Please visit the following secure website to complete the 2023 NCVSP using your unique username
and password:
{URL}
PIN: {WEBPIN}

Please contact the 2023 NCVSP Help Desk at [email protected] or {PHONE} to complete this survey
over the telephone. If you would like more information about this survey, the larger project, or the many
organizations working on or supporting this effort, please visit the project website at
https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvsp.
BJS is authorized to conduct this data collection under 34 U.S.C § 10132. BJS and its data collection
agents will only use the information you provide for statistical or research purposes pursuant to 34 U.S.C.
§ 10134, and will not disclose your information in identifiable form to anyone outside of the BJS project
team without your consent. All personally identifiable information (PII) collected under BJS’s authority is
protected under the confidentiality provisions of 34 U.S.C. § 10231. Any person who violates these
provisions may be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to any other penalties imposed by law.
Further, per the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. § 151), federal information systems
are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data. For more
information on how BJS and its data collection agents will use and protect your information, go to
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf.
Although this study is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your cooperation to make the results
comprehensive, accurate, and timely. We thank you for your time and participation in this important
project.
Sincerely,

Alexis R. Piquero, PhD
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Kristina Rose
Director, Office for Victims of Crime
U.S. Department of Justice

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 11: Follow-up phone prompting script

Attachment 10. Follow-up Phone Prompting Script

Follow-up Phone Prompting Script

Hello, my name is [NAME]. I’m calling from Westat a research firm located in Rockville,
Maryland. I need to speak with
We recently sent you an invitation to complete the 2023 National Census of Victim
Service Providers, also known as the NCVSP. The NCVSP is a very important study
of victim service providers by the US Department of Justice. The NCVSP will
provide much needed data to help providers like your organization to better serve
victims, and identify gaps in services and resource limitations for victims across the
U.S.
Did you receive the letter or email invitation that we sent?
•

IF THEY DID RECEIVE THE INVITATION

Have you completed the survey?
IF YES, Please accept our sincere thanks. AND ASK THEM IF THEY CAN
RETURN THE SURVEY IN THE NEXT WEEK IF THEY DID PAPI.
ALTERNATIVELY, IF THEY DID IT BY WEB THEN DOUBLE CHECK THE
SYSTEM FOR A RECENT ONLINE COMPLETION WITHIN THE NEXT DAY.
IF NO — Would you be willing to complete a survey? It takes about 30 minutes. We have
three ways to
complete the survey. I can email you the link and your organization’s PIN and
password to access our online version of the survey. We can also mail a paper version
of the survey if you prefer that method. Also, we can complete the survey over the
phone. We can complete the survey right now if you have about 30 minutes or, if you
don’t have time right now, we can schedule a convenient time to call back.
[OPTION 1] IF A FIRM ‘NO’ TO COMPLETING A SURVEY:
I appreciate that you do not wish to participate and we will not contact you again after
this point, but could you tell me why you will not be participating?
Is it because:
i.
The survey does not seem to be important;
ii.
The survey asks for information that you do not want to provide to the federal
government;
iii. The survey seems too burdensome;

iv.
v.
vi.

You do not have the time or staff to complete the survey;
You do not participate in any surveys ever.
Another reason?

[OPTION 2] IF A ‘YES’ TO COMPLETING THE SURVEY NOW BY PHONE:
PROCEED WITH THE PHONE VERSION OF THE SURVEY.
[OPTION 3] IF A ‘YES’ BUT THEY HAVE QUESTIONS - PROCEED TO ANSWER
QUESTIONS USING THE ATTACHED FAQ. IF THEY WANT TO DO THE
SURVEY NOW THEN BEGIN SURVEY OVER THE PHONE OR SCHEDULE A
CALL TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY OR REMIND THEM OF WEB OPTION OR
HARD PAPI TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY.
[OPTION 4] IF A ‘YES’ BUT THEY WANT EITHER WEB OR MAIL MODE –
CONFIRM THE CONTACT INFORMATION (BOTH EMAIL AND POSTAL ADDRESS)
OF THE RESPONDENT. SEND THE EMAIL IMMEDIATELY.
[OPTION 5] IF A ‘MAYBE’: TRY TO ADDRESS ANY OF THEIR CONCERNS
(CONSULT BELOW FAQ AS NECESSARY) AND TELL THEM THAT IF THEY
CANNOT DO IT NOW THAT YOU COULD CALL THEM BACK AT THEIR
CONVENIENCE OVER THE NEXT WEEK TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY. OR SEE IF
THEY WILL AGREE TO DO THE SURVEY USING THE WEB OR PAPER VERSION.
FIRST, ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE SPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE STUDY
OR HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OR NATURE OF THE SURVEY.
ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS AND EXPLAIN TO THEM THE VALUE OF
THE SURVEY AND WHY WE ARE DOING THE SURVEY. USE THE FOLLOWING
SCRIPT TO EXPLAIN THE STUDY:
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office
for Victims of Crime (OVC) are working together with our research team to
conduct this survey of all victim serving organizations and agencies.
Our goal is to define the field of victim service providers, including learning how
many organizations and agencies serve victims or survivors of which types of
crime or abuse; provide what basic forms of service; with what size staff and
budgets; and with what funding.
The NCVSP is designed to collect information from all organizations, programs, or
other types of providers that serve victims of crime or abuse. Your participation is
extremely important to the success of this study.

2

Participation from all entities that offer support or services to crime and abuse victims
is critical for the NCVSP to accurately reflect the broad field of victim service
providers. The survey should only take about 30 minutes to complete. The time that
you spend will result in data that will improve understanding, capacity, and support
of your critical field.
I am happy to answer any questions you have about the survey and its importance for
charting the future of victim service providers in the U.S. If you are online now, I can
also walk you through the project website that has more information about the survey and
show you the many organizations are working on or supporting this effort [E.G., OVC,
OVW, VOCA ADMINISTRATORS]. The project website is at [https://bjs.ojp.gov/datacollection/ncvsp]
Although this study is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your
cooperation to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely.
IF THEY DID NOT RECEIVE THE INVITATION OR ARE OTHERWISE
UNAWARE OF THE SURVEY:
VERIFY THAT THE INFORMATION WE HAVE FOR THEM IS CORRECT.
We have been sending our survey materials to
, using the email
address
_____and the following phone number
. Is that the
correct address for your organization?
IF IT IS NOT THEN UPDATE OUR RECORDS AND PROCEED TO EXPLAIN THE
SURVEY USING THIS LANGUAGE:
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office
for Victims of Crime (OVC) are working together with our research team to
conduct this survey of all victim serving organizations and agencies.
Our goal is to define the field of victim service providers, including learning how
many organizations and agencies serve victims or survivors of which types of
crime or abuse; provide what basic forms of service; with what size staff and
budgets; and with what funding.
The NCVSP is designed to collect information from all organizations, programs, or
other types of providers that serve victims of crime or abuse. Your participation is
extremely important to the success of this study.
Participation from all entities that offer support or services to crime and abuse victims
is critical for the NCVSP to accurately reflect the broad field of victim service
providers. The survey should only take about 30 minutes to complete. The time that
you spend will result in data that will improve understanding, capacity, and support
of your critical field.
3

I am happy to answer any questions you have about the survey and its importance for
charting the future of victim service providers in the U.S. If you are online now, I can
also walk you through the project website that has more information about the survey and
show you the many organizations are working on or supporting this effort [E.G., OVC,
OVW, VOCA ADMINISTRATORS]. The project website is at [https://bjs.ojp.gov/datacollection/ncvsp].
Although this study is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your
cooperation to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely.
USE THE BELOW FAQ IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BUT ALSO ASK
THEM IF THEY WILL COMPLETE THE SURVEY.
We have three ways to complete the survey. I can email you the link and your
organization’s PIN and password to access our online version of the survey. We can
also mail a paper version of the survey to you if you prefer that method. Also, we can
complete the survey over the phone. We can complete the survey right now, if you
have about 30 minutes, or if you don’t have time right now, we can schedule a
convenient time to call back.
IF THE VSP PROVIDES A CLEAR REFUSAL THEN YOU SHOULD SWITCH TO
OPTION 1 ABOVE.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
What is the purpose of this survey?
Our goal is to define the field of victim service providers. We are trying to learn
• How many organizations and agencies serve victims of crime or abuse
•
•
•
•

The types of victims serviced and the types of crimes or abuse they experienced;
What basic forms of service the organizations provide;
What size staff and budgets the organizations have; and
What funding the victim service providers use to assist victims and survivors.

Who is funding this Survey?
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, with funding from the Office
for Victims of Crime is funding this research.
Why is this study being funded?
Increasingly, data collection and analysis are being prioritized as a way to better
understand the scope of violence and crime in America. However, we do not have the
appropriate data to address the needs of crime victims or the capacity of organizations
that serve victims. The NCVSP will fill an important information gap and provide more
4

reliable data on the allocation of resources to provide services to victims, as well as
gaps in services and resource limitations.
Who are the other companies that are involved?
The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)is working with the
Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), Westat, and the National Organization
of Victim Assistance (NOVA) to conduct the survey. JRSA helped USDOJ to create the
survey itself, NOVA helped to create the list of victim service providers, and Westat is the
data collection contractor.
Aren’t there other surveys that already do this?
No, there aren’t. This is the second survey of all victim serving organizations and
agencies. The first NCVSP was administered in 2017, but none have been conducted
since 2017.
Why does it matter if my organization responds?
Your participation is extremely important to the success of this study. Participation
from all entities that offer support or services to crime and abuse victims is critical for
the NCVSP to accurately reflect the broad field of victim service providers. If this
survey achieves solid participation—that is we have confidence that we now know what
“the field” looks like, we will be able to compare the results to those of the 2017
NCVSP to learn how the victim service field has changed since then. Additionally, it
would then be possible to obtain more detailed information in a subsequent sample
survey about the staff, standards, trainings, technology, and other information about
victim service providers.
How long will it take to do the survey?
The survey should take about 30 minutes to complete.
Who else will see my answers? Are there any other risks to my organization?
This survey does not include questions about individual people, staff or victims, within
your agency. 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 made
available to the public. This study is voluntary. You may discontinue participation at
any time and decline to answer any questions. There are no major risks or discomforts
to you as a participant. We urgently need and appreciate your cooperation to make the
results inclusive, accurate and timely.
I would like to see some other information about this survey. Where can I look?
I am happy to answer any questions you have about the survey. If you are online now, I
can also walk you through the project website that with more information about the
survey and show you the many organization working on or supporting this effort (e.g.,
OVC, OVW, VOCA administrators). The project website is at [ENTER PROJECT
WEBSITE].

5

Thank you for your time.

YOU CAN BEGIN THE PHONE SURVEY IF THEY PREFER TO DO THE
SURVEY OVER THE PHONE OR SECURE A DATE AND TIME FOR ANOTHER
TIME TO DO THE SURVEY.
END CALL.

6

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 12: Last chance email and letter

{IF LETTER:
{DATE}
{FNAME} {LNAME}
{AGCYNAME}
{ADDRESS}
{CITY}, {STATE} {ZIP}}

{SUID}

{IF EMAIL: From: [email protected]
Subject: We need your help with the 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers!}
Dear {[FIRSTNAME} {LASTNAME}/Colleague}:
The 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) is quickly coming to a close and we
have not yet received your response.
The research team has made multiple attempts to reach you by phone and mail over the past couple
of months. The 2023 NCVSP is a very important survey by the U.S Department of Justice’s Bureau
of Justice Statistics (BJS) and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and is the second national data
collection of all victim serving organizations and agencies. To build the necessary capacity to better
serve victims, their families, and communities, we need data on the allocation of resources that serve
victims and on potential gaps in services or other resource limitations.
Our goals are to obtain current information about how many entities serve victims or survivors of
different types of crime and abuse, gather information about basic forms of services, and to understand
staff size, budgets, and funding sources. These types of data are critical for documenting the needs of
victim service organizations and agencies, helping to plan for the future, and attracting government and
private funding to support your important work. The results of the 2023 NCVSP will also provide
information about how the landscape of victim service providers has changed since 2017.
Your participation is extremely important to the success of this study. Participation from all entities
that offer support or services to crime and abuse victims is critical for the 2023 NCVSP to accurately
reflect the broad field of victim service providers. The survey should take about 30 minutes to
complete. There are no major risks/discomforts to you as a participant.
We ask that you take a short amount of time to respond to the 2023 NCVSP by web or telephone
by: {DATE}.

Please visit the following secure website to complete the 2023 NCVSP using your unique username
and password:
{URL}
PIN: {WEBPIN}
Please contact the 2023 NCVSP Help Desk at [email protected] or {PHONE} to complete this survey
over the telephone. If you would like more information about this survey, the larger project, or the many
organizations working on or supporting this effort, please visit the project website at
https://bjs.ojp.gov/data-collection/ncvsp.
BJS is authorized to conduct this data collection under 34 U.S.C § 10132. BJS and its data collection
agents will only use the information you provide for statistical or research purposes pursuant to 34 U.S.C.
§ 10134, and will not disclose your information in identifiable form to anyone outside of the BJS project
team without your consent. All personally identifiable information (PII) collected under BJS’s authority is
protected under the confidentiality provisions of 34 U.S.C. § 10231. Any person who violates these
provisions may be punished by a fine of up to $10,000 in addition to any other penalties imposed by law.
Further, per the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. § 151), federal information systems
are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data. For more
information on how BJS and its data collection agents will use and protect your information, go to
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf.
Although this study is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your cooperation to make the results
comprehensive, accurate, and timely. We thank you for your time and participation in this important
project.
Sincerely,

Alexis R. Piquero, PhD
Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice

Kristina Rose
Director, Office for Victims of Crime
U.S. Department of Justice

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 13: Final effort to establish eligibility (IVR)

Interactive Voice Response Script
You have reached the National Census of Victim Service Providers line to leave your information. You
will need your organization ID which is found on your postcard. Do you have your postcard available?
1. What is your organization’s ID number (see number on xxx of post card)?
2. Has your organization provided services to victims or survivors of crime or abuse through
specific program(s) or designated staff in the past six months? By ‘services to victims or
survivors of crime or abuse’ we mean direct assistance, including - but not limited to - referrals,
counseling, notices of court proceedings, legal assistance, shelter, and medical response, for
example.
Yes
No




3. What is your organization’s zip code?
Thank you for your time. If you want more information about our study, please contact the Helpline at
800-xxx-xxx.

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 14: 2017 NCVSP Instrument Review Report

2017 NCVSP Instrument Review
Susan Howley, Project Director
Derek Mueller, Research Associate

May 17, 2023

This report was supported by Award No. 15PBJS-21-GK-02597-RESS, awarded by the Bureau
of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice to the Justice
Research and Statistics Association. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official
positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ i
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1
2. NCVSP Instrument Assessment ....................................................................................................... 1
2.1 Approach ............................................................................................................................................ 1
2.2 Overarching Observations .................................................................................................................. 2
3. NCVSP Instrument Recommendations ............................................................................................. 3
3.1 NCVSP Section S: Initial Screener Questions ...................................................................................... 3
3.1.1 S1: Organization Contact Information ........................................................................................ 3
3.1.2 S2: Organization Function ........................................................................................................... 4
3.1.3 S2a: Organization Function Follow-Up ........................................................................................ 5
3.2 NCVSP Section A: Organization Type .................................................................................................. 8
3.2.1 A1: Organization Structure .......................................................................................................... 8
3.2.2 A1a: Organization Structure Follow-Up ...................................................................................... 9
3.3 NCVSP Section B: Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only .............................................................. 12
3.3.1 B1: Tribal Agency or Organization Designation......................................................................... 12
3.3.2 B2: Jurisdiction .......................................................................................................................... 13
3.4 NCVSP Section D: Government Agencies Only ................................................................................. 14
3.4.1 D1: Government Agency Designation NCVSP ........................................................................... 14
3.5 NCVSP Section E: Nonprofit .............................................................................................................. 17
3.5.1 E1: Non-Profit or Faith-Based Organization Designation .......................................................... 17
3.6 NCVSP Section G: Services for Victims.............................................................................................. 17
3.6.1 G1.5: Service Area ..................................................................................................................... 17
3.6.2 G4: Emotional support and safety ............................................................................................ 18
3.6.3 G5: Medical and health assistance ............................................................................................ 19
3.6.4 G7: Other Services ..................................................................................................................... 20
3.6.5 G11: Services for victims/survivors of specific crime types ...................................................... 21
3.6.6 G12-G13: Services for victims/survivors of specific crime types .............................................. 24
3.7 NCVSP Section H: Staffing ................................................................................................................. 27
3.8 NCVSP Section I: Funding.................................................................................................................. 30
3.9 NCVSP Section K: Current Issues of Concern .................................................................................... 34
3.10 Respondent Burden ........................................................................................................................ 37
4. Next Steps ................................................................................................................................... 37

Appendix A. Missing Values by NCVSP Item ....................................................................................... 38
Appendix B. 2017 NCVSP Instrument ................................................................................................ 41

Executive Summary
The National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP) is a data collection of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS). The purpose of the NCVSP is to provide national data on all programs and organizations
that serve victims and survivors of crime or abuse. BJS first administered the NCVSP in 2017 and is
readministering it in 2023 through a cooperative agreement with the Justice Research and Statistics
Association (JRSA) and its partners Westat and the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA).
The NCVSP captures information related to the number of victim service providers (VSPs) in the United
States, their location, the number of victims served, the types of services provided, staffing, and the
types and amounts of funding received.
As part of readministering the NCVSP, project staff at JRSA examined the 2017 NCVSP instrument and
resulting data to identify areas for improvement and make recommendations. The main goals of the
NCVSP review were to address the issues of 1) survey participation, and 2) the accuracy, validity, and
reliability of responses to the NCVSP. This report covers the findings from this review.
The project team used a variety of approaches to review the 2017 NCVSP instrument, documentation,
and data. First, the project team conducted a qualitative review of the 2017 NCVSP instrument and
associated documents, which included internal memos, published reports, and general instrument
feedback. Second, the project team conducted a quantitative assessment of the 2017 NCVSP survey
data and para data. Third, the project team received input from an advisory board of subject matter
experts on current issues faced by VSPs as well as particular aspects of the NCVSP instrument.
This review identified issues and recommended changes in several areas of the NCVSP. The most
noteworthy of these appear below.
Screener questions (Section S). Issues identified in Section S primarily focused on concerns with
question-wording related to the organization’s location and identifying organizations that intentionally
serve victims of crime. Project staff recommends revising item S1 to provide respondents with specific
instructions on how to respond if their organization is part of a multisite organization. The project team
also recommends revising item S2 to state that the term “victim” includes both victims and survivors of
crime or abuse. Other recommendations made relate to clarifying and streamlining questions for
respondents who do not provide direct victim services.
Organization type (Section A). Among the issues identified in Section A, the project team found evidence
that some respondents misidentified themselves as having a primary focus on victim services when they
were instead a VSP embedded in a larger organization. This has implications for later questions in the
survey. Another identified issue was the risk of data duplication, when two locations of the same
organization respond to the survey. The project team recommends several new survey items to capture
parent-child relationships between respondents, and to clarify organization structure for multisite
locations.
Service provisions (Section G). Section G captures information on the services that were provided to
victims of crime during the past calendar/fiscal year. The project team recommends adding a new
question that allows respondents to report on their service area. This information could be beneficial in
identifying whether there are differences between urban, suburban, and rural VSPs related to providing

i

victim services. The project team found several issues with items G12 and G13, which ask respondents
to indicate whether it is their organization’s mission to serve specific crime types or victim
subpopulations. The project team recommends adding a screener question before these items to
indicate whether one or both of these apply to their organization’s services and rewording those
questions.
Staffing (Section H). The project team identified some limitations associated with the question wording
for the staffing-related questions. Specifically, the use of the wording “Current Staffing” could be
misleading to respondents as it creates confusion about whether they are supposed to report staffing at
the time of completing the survey or at the end of the past calendar/fiscal year. This issue also has
implications for how staff turnover is calculated. To address this issue, the project team recommends
asking respondents to report on 1) staffing at the beginning of the previous completed calendar/fiscal
year, 2) new staff hired during the previous completed calendar/fiscal year, and 3) staff that left during
the previous completed calendar/fiscal year.
Funding (Section I). Section I is designed to capture information on an organization’s funding sources
and the amount of funding received across each source. The project team found that the funding
questions in the 2017 instrument were complex due to the nature and variety of funding sources that
organizations receive and may be the source of missing data in subsequent sections of the survey. To
reduce the burden on respondents, the project team recommends asking respondents to provide dollar
amounts for only certain types of funding sources and asking respondents to provide a “Yes/No” about
the receipt of other funding sources (e.g., federal funding and state funding sources). The project team
also found that some embedded organizations provided the total funding amount received for the
entire organization rather than the specific victim services component of the organization. The project
team proposes adding a new question to ask respondents about their organization’s total annual budget
in the past calendar/fiscal year, followed by the question that asks respondents about funding for victim
services their organization received in the past calendar/fiscal year, in order to focus their thinking.
Current issues of concern (Section K). The findings from the review of the 2017 NCVSP revealed that
most of the questions related to current issues of concern in the victim services field were of limited
interest at the present time. The project team proposes adding new items to address the issue of
vicarious trauma and staff burnout, and the issue of respondent concern regarding the organization’s
ability to reach and serve all people equally. Given the public health crisis related to the COVID-19
pandemic and changes to organizational operation, the project team also added a series of questions to
capture the impacts of the pandemic on the victim services field.
This instrument review report details the issues identified with the 2017 NCVSP and proposed revisions.
The recommendations described in this report are aimed at improving the quality of data and rate of
survey participation.
Following this review and the development of a draft, the instrument moved to cognitive testing of
recommended changes. A separate document, National Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive
Testing Report, describes the findings and recommendations resulting from that process.

ii

1. Introduction
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) initiated the Victim Services Statistical Research Program (VSSRP) 1
to build knowledge about victim services by collecting and analyzing data from victims and the diverse
entities that serve victims in the United States. Within this program, the National Census of Victim
Service Providers (NCVSP) aims to provide national data on all programs and organizations that serve
victims and survivors of crime or abuse (hereinafter victims of crime) through specific programs or staff.
First administered in 2017, the NCVSP captures information related to the number of victim service
providers (VSPs) in the United States, where they are located, the number of victims they serve, the
types of services they provide, their staffing, and their funding. Along with gathering basic information
about the victim services field, the 2017 NCVSP provided a sampling frame for the 2019 National Survey
of Victim Service Providers (NSVSP).
In 2021, BJS awarded a cooperative agreement to the Justice Research and Statistics Association and its
partners, Westat and the National Organization for Victim Assistance, to conduct the second NCVSP to
provide an updated description of the field of victim service providers. As part of that effort, the project
team examined the 2017 NCVSP instrument and resulting data to identify any areas for improvement
and make recommendations to increase survey participation and the accuracy, validity, and reliability of
responses in future administrations.
This report describes the review of the 2017 NCVSP instrument. Section 2 provides a brief overview of
the various methods used to examine the 2017 NCVSP instrument and data, as well as the project
team’s approach to gathering feedback from the advisory board of subject matter experts (SMEs).
Section 3 highlights the project team’s major findings from the review of the 2017 NCVSP instrument
and data and provides recommendations to address the issues observed from that review. In Section 4,
the project team describes the next steps for finalizing and fielding the 2023 NCVSP.

2. NCVSP Instrument Assessment
2.1 Approach
The project team conducted a number of activities to assess the 2017 NCVSP instrument for issues
related to content, wording, design, and formatting.
First, the project team conducted a qualitative review of the 2017 NCVSP instrument and associated
documents. BJS provided members of the project team with a variety of documents related to the 2017
NCVSP instrument, including internal memos, published reports, and general instrument feedback. The
project team compiled these documents and cataloged the observations related to general instrument
issues, missing data, and survey disposition.
Next, the project team conducted a quantitative assessment of the 2017 NCVSP survey data to identify
other issues. This included an examination of open-ended “other” responses to questions that, while not

1

See https://bjs.ojp.gov/programs/vssrp for more information on this program.

1

included in the public data file, were made available through BJS. This examination revealed a need to
modify or expand response options to better capture these “other” responses.
Because NCVSP respondents serve as the frame from which a sample is drawn for the National Survey of
Victim Service Providers (NSVSP), and because the 2019 NSVSP included some questions on similar
topics as the 2017 NCVSP, BJS also provided information and the final data file on the NSVSP. Project
staff examined that material for additional insights that could inform the NCVSP instrument. For
example, the project team examined responses related to services provided to victims of crime in the
NSVSP to determine whether response options or question-wording in the NCVSP should be adjusted.
BJS also provided the project team with para data on the administration of the survey data for the 2017
NCVSP (e.g., response time and missing data). The project team examined these data and made
recommendations to enhance survey design and completion, identifying potential approaches to reduce
the burden on survey respondents. This assessment included consideration of the complexity of
questions and the value of information each question was designed to produce.
The final step in the review of the 2017 NCVSP involved seeking input from an advisory board of subject
matter experts (SMEs). The SME advisory board, comprised of 13 experts representing different
segments of the victim services field, convened for two virtual meetings. Discussions during the first
meeting, which centered around the changing landscape of victim services, informed the consideration
of general survey issues regarding services provided and victims served. The second meeting focused on
specific areas of the instrument including organization structure (Section A), service types (Section G),
funding (Section I), and current issues (Section K). SMEs shared insights regarding question and response
wording, item burden, and the importance of the information those sections sought to gather. The
project team also provided the SMEs with a full draft copy of the instrument and invited them to submit
additional comments or suggestions after the meetings. The project team used the information
obtained from the SMEs to further refine question-wording, content, and survey design.

2.2 Overarching Observations
The project team classified instrument issues identified in previous feedback documents into several
categories (e.g., data quality, question-wording, question content), which were primarily used for
organizational purposes. Section A (Organization Type and Structure), Section G (Services for Victims),
and Section I (Funding) of the instrument received the most feedback and were the primary focus of the
SME meetings. These are discussed in more detail in the recommendations section below.
Other concerns centered on missing data. The project team compiled a spreadsheet with missing data
across all survey items for respondents who indicated that their organization had provided services to
victims of crime within the prior 6 months (see Appendix A). While missing data was a relatively minimal
issue overall, a few questions did produce higher levels of missing data. These included item G10
(number of unique victims served, 11.24% missing) and Section I (funding). Section I contained the
highest percentage of missing responses (e.g., 15.89% missing for item I1). In the remaining sections J
and K, missingness slightly improved (i.e., ranging from 9.19% to 10.16%) but remained higher than it
was in previous sections of the survey.
Another area of concern related to the potential duplication of data was that multiple locations of the
same organization responded to the survey. Those locations might have had a parent-child
relationship—such as a headquarters/main office with other service locations—but it was unclear
whether respondents were responding for their location only, or across the entire organization.

2

More specific findings and recommendations are presented below.

3. NCVSP Instrument Recommendations
This section contains a review of the 2017 NCVSP instrument, identifying issues and making
recommendations to address those issues. The project team addresses the survey items sequentially
based on the order of the sections in the instrument (see Table 1, 2017 NCVSP Instrument Section
Titles). For each item, issues are identified, and recommendations are made to address those issues. The
original language and recommended language for each is provided. For reference, readers can view the
full 2017 NCVSP instrument in Appendix B of this report.

Table 1: 2017 NCVSP Instrument Section Titles
Section
Title
S
Screener Questions
A
Organization Structure and Type
B
Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only
C
Campus Organizations Only
D
Government Agencies Only
E
Nonprofit or Faith-Based Organizations Only
F
For-Profit Organizations Only
G
Services for Victims
H
Staffing
I
Funding
J
Record Keeping
K
Current Issues of Concern to VSPs

3.1 NCVSP Section S: Initial Screener Questions
The purpose of Section S is to screen out respondents who do not provide direct services to victims of
crime and abuse, and to capture minimal information from those who screen out.

3.1.1 S1: Organization Contact Information
The initial screener question (item S1) is designed to capture information about an organization’s
location, the respondent’s contact information, the role of the organization in the victim services field,
and the organization type.
Issue: Respondents who are part of a multisite organization might provide responses that are either
specific to their physical location or the entire organization or main/headquarters office, with no way of
distinguishing between those options.
Recommendation: Instruct respondents that they are expected to respond with information specific to
the physical location for which they are located. This clarifying language can be built into applicable
survey items to serve as a reminder to respondents.

3

Issue: In the 2017 NCVSP, agency and organization are used interchangeably. The SMEs and project
team agreed that many VSPs consider themselves as organizations except those involved in the
government.
Recommendation: Replace “agency” with “organization” throughout the survey except for in Section B
(i.e., Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only) and Section D (i.e., Government Agencies Only).
Issue: Text-entry fields in surveys should be limited due to the burden it places on respondents.
Recommendation: Explore whether fields can be auto-populated with this information based on the
sampling frame and ask respondents to confirm whether the provided information is correct.

Table 2: Item S1 Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

S1. Before you begin, please complete the
following pieces of information for your
organization.
→
→
→
→
→
→

S1. Before you begin, please complete the
following pieces of information for your
organization. If your organization is part of a
multisite organization, please use the physical
address of your location and not the address of
your main or headquarters office.

Address
Address
City, State, ZIP
Main business phone number
Agency email address
Agency website

Organization Name
Organization Address
City, State, ZIP
Business phone number
Organization email address
Organization website

3.1.2 S2: Organization Function
This section asks respondents to indicate whether their organization is actively providing direct services
to victims of crime or has done so within the past six months (item S2). The purpose of this question is
to screen out those who are not actively providing direct services to victims. However, organizations
that are solely providing referrals for services to victims of crime and maintain an active victim service
referral program are eligible to participate in the survey. Respondents are also asked to identify how
their organization is involved in the victim services field. While every criminal justice agency, every social
service agency, every health agency, and every school will include victims among the individuals served,
NCVSP aims to identify VSPs who specifically provide services to victims of crime, including programs
that maintain an active victim service referral program.
Issue: The wording of item S2 in the 2017 NCVSP does not explicitly state that the organization must
intentionally provide services to victims of crime. The original wording leaves open the potential for
organizations to screen into the survey who may not be providing direct victim services to victims and
survivors of crime or abuse.

4

Recommendation: Update the wording in S2 to capture whether the organization or any programs or
staff within the organization are intentionally providing services to victims of crime. This revision should
be probed during cognitive testing to determine if respondents are answering appropriately or if the
answer changes with suggested phrasing.
Issue: The current definition of VSP may not accurately reflect changes in the landscape of the victim
services field or be inclusive of all potential VSPs, which has implications for who screens out of the
survey.
Recommendation: SMEs indicated that using the terminology "victims of crime or abuse" may not be
inclusive of all VSPs (especially those that are providing direct services to non-justice system-involved
victims). Include survivors in the question. Also, include a note that the terminology “victim” will mean
victim or survivor” going forward from this point in the survey.

Table 3: Item S2 Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

S2. Has your organization or any programs or
staff within your organization provided 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.

S2. Has your organization or any programs/staff
within your organization intentionally provided
services to victims/survivors of crime or abuse in
the past six months? By ‘services to
victims/survivors 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. This survey will use the term victim
to mean victim or survivor from this point
forward.

→ Yes  Go to A1, Page 4
→ No  Proceed to S2a

Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a

3.1.3 S2a: Organization Function Follow-Up
Issue: This series of questions leads with an introduction beginning with “Thank you,” which may signal
that the survey is over. Respondents who did not provide services to victims may have not carefully read
the introduction to S2a and thus were passive or active refusers for the remainder of the screening
questions that applied to them.
Recommendation: Rather than leading with “Thank you” which often signals the end of a survey, revise
the introduction to S2a.5 to encourage completion. For example, “Please tell us which of the following
options apply to your agency or organization, so that we can update our records:”
Issue: Embedded in the response items to S2a is a series of questions related to whether the
organization maintains an active victim service referral program. This is a particularly important item for
respondents to see because if they answer “Yes” to this question, they will screen into the survey.

5

Recommendations: Replace the original S2a list with a single item that addresses whether an
organization maintains an active victim service referral program.
Issue: The classification structure that categorizes VSPs into one of several categories for item S2a is
lengthy and difficult to read quickly. Moreover, the categories in S2a are not a comprehensive list of all
those who may have been included in the initial frame. Specifically, issue advocacy organizations or
training and technical assistance (TTA) providers may have been included in the initial frame but would
not have been screened out at this stage.
Recommendations:
•

•

•

Add a category to S2a.5 for organizations that address victim issues solely through activities
such as grant funding, issue advocacy, public awareness, or TTA, but not as a direct provider of
services. Several respondents who completed the 'Other' field indicated that their organization
is engaged in at least one of these activities.
Reorder the responses in a more logical sequence and create separate questions to simplify this
question. Readability can be improved by ordering the remaining items in a sequence that flows
from no involvement in the victim services field to involvement in the field but not direct
services.
Test these revisions with entities that might appear on a list of victim-related agencies but not
provide direct services.

6

Table 4: Item S2a Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Items/Responses

S2a. Thank you. We received your
organization’s name from a list of entities
that served victims of crime or abuse at some
point in time. To help us update our records,
please indicate which of the following
options apply (check all that apply):

S2a. Does your organization maintain an active
victim service referral program? This includes but is
not limited to, hotlines.

→ Our organization has never provided
services to victims of crime or abuse
→ Our organization functions primarily
as a granting or funding agency and
not as a direct provider of services
→ Our organization has provided
services to victims of crime or abuse,
but not in the past 6 months
Does your organization plan to
provide services to victims of
crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
→ Our organization contracts out all of
our victim services and/or partners
with an outside agency or agencies to
provide services to victims of crime or
abuse
→ Our organization solely provides
referrals to victims of crime and abuse
Do you maintain an active
victim service referral
program?
Yes  We would still
like for you to
participate, please
proceed to A1
No  Proceed to S2b
→ Our organization might serve victims
of crime or abuse as part of our
program, but there is no consistent
way to identify whether persons are
victims
→ Other (please provide brief
description)

Yes  Skip to A1
No  Proceed to S2a.5
S2a.5. To help us update our records, please
answer a few additional questions:
a. Has your organization ever provided services to
victims of crime or abuse?
Yes
No
b. Does your organization plan to provide services
to victims of crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
c. Does your organization indirectly support victims
of crime or abuse in any of the following ways?
A. Contracting out all direct services to another
organization.
Yes
No
B. Providing grants or funding to support direct
services to victims of crime or abuse.
Yes
No
C. Providing training and technical assistance
for direct service providers or engaging in issue
advocacy.
Yes
No
D. Other
Yes
No
[if yes] Please specify _______

7

3.2 NCVSP Section A: Organization Type
The purpose of Section A is to identify how an organization is structured to provide services to victims of
crime in addition to the organization type. Specifically, respondents were asked to indicate whether the
organization’s primary function is to provide services/programming to victims of crime (i.e.,
freestanding) or whether the victim services are one component of a larger organization (i.e.,
embedded).

3.2.1 A1: Organization Structure
The purpose of item A1 is to accurately identify whether the responding organization is a standalone
victim service provider, or a victim service program embedded within another organization that has a
broader function.
Issue: In reviewing the 2017 NCVSP data, some respondents appear to have misidentified themselves as
having a primary focus on victim services rather than being a VSP embedded in a larger organization. For
example, three respondents who identified as being a law enforcement VSP, and one who identified as
being a prosecutor VSP, reported that their primary functions were to provide direct services to victims
and that they each had more than 500 FTE positions on staff. This indicates that the respondents
misinterpreted the agency structure question, which had implications for the later staffing question.
Recommendation: Rephrase response choices for question A1 that stress the intent of the question.
These wording changes will be assessed to determine whether the intent of the question is easy to
understand and whether there is increased clarity among VSPs who identify as being embedded within a
larger organization.

Table 5: Item A1 Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

A1. Which of the following best describes how
your organization is structured to provide
services to victims of crime or abuse?

A1. Which of the following best describes how
your organization is structured to provide
services to victims of crime or abuse?

→ 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

The primary function of the organization
as a whole is to provide services or
programming for victims of crime. 
Skip to A1.5
Victim services or programming are one
component of the larger organization’s
activities (e.g., a hospital, university,
community center, law enforcement
agency, or prosecutor’s office) 
Proceed to A1a

8

3.2.2 A1a: Organization Structure Follow-Up
A1a is intended to ensure that respondents identifying as embedded do offer victim services as a
specific activity.
Issue: The term “dedicated” in question A1a may confuse respondents whose victim-serving staff have
multiple job functions. This has implications for the validity of other responses and may cause some
respondents to incorrectly screen out of the survey. In addition, the SMEs also indicated that using
terminology such as “victims of crime or abuse” is more inclusive.
Recommendation: Reword this question to ask respondents “Does your organization have a specific
program(s) or staff that are designated to work with victims of crime or abuse?” Respondents who
answer “Yes” to item A1a will proceed to item A1.5. Those who answer “No” will be screened out of the
survey because their organization would not currently be staffed or offering programs/services to
victims of crime.

Table 6: Item A1a Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

A1a. Does your organization have a specific
program(s) or staff that are dedicated to
working with crime victims?

A1a. Does your organization have a specific
program(s) or staff that are designated to work
with victims of crime or abuse?
Yes  Proceed to A1.5
No ” Thank you. You do not need to
complete the rest of this survey.”

→ Yes
→ No

Issue: Lack of clarity on the unit of reporting among agencies with multiple sites. The majority of VSPs
report data for their local agency at the street-address level. However, some agencies operate out of
multiple sites. These take various forms, including:
•
•
•

A headquarters agency with field or branch offices whose daily operations are managed locally
(FBI’s victim assistance; state legal aid)
A national or state organization with local chapters that do not have separate legal status (e.g.,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs)
An organization that has a main office with satellite offices whose daily operations may be
managed locally or intertwined with those of the main office (domestic violence program with a
second location at the courthouse; nonprofit with a location in a law enforcement agency;
sexual assault service organization with a satellite office in a rural area)

Recommendation: Add new survey questions that identify any “parent-child” relationships between
respondents (new items A1.5, A1.5a, A1.5b, A1.7, A1.8, and A1.9; see Table 7 below).

9

Table 7: Additional Section A Recommendations, Unit of Reporting
Original Survey Item/Responses
N/A
•

The 2017 NCVSP does not
include survey items to
address issues related to
“parent-child”
relationships within
organizations, unit of
reporting, and multi-site
locations

Revised Survey Item/Responses
A1.5. Please check the most appropriate description of your
organization.
Organization operating through one single location à
Skip to A1.6
One sublocation of a multi-site organization (such as a
branch or satellite office, or a local chapter of a larger
organization)  Proceed to A1.5a
The headquarters or main office of a multi-site
organization (i.e., an office that exercises operational
control over other sites, not merely a membership
organization)  Skip to A1.5b
A1.5a. Please provide the following contact information for
your organization's headquarters or main office:
Organization Name: _____________________
Organization Address: ___________________
City, State, ZIP: _______________________
 Skip to A1.6
A1.5b. Please provide the following contact information for
each of your organization's sublocations:
Sublocation Name: ______________________
Organization Address: ___________________
City, State, ZIP: _______________________
Add location?
Yes  Repeat prompts for org name, address,
city/state/zip
No  Proceed to A1.7

10

A1.7. In addition to support you provide to your sublocations,
do you offer any direct services to victims of crime or abuse at
your location/headquarters level? (This can include a helpline or
hotline.)
Yes  Proceed to A1.8
No  Skip to A1.9
A1.8. This survey includes questions about services, persons
served, staffing, and funding. Please indicate what your
responses will encompass:
Responses relate ONLY to the main or headquarters
location  Skip to A2
Responses relate to all locations of this organization
(headquarters plus all sublocations)  Skip to A2
A1.9. Are you able to answer questions about services,
persons served, staffing, and funding for all your organization’s
sub locations?
Yes “Please respond to the remainder of the survey as
the questions relate to all of your organization’s
sublocations”  Proceed to A2
No  “Thank you. You may exit the survey.”

Issue: Classifying entities into a discrete type can be challenging when an agency fits multiple definitions
or types are defined too broadly (e.g., a nonprofit agency with a team of staff working in a law
enforcement agency). The type of organization that applies to the VSP may differ from the type of
organization out of which it operates. For example, a nonprofit domestic violence service provider may
have a location in the courthouse, which the respondent could either identify as a nonprofit or courtbased program.
Recommendation: Add a question to capture co-located services (new item A1.6; see Table 8 below).
Use underlining or other formatting in the presentation of the question to promote more intentional
consideration for organization type.

11

Table 8: Additional Section A Recommendations – Co-located services
Original Survey Item/Responses
N/A
•

2017 NCVSP does not include survey
items to address issues related to
organizations co-located in other
organizations.

Revised Survey Item/Responses
A1.6. Is your organization physically located at
the site of another organization (such as a
nonprofit program operating out of the
courthouse or a law enforcement agency; a law
enforcement victim service program operating
out of a Family Justice Center; or a nonprofit with
space in a commercial establishment)?
Yes [For the next question related to
organization type, please select the
answer that best describes your own
organization rather than the type of
organization where you are physically
located.]  Skip to A2
No  Skip to A2

3.3 NCVSP Section B: Tribal Agencies and Organizations Only
This section of the survey applies to only those organizations that indicated they are a tribal VSP. This
section aims to have tribal VSPs select the designation that best describes the respondent’s agency or
organization.

3.3.1 B1: Tribal Agency or Organization Designation
Issue: The response categories for tribal agencies have a different structure than other organization
types. In addition, respondents to the 2017 NCVSP commonly responded to ‘Other agency that is not
justice-based’ that would be categorized as ‘Social Services or child/adult protective services.’
Recommendations:
•
•

Response categories should be adjusted to better capture services identified as “other”
responses in the 2017 NCVSP.
To the extent applicable, response options should be parallel to the options in Government
Agencies (Section D) and updated to capture multi-agency organizations.

12

Table 9: B1 Recommendations – Tribal Agency or Organization Designation
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

B1. Which designation best describes your tribal
agency or organization? Select one response.

B1. Which designation best describes your tribal
agency or organization? Select one response.

Law enforcement
Prosecutor
Court
Juvenile Justice
Offender custody and supervision
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other justice-based agency (please
specify)
Other agency that is NOT justice-based
(e.g., human services, health, education,
etc.) (please specify)

Law enforcement
Prosecutor’s Office
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision (such
as probation, parole, corrections)
Multi-agency (such as task forces,
response teams, etc.)
Social services or child/adult protective
services
Health services
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other (please specify)____________

3.3.2 B2: Jurisdiction
Issue: Unlike sections on government agencies (D) and nonprofit organizations (E), the tribal agency
section lacks a question regarding the geographic reach of services. Given the range of Tribal victim
services and the growth in this area of the field, this information is important to capture. These services
have expanded to serve victims of crime at the national level, regional level, reservation level, and more.
Recommendation: Add a jurisdiction question similar to that used for Sections D and E. Add a response
option for “reservation-wide.” Test wording that encompasses Alaska Native Villages, similar to the citywide or neighborhood level response options in Sections D and E.

13

Table 10: Item B2 Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses
N/A
2017 NCVSP does not include survey
items to address issues related to
organizations co-located in other
organizations.

Revised Survey Item/Responses
B2. In what service area/jurisdiction does your
agency operate in terms of victims served or
services delivered? Select one response.
United States-wide
Reservation-wide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city/Multivillage
Countywide only
Citywide only
Alaska Native Village only
Other (please specify) ____________

3.4 NCVSP Section D: Government Agencies Only
This section of the survey applies to only those organizations that indicated they are a governmental
VSP. The purpose of this section is to have government agencies/organizations select the designation
that best applies.

3.4.1 D1: Government Agency Designation NCVSP
Issue: Many respondents to the 2017 NCVSP incorrectly checked ‘Other government agency’ when they
should have selected one of the fixed response choices. Examples of free-text entries included:
‘Corrections’, ‘Adult Probation’, ‘Community Mental Health’, ‘Law Enforcement’, ‘Prosecutor Office’,
‘Victim Witness Program’, and ‘U.S. Attorney’s Office’. Some of those cannot be upcoded because they
do not always clearly fit within one of the provided response options. Specifically, “victim witness
program” or “victim witness coordinator” typically but not always refers to a prosecutor-based program.
The project team examined open-ended responses accompanying these items to determine whether
revisions could be made to clarify the response categories better.
Recommendation: Use clear response categories and examples that capture common government
agency designations.
Issue: "Other" respondents included state victim compensation programs and state victim funding
administrators. For purposes of the NCVSP, victim compensation may be considered a "victim service."
Some victim funding agencies might have their own victim service activities, in addition to grantmaking
to support direct services by others. Because both types of agencies have multimillion-dollar budgets,
their funding responses will skew the usefulness of the funding data unless they can be identified
separately.
Recommendation: Add Victim Compensation and Victim Funding Administrators to the response
options list.

14

Issue: Not all funding administrators offer direct assistance. While these respondents should screen out
in Section S, their identity with the victim service field is often so strong they may not have been
screened out, as evidenced by the 2017 NCVSP. This section provides another opportunity to screen out
those funding agencies that do not offer direct services. For those that do provide direct victim services,
this section also provides an opportunity to add a reminder to focus their responses on their own direct
service activities.
Recommendation: If the “funding administrators” response is selected, direct the respondent to an
additional question: D1a. In addition to victim services funding, do you offer any direct victim services?
(Yes/No).

15

Table 11: D1 Recommendations – Government Agency Designation
Original Survey Item/Responses
D1. Which designation best describes your
government agency? Select one response.

Revised Survey Item/Responses
D1. Which designation best describes your
government agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement  Skip to D2
Prosecutor’s Office (such as District
Attorney, County Attorney, etc.) à Skip to
D2
Courts  Skip to D2
Juvenile justice  Skip to D2
Social services or child/adult protective
services  Skip to D2
Offender custody and supervision (such
as probation, parole, corrections)  Skip
to D2
Multi-agency (such as task forces,
response teams, etc.)  Skip to D2
State or territory victim compensation
program à Skip to D2
State or territory victim funding
administrator  Proceed to D1a
Other government agency (please
specify)  Skip to D2

Law enforcement
Prosecution
Courts
Juvenile Justice
Social services or child/adult protective
services
Offender custody and supervision
Multi-agency (e.g., tasks forces, response
teams, etc.)
Other government agency (please
specify)

D1a. Does your organization provide any
direct victim services itself, in addition to
grantmaking?
Yes  “In completing the
remainder of the survey, please
confine your responses to your
own direct victim service
activities, not the grant-making
and related functions.”  Go to
section G [SERVICES FOR VICTIMS]
No  “Thank you. You may exit
the survey.

16

3.5 NCVSP Section E: Nonprofit
The purpose of this section is to identify the organization designation as well as the service
area/jurisdiction for responding nonprofit organizations.

3.5.1 E1: Nonprofit or Faith-Based Organization Designation
Issues: The 2017 NCVSP asked nonprofit agencies to indicate whether they were a coalition, single
entity, or other. Respondents did not understand E1. There were more than 400 "other" responses to
E1, most of which put the type of organization they are (e.g., Children’s Advocacy Centers, rape crisis
centers, etc.). The remaining responses fell into one of three categories:
•
•
•

Individual program within a larger agency (victim services program within a community mental
health center, part of a larger mainstream program);
Organizations that are part of a coalition (we are under a state coalition; we are part of two
coalitions; etc.); and
Miscellaneous responses (chapter of a national organization; local affiliate of YWCA USA;
national organization).

Moreover, in discussions with the SMEs, they did not find additional value in this question, particularly
in light of a new proposed question series to identify “parent-child” relationships between entities.
Recommendation: Remove item E1. Organizations that are a coalition will still be recognized by service
area (national, statewide, etc.). Because they are a membership organization and not a parent
organization, knowing who they are would not provide useful information even if that question were to
be reworded to result in better-quality responses. Agencies that do have a parent relationship will be
identified in the new survey items in section A (A1.5 and A1.7).

3.6 NCVSP Section G: Services for Victims
The purpose of this section is to collect information for each responding organization on the services
that were provided to victims of crime during the past calendar/fiscal year. Questions capture a variety
of services that were provided to victims of crime, whether the agency serves victims of specific abuse
or crime types, as well as whether the agency only provides services to specific populations of victims of
crime.

3.6.1 G1.5: Service Area
Issue: There was not an item in the 2017 NCVSP that allowed respondents to report on the type of
service area (e.g., rural, suburban, urban). This information could be informative in analysis of the survey
data.
Recommendation: Insert a new question that allows respondents to best describe their organization’s
service area.

17

Table 12: G1 Recommendation – Service Area
Original Survey Item/Responses
N/A
There is not currently an item in the 2017
NCVSP that captures service area for all
respondents.

Revised Survey Item/Responses
G1.5. How would you best describe your service
area? (An urban area is within a principal city of a
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A suburban
area is within an MSA but not within the principal
city of that MSA and a rural area is outside of an
MSA. An MSA can generally be defined as an area
with a city and surrounding communities closely
linked to one another by social and economic
factors.)
Urban
Suburban
Rural

3.6.2 G4: Emotional support and safety
Issue: Data from the more recent NSVSP revealed moderate use of the category “other” (15% of
respondents), and, within those responses, “substance abuse treatment” was one of the most common
free-text responses. This specific service type is not included in any of the services fields in the NCVSP.
Recommendations:
•
•

Revise the label for this subcategory of services to “Mental health support and safety.”
Insert an additional response option for substance abuse treatment services.

18

Table 13: G4 Recommendation – Emotional support and safety
Original Survey Item/Responses
G4. Emotional support and
safety

Revised Survey Item/Responses
G4. Mental health support and
safety

Mental health services? (e.g.,
individual or group
counseling; support groups;
other therapy; social
programming for children;
etc.)

□ Yes □ No

Crisis Counseling?

□ Yes □ No

Safety services? (Safety
planning; witness protection;
address confidentiality; selfdefense; etc.) (Does NOT
include protective orders)

□ Yes □ No

Mental health services? (e.g.,
individual or group counseling;
support groups; other therapy;
social programming for children;
etc.)

□ Yes □ No

Crisis Counseling?

□ Yes □ No

Safety services? (Safety
planning; witness protection;
address confidentiality; selfdefense; etc.) (Does NOT include
protective orders)

□ Yes □ No

Substance abuse treatment?

□ Yes □ No

3.6.3 G5: Medical and health assistance
Issue: The list of medical services conflates important and distinct services. Medical care/forensic exam
accompaniment and provision are very different services; combining these two services eliminates the
potential to track the growing trend of providing forensic exams and medical care to victims outside of
the hospital setting.
Recommendation: Separate out “accompaniment” from medical care and forensic exams. Change the
response options under Medical and health assistance to:
•
•
•
•

Accompaniment to medical care or forensic examinations
Emergency or follow-up medical care (provision of care)
Forensic examinations (provision of care)
STD/HIV testing

19

Table 14: G5 Recommendation – Medical and health assistance
Original Survey Item/Responses
G5. Medical and health
assistance
Emergency medical care
or accompaniment?

□ Yes □ No

Medical forensic exam or
accompaniment?

□ Yes □ No

STD/HIV testing

□ Yes □ No

Revised Survey Item/Responses
G5. Medical and health
assistance
Accompaniment to medical
care or forensic examinations?

□ Yes □ No

Emergency or follow-up
medical care? (provision of
care)

□ Yes □ No

Forensic examinations?
(provision of care)

□ Yes □ No

STD/HIV testing?

□ Yes □ No

3.6.4 G7: Other Services
Issues: A large proportion of respondents to the NSVSP indicated that they provide transportation
services to victims of crime. This specific service is not included as a response option in the 2017 NCVSP.
The G7 response option “Culturally and/or ethnically specific services? Specify” produced 3,032 openended responses, which creates challenges for analysis. Many responses mentioned language services
or bilingual staff (e.g., translation, interpretation, bilingual staff); other responses missed the mark, such
as providing racial/ethnic diversity training to staff.
Recommendations:
•
•
•

Add a response option under G7: "Language access? (e.g., translation or interpretation services,
or bilingual staff).”
Add a response option under G7: “Transportation services?”
Change “Culturally and/or ethnically specific services? Specify” to “Services designed to meet
the needs of a culturally or ethnically specific population.”

20

Table 15: G7 Recommendation – Other services
Original Survey Item/Responses
G7. Other services

Revised Survey Item/Responses
G7. Other services

Case management?

□ Yes □ No

Case management?

□ Yes □ No

Supervised child visitation?

□ Yes □ No

Supervised child visitation?

□ Yes □ No

On-scene coordinated
response?

□ Yes □ No

On-scene coordinated
response?

□ Yes □ No

Education classes for survivors
regarding victimization
dynamics?

□ Yes □ No

Education classes for survivors
regarding victimization
dynamics?

□ Yes □ No

Culturally and/or ethnically
specific services? Specify

□ Yes □ No

Transportation services?

□ Yes □ No

Language access? (e.g.,
translation or interpretation
services, or bilingual staff)

□ Yes □ No

Services designed to meet the
needs of culturally or ethnically
specific populations?

□ Yes □ No

3.6.5 G11: Services for victims/survivors of specific crime types
Issues: The list of crime or abuse types is long and not organized in any meaningful way, which may be
cumbersome to navigate by respondents.
There is not an ‘Other, specify’ option for property crimes.
Recommendations:
•
•

Organize crime types by themes (e.g., financial crimes, adults (person), youth (person), property
crimes).
Add in an ‘Other: specify’ response category for property-related crimes.

21

Table 16: G11 Recommendation – Crime Types
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

Adults molested as children

□ Yes □ No

Child sexual abuse/sexual
assault

□ Yes □ No

Rape/sexual assault (other than
sexual victimizations against
children)

□ Yes □ No

Stalking

□ Yes □ No

Child witness of violence

□ Yes □ No

Child physical abuse or neglect

□ Yes □ No

Elder physical abuse

□ Yes □ No

Domestic violence/dating
violence

□ Yes □ No

Assault (other than
domestic/dating violence or
child/elder abuse)

□ Yes □ No

Stalking/violation of stalking
protective orders

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

Robbery

□ Yes □ No

Rape/sexual assault/sexual
abuse (other than against
children)

Human trafficking (labor)

□ Yes □ No

□ Yes □ No

Human trafficking (sex)

□ Yes □ No

Survivors of homicide victims

□ Yes □ No

Victim witness intimidation

□ Yes □ No

Physical Assault (other than
domestic/dating violence,
child/elder abuse, or rape/
sexual assault/sexual abuse)
(including attempted homicide;
gun violence; strangulation;
threat with a weapon, etc.)

DUI/DWI crashes

□ Yes □ No

Robbery

Identity theft

□ Yes □ No

Elder physical abuse or neglect

Financial fraud and exploitation
(Other than identity theft)

□ Yes □ No

Survivors of homicide (including
murder, non-negligent
manslaughter)

Motor vehicle theft
Burglary

□ Yes □ No

Youth (under age 18)
Child physical abuse or neglect

□ Yes □ No

Child rape/sexual assault/
sexual abuse

□ Yes □ No

Child witness of violence

□ Yes □ No

Child marriage or forced
marriage

□ Yes □ No

Adults molested/abused as
children

□ Yes □ No

Adults
Domestic violence/dating
violence/violation of DV
protective orders

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

22

□ Yes □ No

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

Other property crimes
Hate Crimes
Child Marriage or forced
marriage
Honor related violence (physical
violence/threats/retaliation in
the name of family honor,
female genital mutilation)

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

Other violent crimes
Specify: __________

□ Yes □ No

Other
Specify: __________

□ Yes □ No

Targeted crime types
Hate crimes
(racial/religious/ethnic or
national origin/
disability/gender/sexual
orientation)
Honor related violence
(physical violence/threats/
retaliation in the name of
family honor, female genital
mutilation)
Human trafficking (labor)
Human trafficking (sex)
Victim witness intimidation
DUI/DWI crashes
Community violence/gang
violence
Terrorism/mass violence
Financial crimes
Identity theft
Financial fraud and exploitation
(other than identity theft)
Property crimes
Motor vehicle theft
Burglary
Other specify categories
Other violent crimes
Specify: ____________
Other property crimes
Specify: ____________
Other Specify:___________

23

□ Yes □ No

□ Yes □ No

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

3.6.6 G12-G13: Services for victims/survivors of specific crime types
In the 2017 NCVSP, item G12 asks respondents whether their organization’s mission is to serve victims
who have experienced specific types of crime or abuse. Item G13 asks respondents whether it is their
organization’s mission to provide services to specific groups of victims (i.e., subpopulations of victims of
crime).
Issues: The current wording of these questions does not clearly ask whether the program has
restrictions on whom it can serve, which was the intent of the question. "Mission" can relate to program
emphasis or intention, rather than actual activities.
Some programs are restricted by both crime type and victim populations (e.g., child victims of sexual
abuse, immigrant victims of domestic violence). Respondents in 2017 used ‘Other’ fields to reflect this
combined restriction, rather than selecting the response options that were given.
Recommendations:
•
•

Add a new heading for G12 and G13 that clarifies the restrictions/limitations aspect and
foreshadows the ability to select both crime types and victim populations. For example,
“Organizations restricted to serving certain groups of victims or victims of certain crimes.”
Add a screener question before questions G12 and G13. This question asks respondents to
indicate whether their organization only provides services to victims of particular crime types,
only provides services to specific populations of victims of crime, or both.

24

Table 17: G12-G13 Recommendations – Services for Crime Types and/or Specific Populations
Original Survey Item/Responses
G12. Is your organization’s mission to serve
victims who have experienced specific types of
crime or abuse? (e.g., domestic violence,
trafficking, rape, or sexual assault, or some other
specific type of crime or trauma)

Revised Survey Item/Responses
G12. Do any of the following statements
describe the types of victims or survivors your
organization serves? (select only one)
We only provide services to victims of
particular types of crimes (such as
domestic violence, trafficking, identity
theft, etc.)  Proceed to G12.1

□ Yes  proceed to G12.1
□ No  skip to G13

We only provide services to specific
populations of victims, regardless of the
type of crime (such as children,
immigrants, etc.)  Skip to G12.2

G13. Is your organization’s mission to provide
services to specific groups of victims?

We only provide services to specific
populations who have experienced
specific types of crime or abuse (such as
child victims of sexual abuse, older adults
who experienced identity theft, etc.) 
Proceed to G12.1 and G12.2

□ Yes  proceed to G13.1
□ No  skip to H1

None of the above  Skip to Section H
[staffing]

Issue: The response categories for crime types and victim subpopulations may change over time as the
landscape of VSPs has evolved. Additionally, response options are “check all that apply,” which makes
data management/recoding a more complicated process. Asking “Yes” or “No” simplifies the backend
data management work.
Recommendations:
•
•

With input from the SMEs, add other needed responses for crime types, such as stalking or
witnessing violence, and subpopulations of victims, such as formerly incarcerated persons.
Make each response category a “Yes/No” selection to ensure consideration of all options.

Recommended changes to the response categories are included in Table 18 below for item G12 and
Table 19 below for item G13.

25

Table 18: G12 Recommendation – Services for Victims of Specific Crime Types
Original Survey Item/Responses
Check all that apply
Rape or sexual assault/sexual
abuse
Domestic violence/dating violence
Physical abuse/neglect
Financial exploitation/identity
theft/fraud
Community violence/gang violence
Survivors of homicide
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Terrorism/mass violence
Hate crimes
Other
Specify: ____________

Revised Survey Item/Responses
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□
□

Check all that apply
Any/all felonies
Any/all violent crime
Community violence/gang
violence
Domestic violence/dating violence
DUI/DWI crashes
Financial exploitation /identity
theft/fraud
Hate crimes
Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)
Physical abuse/neglect
Physical assault (including
attempted homicide; gun violence;
strangulation; threat with a
weapon, etc.)
Rape/sexual assault/sexual abuse
Stalking
Survivors of homicide (including
murder, non-negligent
manslaughter)
Terrorism/mass violence
Other (specify)

26

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes
□ Yes
□ Yes
□ Yes
□ Yes

□ No
□ No
□ No
□ No
□ No

□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No

Table 19: G13 Recommendation – Services for Specific Victim Subpopulations
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses
Check all that apply

Check all that apply
Child victims

□

Child victims

□ Yes □ No

Adolescent/teen victims

□

Adolescent/teen victims

□ Yes □ No

Elder victims

□

□ Yes □ No

Female victims

□

Elder victims/dependent adult
victims

Male victims

□

Female victims

□ Yes □ No

Victims of color

□

Male victims

□ Yes □ No

□

Victims of color OR victims of
specific racial or ethnic groups
(Please specify _________)

□ Yes □ No

□

Indigenous victims, including Native
American or Alaska Native

□ Yes □ No

Victims with disabilities

□

Immigrant/refugee/limited English
proficiency victims

□ Yes □ No

Deaf or hard-of-hearing
victims

□

LGBTQ victims

□

Victims with disabilities

□ Yes □ No

Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims

□ Yes □ No

□

Formerly incarcerated victims

□ Yes □ No

□

Incarcerated victims

□ Yes □ No

Other (specify):
_________________

□ Yes □ No

Indigenous victims, including
tribal
Immigrant/refugee/limited
English proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims

Incarcerated victims
Other (Specify: __________)

□ Yes □ No

3.7 NCVSP Section H: Staffing
The purpose of Section H is to gather information about current staffing levels in VSPs and to measure
staff turnover rates. The questions ask about current full-time and part-time staffing levels, staffing
levels at the beginning of the calendar or fiscal year, and hires within the current calendar or fiscal year.
The turnover rate was calculated by subtracting the number of current staff from the number of staff at
the beginning of the fiscal or calendar year.
Several respondents did not restrict their responses to victim service staff but instead gave numbers for
agencywide staffing. Sixty-three government entities indicated they were embedded within a larger
agency and that they had 100 or more FTE staff; 13 of those indicated they had more than 500 FTE staff.

27

These staffing figures are highly unlikely for an embedded program and indicate that the respondent
reported agency-wide staffing numbers. Many respondents indicated staffing levels in the hundreds;
one reported 9,000 staff.
Issues: Calculating an accurate estimate of staff turnover would require estimates of staffing at the
beginning of the past calendar/fiscal year, estimates of the number of staff who left their victim service
positions during that year, and the number of victim service staff at the end of the past calendar/fiscal
year. The question that is intended to capture staffing at the end of the past calendar/fiscal year is
worded "Current Staffing". This could be misleading to respondents as they may opt to report staffing
levels at the moment in time that they are completing the survey, which would likely include the past
fiscal year plus some number of months.
The previous approach to measuring staff turnover has three limitations:
1. It does not collect information uniformly, since entities may have a range of potential start dates
to their fiscal years and will be responding to the NCVSP at different points during its monthslong administration.
2. It does not capture any positions that were vacated AND filled in the time period measured.
3. The wording of questions and headings differed in a way that may have caused confusion for
respondents (Staff at the beginning of the "most recent calendar/fiscal year" vs. the beginning
of the "past calendar/fiscal year")
Recommendations:
•
•
•

•

Reorder the staffing questions by moving H1 (volunteers providing direct services) to the
bottom of this section.
Ask about staff who departed during the previous year, including those who changed positions
and no longer provide direct services.
Remove the question about current staffing and insert a new item (H7) that is auto-populated
with the total number of paid full-time staff and paid part-time staff at the beginning of the
current calendar/fiscal year. These totals are generated by adding the number of new staff hired
during the previous fiscal year to the number of staff at the beginning of the previous completed
fiscal/calendar year and then subtracting the number of staff that left during the previous
fiscal/calendar year. Formula: (H1 + H3) – H5 = H7a, full-time staff at beginning of current year;
(H2 + H4) – H6 = H7b, part-time staff at beginning of current year.
Turnover will be calculated as [(H5) / ((H1 + H3) – (H5))] = full-time staff turnover rate at end of
the past fiscal/calendar year; [(H6) / ((H2 + H4) – (H6))] = part-time staff turnover rate at end of
the past fiscal/calendar year.

28

Table 20: Section H Recommendation – Staffing
Original Survey Item/Responses
H1. Does your organization use volunteers
to provide direct services to victims?
□ Yes
□ No
Current Staff
H2. 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.
_________

□ Check box if estimate

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.
_________

□ Check box if estimate

Staff at the beginning of the most recent
calendar/fiscal year
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 (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.
_________

□ 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 (less than 35

Revised Survey Item/Responses
Staff at the beginning of the previous completed
calendar/fiscal year
H1. How many paid full-time staff (35 hours or
more/week) 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 □

H2. How many paid part-time staff (less than 35
hours/week) designated 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 □

New staff hired during the previous completed
calendar/fiscal year
H3. How many paid full-time staff (35 hours or
more/week) dedicated to working with victims did
your organization 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 □

H4. How many paid part-time staff (less than 35
hours/week) designated to working with victims did
your organization 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.
________

29

Check box if estimate □

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.
_________

□ Check box if estimate

New staff since the beginning of the most
recent calendar/fiscal year
H6. How many paid full-time staff
dedicated to working with victims did your
organization hire in the past calendar/fiscal
year, whether to fill new positions or to fill
vacancies (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.
_________

□ Check box if estimate

H7. How many paid part-time staff
dedicated to working with victims did your
organization hire in the past calendar/fiscal
year, whether to fill new positions or to fill
vacancies (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.
_________

□ Check box if estimate

Staff that left during the previous completed
calendar/fiscal year
H5. How many paid full-time staff (35 hours or
more/week) dedicated to working with victims left
their position with your organization during the past
calendar/ fiscal year, whether dismissed, resigned,
retired, transferred to a non-direct services position,
etc.? 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 □

H6. How many paid part-time staff (less than 35
hours/week) designated to working with victims left
their position with your organization during the past
calendar/fiscal year whether dismissed, resigned,
retired, transferred to a non-direct services position,
etc.? 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 □

H7. Confirm Full-Time and Part-Time Staff at
Beginning of Current Fiscal/Calendar Year
“Based on your previous responses, the number
of full-time staff you had at the beginning of the
current fiscal/calendar year was _________ [auto
calculate] – is that correct?”
“Based on your previous responses, the number
of part-time staff you had at the beginning of the
current fiscal/calendar year was ________ [auto
calculate] - is that correct?”
H8. Does your organization use volunteers to provide
direct services to victims?
Yes
No

3.8 NCVSP Section I: Funding
The focus of Section I was to capture information on each organization’s funding sources and the
amount of funding received across those sources.
Issue: This section had some of the highest levels of missing data compared to the other survey items,
and the accuracy of some responses may be called into question. The funding questions are complex

30

due to the nature and variety of funding sources organizations receive, adding to the burden and
creating confusion for respondents. VSPs may have grant funding that spans more than one year; they
may have received funding through a state pass-through agency and be unclear about which amounts
are attributed to which source. As a result, the information received in the 2017 NCVSP was of
questionable validity.
Discussion with the project team, federal partners, and subject matter experts determined that it would
be valuable to gather information identifying the range of funding sources that support a victim service
program, even if dollar figures cannot be gathered with confidence.
Recommendation: Revise several items in the 2017 NCVSP (items I2a - I2k) by asking respondents for a
“Yes/No” response about the receipt of certain funding, and not to provide a dollar amount estimate.
Issue: The data revealed that some respondents from embedded organizations provided the total
funding amount received for the entire organization rather than specific to the victim services
component of the organization. For example, one respondent from a [State] Attorneys General office
indicated receiving $85,000,000 in the past fiscal/calendar year for direct victim services and
programming. This question also misses an opportunity to calculate the percentage of an agency's
funding that supports victim services.
Recommendations:
•
•
•

Revise question wording so that it is immediately apparent to respondents that funding
amount(s) should only be provided for the victim services component of the organization.
Ask an additional funding question first to prompt respondents to provide their organization’s
total funding (in general). This can be followed by a question that specifically asks respondents
to report the amount of their organization’s total funding that is dedicated to victim services.
Insert a reminder for respondents from Parent/HQ organizations that they previously indicated
they were responding either for 1) just their location, or 2) across all locations.

31

Table 21: Section I Recommendation – Funding
Original Survey Item/Responses

Revised Survey Item/Responses

I1. 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 all
sources of funding received for victim-related
programming or services. Estimates are
acceptable.
_________ □ Check box if estimate

[programming: reminder to respondents that are
Parent/HQ organizations that they previously
indicated they were responding either
a) for just their location OR
b) across all locations]

I2. Did your organization receive funding for
victim-related programming and services from
each of the following sources during the past
calendar/fiscal year? If yes, enter the dollar
amount. The total amount across all sources
should equal the amount provided in item I1.
Estimates are acceptable.
_________ □ Check box if information on
amount of funding by source is not available.

I2. What was your organization’s total budget for
victim-related programming and services during
the past calendar/fiscal year?
Amount $___________
□ Check box if estimate

a. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate

I1. What was your organization’s total annual
budget for the past calendar/fiscal year?
Amount $_________________
□ Check box if estimate

[For embedded programs other than nonprofits:]
I3. Was all or part of your victim services
programming supported by your organization’s
internal budget in the past calendar/fiscal year?
Yes
No
Amount $_______________
□ Check box if estimate

b. Other U.S. Office for Victims of Crime
(OVC) funding
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
c. Services, Training, Officers, and
Prosecutors (STOP) grant
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
d. Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP)
funding
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
e. Other Office on Violence Against
Women (OVW) funding, including all

The following questions ask about external sources
of funding and will help us better understand the
mix of funding supporting victim service
programming.
Please indicate whether your victim services
budget in the past calendar/fiscal year included
funding from any of the following. If so, please
provide an amount (estimates acceptable).
I4. Local government funding specifically for victim
services?
Yes
No
Amount) $______________________
□ Check box if estimate

32

other grants funded under the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA)
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
f.

Family Violence Prevention Services Act
(FVPSA) funding
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate

g. Other federal funding (please
specify)___________
□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
h. State government funding (NOT state
disbursement of federal grant)
□ Yes □ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
i.

I5. Tribal government funding specifically for
victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $___________________________
□ Check box if estimate
I6. Foundations, private donations, and other
fundraising specifically for victim services?
Yes
No
Amount $ ___________________________
□ Check box if estimate
I7. Which of the following federal and state
sources support your victim services budget, if
any?
Federal funding, including funding passed through
a state administrator as a subgrant
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Funding
□ Yes □ No

Local government funding

Other funding from the Office for Victims of
Crime
□ Yes □ No

□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
j.

Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors
(STOP) grant
□ Yes □ No

Tribal government funding

Sexual Assault Services Program funding
□ Yes □ No

□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate

Other funding from the Office on Violence
Against Women
□ Yes □ No

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

Family Violence Prevention Services Act
(FVPSA) funding
□ Yes
□ No
Other federal funding □ Yes

□ Yes
□ No
_________ □ Check box if estimate
I3. Did your organization receive any federal
funding for victim programming or services
within the past 5 years? (This could include
funding from VOCA grants; OVC grants; a STOP,
SASP, or other VAWA grant; or some other
funding coming from a federal agency.)
□ Yes □ No

□ No

If yes, please specify: ________________
State funding

□ Yes

□ No

I8. Do you receive victim services funding from
any additional sources in the past calendar/fiscal
year?
Yes
No
Amount $ _________________________
□ Check box if estimate

33

[For respondents who selected “no” to all federal
funding response options.]
I9. Did your organization receive any federal
funding for victim programming or services within
the past 5 years? (This could include funding from
VOCA grants; OVC grants; a STOP, SASP, or other
VAWA grant; or some other funding coming from
a federal agency.)
□ Yes

□ No

3.9 NCVSP Section K: Current Issues of Concern
Section K aimed to identify whether VSPs are concerned with particular issues common in the victim
services field (e.g., funding, grant reporting, access to technology).
Issue: In discussions with the project team, federal partners, and SMEs, new issues of importance were
raised, regarding vicarious trauma, equity in service provision, and the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on service provision.
Recommendations:
•
•
•

Revise item K1, regarding staff retention to address the issue of vicarious trauma and staff
burnout.
Add a question regarding concern about the organization’s ability to reach and serve all people
equally.
Add a question regarding the impacts of COVID-19 and whether those impacts were temporary
or continue today.

34

Table 22: Section K Recommendations
Original Survey Item/Responses
K1. How concerned are you about
your organization’s ability to
retain staff?
→
→
→
→

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

K2. 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

K3. How concerned are you about
the predictability of future
funding for your organization?
→
→
→
→

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

K4. How concerned are you about
the burden of grant reporting?
→
→
→
→

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Revised Survey Item/Responses
K1. How concerned are you about vicarious trauma and staff
burnout at your organization? (“Vicarious trauma” refers to
exposure to the trauma of others that puts people at risk for a
range of negative consequences.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
K2. How concerned are you about your organization’s ability to
reach and serve all people equally? (This includes but is not
limited to racial equity, gender identity/sexual orientation
equity, equity for those with disabilities, and equity for those
with limited English proficiency.)
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all
March of 2020 is generally recognized as the start of the COVID19 global pandemic. Many activities were affected, including
victim services delivery.
K.7 Have you made or experienced any changes in your
organization or the way you deliver services because of the
COVID-19 pandemic?
□ YES [Complete table below]
□ NO
This
change
did not
happen

This change
happened
temporarily

This
change
has
continued
through
the
present

Staff resigned

□

□

□

Staff were laidoff
Staff worked

□

□

□

□

□

□

K5. How concerned are you about
your organization’s ability to
access technology?
→
→
→
→

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

35

partially or fully
remote
In-person
meetings with
victims were
suspended
Virtual and
phone meetings
with victims
increased
Psychological
services or
support groups
were conducted
via phone or
online video
platform
Shelters were
partially or fully
closed
Court-services
were partially or
fully suspended
Court
proceedings
were held
virtually
Service needs
changed as
some crimes
increased or
decreased
Service needs
changed due to
increased levels
or severity of
violence
Other changes

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

□

K.7a. If you had other changes in your services or
service delivery, what were they?
_____________________

36

3.10 Respondent Burden
The most direct way to address survey completeness is to reduce the survey length and complexity.
While the results from the cognitive testing revealed that the 2017 NCVSP was completed in under 30
minutes on average, results from the pilot test indicated that over 50% of VSPs completed the survey in
25 minutes or less, with a median of 21 minutes and a mean of 31 minutes. 2 The review of
documentation related to the fielding of the 2017 NCVSP instrument indicated that it took respondents
49 minutes to complete on average. Recent studies have found that the ideal duration for web-based
surveys is a median of about 10 minutes, with a maximum survey length of 20 minutes. 3
One potential solution is to ensure that every question in the instrument is designed to produce data
that will meaningfully inform researchers, practitioners, funders, or policymakers. The project team will
review the burden to respondents (i.e., time to complete) during cognitive interviews and consider
moving items or sections to the next administration of the NSVSP contingent on these findings. The goal
for the 2023 NCVSP is to reduce the burden to 30 minutes or less.

4. Next Steps
Following this review and during the report's development, the project team cognitively tested the
recommended revisions to the NCVSP presented in this report. These changes seek to enhance the
accuracy, validity, and reliability of the responses to the NCVSP. The project team conducted two rounds
of cognitive interviews, which had two main objectives:
1. To ensure that a wide variety of VSP types could understand and accurately answer the
proposed questions.
2. To ensure that VSP answers to each question would facilitate an accurate count of VSPs across
the United States. Questions of particular interest in this area were those capturing
organizational type, especially among multi-site organizations of various structures.
The project team recruited VSPs for cognitive testing through the SME advisory board and one of the
project partners, the National Organization for Victim Assistance. The SMEs assisted in recruitment
efforts based on their networks with victim service providers. The project team asked participants from
the first round of cognitive testing whether they would be willing to participate in the second round of
cognitive testing. Cognitive testing commenced in January of 2023. The interviewers presented
participants with one question at a time and asked them to read and respond to each question.
Interviewers asked probes to better understand participants’ thought processes and interpretation of
each question. The project team compiled the findings from the cognitive testing, with
recommendations for further revisions of the instrument, into a separate document, the National
Census of Victim Service Providers Cognitive Testing Report.

Oudekerk, B. A., Langton, L., Warnken, H., Greathouse, S. M., Lim, N., Taylor, B., Welch, V., & Howley, S.
(2017). Building a national data collection on victim service providers: A pilot test. Washington, DC: Bureau of
Justice Statistics.
3
Revilla, M., & Ochoa, C. (2017). Ideal and maximum length for a web survey. International Journal of Market
Research, 59(5), 557-565.
2

37

Appendix A. Missing Values by NCVSP Item

38

Variable
SC2 (if = Yes)
A1
A1a
A2
B1
C1
D1
D2
E1
E2
F1
G1
G2A
G2B
G3A
G3B
G3C
G4A
G4B
G4C
G5A
G5B
G5C
G6A
G6B
G6C
G7A
G7B
G7C
G7D
G7E
G8
G9
G10
G11a-y (average)
G12
G13
H1
H2
H3

Missing (N)
0
242
9
244
3
1
0
13
20
9
2
259
274
278
277
279
280
277
284
280
282
284
285
290
278
285
300
292
326
294
313
286
193
1,122
514
401
435
393
513
601

Total (N)
9,980
9,980
5,256
9,980
213
214
4,254
4,254
4,619
4,619
81
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
3,250
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
39

Percent Missing
0.00
2.42
0.17
2.44
1.41
0.47
0.00
0.31
0.43
0.19
2.47
2.60
2.75
2.79
2.78
2.80
2.81
2.78
2.85
2.81
2.83
2.85
2.86
2.91
2.79
2.86
3.01
2.93
3.27
2.95
3.14
2.87
5.94
11.24
5.15
4.02
4.36
3.94
5.14
6.02

H4
H5
H6
H7
I1
J1
J2
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5

578
599
620
648
1,586
917
25
927
993
1,002
1,014
989

9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
6,307
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980
9,980

40

5.79
6.00
6.21
6.49
15.89
9.19
0.40
9.29
9.95
10.04
10.16
9.91

Appendix B. 2017 NCVSP Instrument

41

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: 1121-0355
Approval expires 05/31/2019

National Census of Victim Service Providers
Survey Instructions
Survey Purpose and Sponsors

General Instructions

(Including who should complete this survey)

The National Census of Victim Service Providers
(NCVSP) is designed to fill existing gaps in knowledge and
information on the variety of organizations and programs
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. If your organization
or a program within your organization does not provide
services to victims of crime or abuse, you will be able to
report this near the beginning of this survey.

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

• This survey is best completed by someone
with knowledge about the available services
for victims of crime or abuse, victim service
funding, and staffing for victim services within
your organization. Some organizations have specific
programs or staff dedicated to working with victims of
crime or abuse. In these instances, the survey is best
completed by someone with direct knowledge of these
programs or activities.

Important Definitions
1) CRIME - An act which if done by a competent adult or
juvenile would be a criminal offense.
2) ABUSE - Includes physical, sexual, emotional,
psychological, or economic actions or threats to control
another.

• This survey will ask for information about your
organization’s operations over the past year:

2) VICTIM - Any person who comes to the attention of
your organization because of concerns over past, ongoing, 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…

- The services your organization provided to victims
- The types of crimes for which victims sought
services
- The number of staff providing victim services
- Your organization’s victim services budget

a) Family or household members,
b) Legal representatives, or

Burden Statement

c) Surviving family members, if deceased

On average, it will take 20 minutes to complete this
survey, including time for reviewing instructions, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information.

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;

This study is voluntary, you may discontinue participation
at any time and decline to answer any questions.

c) Assist victims in recovering from victimization and
stabilizing their lives; or

Send comments regarding any 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. Although this
survey is voluntary, we urgently need and appreciate your
cooperation to make the results comprehensive, accurate,
and timely.

d) Respond to other needs of victims

2

S1

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

S2a

Address:

Our organization has never provided services to victims of
crime or abuse
Our organization functions primarily as a granting or
funding agency and not as a direct provider of services
Our organization has provided services to victims of crime
or abuse, but not in the past 6 months
Does your organization plan to provide services to
victims of crime or abuse in the future?
Yes
No
Our organization contracts out all of our victim services
and/or partners with an outside agency or agencies to
provide services to victims of crime or abuse
Our organization solely provides referrals for services to
victims of crime and abuse
Do you maintain an active victim service referral
program?
Yes
We would still like for you to
participate, please proceed to A1
No
Proceed to S2b
Our organization might serve victims of crime or abuse
as part of our program, but there is no consistent way to
identify whether persons are victims
Other (please provide brief description):

Address:
City, State, ZIP:
Main business phone
number:
Agency email address:
Agency web site:
S1a

Please provide information about the individual who is
completing this survey.
Title:
Name:
Telephone Number:
Email:

S2

Has your organization or any programs or staff within
your organization provided 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.
Yes
No

Thank you. We received your organization’s name from
a list of entities that served victims of crime or abuse at
some point in time. To help us update our records, please
indicate which of the following options apply (check all
that apply):

S2b

Go to A1, Page 4
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
e. Nonprofit or faith-based entity (501c3 status)
f. For profit entity
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 on page 11.

3

SECTION A
A1

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

SECTION B
Tribal Agencies and
Organizations Only
B1

 he primary function of the organization is to provide
T
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

Which designation best describes your tribal agency or
organization? Select one response.
Law enforcement
Prosecutor
Court
Juvenile justice
Offender custody and supervision
Advocacy program
Coalition
Other justice-based agency (please specify)

 A1a. Does your organization have a specific
program(s) or staff that are dedicated to working
with crime victims?
Yes
No
A2

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

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)

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

d. Government agency

Go to Section D
[Government],
page 5

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

Go to Section E
[Nonprofit or faith
based], page 5

f. For profit entity

Go to Section F
[For profit],
page 5

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

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

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)

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

SECTION C
Campus Organizations Only
C1

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)

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

4

SECTION D
Government Agencies Only
D1

SECTION F
For-Profit Organizations Only
F1

Which designation best describes your government
agency? Select one response.
Law enforcement
Prosecution
Courts
Juvenile justice
Social services or child/adult protective services
Offender custody and supervision
Multi-agency (e.g., task forces, response teams, etc.)
Other government agency (please specify)

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

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

D2

SECTION G
Services for Victims

In what service area/jurisdiction does your agency
operate in terms of victims served or services delivered?
Select one response.
Nationwide
Statewide
Regional/Multi-county/Multi-city
County wide only
City wide only
Specific neighborhood only
Other (please specify)

G1

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

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

/
MM

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.

SECTION E
Non-Profit or Faith-Based
Organizations Only
Which designation best describes your non-profit
organization? Select one response.

The next set of questions concerns services your
organization provided to victims of crime or abuse during
past calendar/fiscal year.

Coalition (e.g., State Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault
Coalition)
A single entity (may or may not have multiple physical
locations)
Other (please specify)

E2

Does your organization operate/report data on a calendar
year or fiscal year?
Calendar year
skip to G2
Fiscal year
proceed to G1.1
Both
proceed to G1.1

E1

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

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

5

Did your organization provide any of the following
services to victims within the past calendar/fiscal
year? 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 your organization provided to
victims, which may not capture your victim service
offerings in detail. Do your best to place the services your
organization provided within the general categories.

Legal and victims’ rights assistance
G6

Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

G7

c. On-scene coordinated response?

Yes

d. Education classes for survivors
regarding victimization dynamics?

No

e. Culturally and/or ethnically
specific services?Specify:

G8

b. Shelter or housing assistance
(emergency or transitional)

G9

Emotional support and safety
Yes

No

a. Mental health services? (e.g., individual
or group counseling; support groups;
other therapy; social programming for
children; etc.)

proceed to G9
skip to G10

How many hotline/helpline or crisis line calls did your
organization receive from victims in the past calendar/
fiscal year? Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

G10

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

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

Medical and health assistance
Did your organization provide (…)

Did your organization operate a hotline/helpline or crisis
line at any time during the past calendar/fiscal year?
Yes
No

c. Other material assistance (e.g., food,
clothing, utility, public assistance,
employment assistance)

G5

No

b. Supervised child visitation?

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

Did your organization provide (…)

Did your organization provide (…)
a. Case management?

Financial and material assistance services

G4

Yes

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

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

Did your organization provide (…)

No

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

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.)

G3

Yes

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

Information and referral services
G2

Did your organization provide (…)

Yes

No

a. Emergency medical care or
accompaniment?
b. Medical forensic exam or
accompaniment?
c. STD/HIV testing?

6

G11

Please report whether your organization provided
services for victims of the following types of crime or
abuse during the past calendar/fiscal year. (Include any
crime types for which your organization provided services
regardless of whether it was the presenting crime type or a
secondary crime type.)
Crime types for which your organization
provided services:
a. Adults molested as children

Yes

G12

Is your organization’s mission to serve victims who have
experienced specific types of crime or abuse? (e.g.,
domestic violence, trafficking, rape or sexual assault, or some
other specific type of crime or trauma)
Yes
No

proceed to G12.1
skip to G13

G12.1. I ndicate the specific type(s) of crime or abuse:
(These are broad categories which may not reflect
the detailed focus of some organizations. Please do
your best to fit your organization within the general
categories provided.)

No

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

Check all that apply
Rape or sexual assault/sexual abuse

d. Stalking

Domestic violence/dating violence

e. Child witness of violence

Physical abuse/neglect

f. Child physical abuse or neglect

Financial exploitation/identity theft/fraud

g. Elder physical abuse

Community violence/gang violence

h. Domestic violence/dating violence

Survivors of homicide

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

Human trafficking (sex)
Human trafficking (labor)

j. Robbery

Terrorism/mass violence

k. Human trafficking (Labor)

Hate Crimes

l. Human trafficking (Sex)

Other Specify:

m. Survivors of homicide victims
n. Victim witness intimidation
o. DUI/DWI crashes
p. Identity theft

G13

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

Is your organization’s mission to provide services to
specific groups of victims?
Yes
No

r. Motor vehicle theft

proceed to G13.1
skip to H1

G13.1. I f specific group(s) please specify.

s. Burglary

(These are broad categories which may not reflect
the detailed focus of some organizations. Please do
your best to fit your organization within the general
categories provided.)

t. Other property crimes
u. Hate crimes
v. Child marriage or forced marriage
w. Honor related violence (physical
violence/threats/retaliation in the name of
family honor, female genital mutilation)

Check all that apply
Child victims

x. Other violent crimes

Elder victims

Adolescent/teen victims

Specify:

Female victims
Male victims
Victims of color

y. Other Specify:

Indigenous victims, including tribal
Immigrant/refugee/limited English
proficiency victims
LGBTQ victims
Victims with disabilities
Deaf or hard-of-hearing victims
Incarcerated victims
Other Specify:

7

SECTION H
Staffing

New staff since the beginning of the most recent
calendar/fiscal year
H6

The following questions concern staff dedicated to working
with victims of crime or abuse during the 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.
H1

Does your organization use volunteers to provide direct
services to victims?
 es
Y
No

Check box if estimate
H7

Current Staff
H2

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.

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.
Check box if estimate
Staff at the beginning of the most recent
calendar/fiscal year

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 did your organization 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

Check box if estimate
H3

How many paid full-time staff dedicated to working with
victims did your organization 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.

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

8

SECTION I
Funding
I1

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 all
sources of funding received for victim-related programming or services. Estimates are acceptable.
Check box if estimate

I2

Did your organization receive funding for victim-related programming and services from each of the following sources
during the past calendar/fiscal year? If yes, enter the dollar amount. The total amount across all sources should equal the amount
provided in item I1. Estimates are acceptable.
C
 heck box if information on amount of funding by source is not available

g. Other federal funding (please specify)

a. Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding
Yes

No
$

Yes

Check box if estimate

b. Other U.S. Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) funding
Yes

$

No
$

Check box if estimate

c. Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) grant
Yes

No
$

Yes

No
$

Yes

I3

Check box if estimate

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

Check box if estimate

Yes

No
$

No
$

Check box if estimate

No
$

f. Family Violence Prevention Services Act (FVPSA) funding
Yes

Check box if estimate

No

j. Tribal government funding

Check box if estimate

No
$

No

$

e. Other Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) funding,
including all other grants funded under the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA)
Yes

Yes

i. Local government funding

Check box if estimate

Check box if estimate

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

$

d. Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) funding
Yes

No

Check box if estimate

Check box if estimate

Did your organization receive any federal funding for victim programming or services within the past 5 years?
(This could include funding from VOCA grants; OVC grants; a STOP, SASP, or other VAWA grant; or some other funding
coming from a federal agency.)
Yes
No

9

SECTION J
Record Keeping
J1

Does your organization use an electronic records system
to maintain case files?
 es
Y
No

J2

SECTION K
Current Issues of Concern to
Victim Service Providers
K1

Skip to Section K

Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not concerned at all

Does your organization’s electronic records system track
individual cases?
 es
Y
No

How concerned are you about your organization’s ability
to retain staff?

K2

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

K3

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

K4

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

K5

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

Thank you for participating in the NCVSP!
The survey has now ended.

10

National Census of Victim Service Providers
OMB Control Number 1121-0355
OMB Expiration Date: 05/31/2019

Attachment 15: Public comments letter and list of recommendations

June 5, 2023
Rachel Morgan
Bureau of Justice Statistics
810 Seventh Street NW
Washington, DC 20531
Alliance for Safety and Justice
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
1624 Franklin Street, 11th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Re: 2023 National Census of Victim Service Providers
Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) writes to offer comments on the 2023 National Census of
Victim Service Providers (NCVSP). In particular, we write to attest to the practical utility of the
NCVSP as well as to suggest changes that will enhance the utility and clarity of the information
collected.
ASJ is a national organization that advances public safety priorities that break cycles of violence,
increase rehabilitation, and promote successful reentry across the country. Our flagship project,
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ), represents a growing network of over 180,000
crime victims, and our TimeDone network includes over 200,000 members living with past
criminal convictions and their families. Together we promote strategies to stop cycles of crime,
reduce costly reliance on incarceration, increase trauma recovery services, and build healthy
communities.  With chapters and leaders across the country, we are building a movement to heal
together and promote public safety policies that help the people and communities most harmed
by crime and violence. 
The 2017 NCVSP Advanced ASJ’s and CSSJ’s Work to Strengthen Victim Services
The 2017 NCVSP informed our work to strengthen victim services in eight states. We have used
the NCVSP and the 2018 National Survey of Victim Services Providers to understand the
availability of victim support in the states where we operate and to communicate with legislators,
policymakers, government agencies, and our survivor members about the landscape of victim
services in their jurisdictions. These data sources have assisted ASJ as we successfully
advocated for increased availability of victims services in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The NCVSP has been a valuable source of information
for our work with our partners in state and local government, and we are grateful BJS appears
likely to conduct an updated census this year.

1 of 4

Minor Changes Would Increase the Utility of the NCVSP
A primary goal of ASJ and CSSJ is to increase access to victim services for all victims of violence.
Many of our members run or are affiliated with community-based victim service providers (VSPs)
rooted in communities most harmed by violence. Many began responding to violence out of
necessity, finding no support when they themselves experienced crime. Our comments are
informed by challenges they have raised with us. We believe that minor changes to the NCVSP
would build knowledge that will enhance our ability and that of our partners in state and local
governments to identify gaps in victim service availability, understand local barriers to service
provision, and make victim services stronger and more accessible.
A complete list of proposed changes is included as an attachment. This letter summarizes them
according to their rationale:
1. Collect data to understand the relationship between VSPs and the criminal legal system;
2. Collect relevant information about common services that VSPs provide; and
3. Quantify concerns that are widely held among VSPs in our networks.
1. Collect data to understand the relationship between VSPs and the criminal legal system
The relationship of non-profit and faith-based organizations to the criminal legal system is often
opaque, as independent non-profits regularly contract or have formal agreements with probation
departments, prosecutors’ offices, and other agencies in the criminal justice system. Data about
non-profits’ relationships to the criminal legal system would provide valuable insight into VSPs’
role in the communities they serve and also help address one of the major barriers victims face in
accessing care: distrust of the criminal legal system.
The majority of violent victimizations are never reported to law enforcement and 90 percent of
victims of violence do not receive help from a victim agency for their recovery.1 The legal system
too often retraumatizes victims of violence, and many victims have prior negative experience with
the justice system as past victims who have been revictimized, suspects, or defendants.2 Many
victims are hesitant to seek services from organizations whose contractual relationships or other
activities suggest that they may be an extension of the criminal justice system. To capture data
about the relationship of non-profit and faith-based organizations to the criminal legal system, we
suggest adding two additional questions to section E of the NCVSP:

1

Thompson, A. and Tapp, S.N. (2021) Criminal Victimization, 2021. Bureau of Justice Statistics,
https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv21.pdf.
2
Jennings, W. G., Piquero, A. R., & Reingle, J. M. (2012). On the overlap between victimization and
offending: A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent behavior, 17(1), 16-26; Meade, B., Wasileski, G.,
& Hunter, A. (2021). The effects of victimization prior to prison on victimization, misconduct, and sanction
severity during incarceration; and Crime & Delinquency, 67(12), 1856-1878; Berg, M. T., & Schreck, C. J.
(2021). The Meaning of the Victim–Offender Overlap for Criminological Theory and Crime Prevention
Policy. Annual Review of Criminology, 5.

2 of 4

Does your organization have a contract or formal agreement with any law enforcement
agency or prosecutor’s office (e.g. district attorney, police or sheriff, probation or parole
department, court, jail or corrections agency, pretrial services agency)? [Yes/No]
Is your organization co-located with a law enforcement agency, court, corrections
agency, or prosecutor’s office? [Yes/No]
Understanding the relationship between VSPs and the criminal legal system is important in at
least two ways. First, social science research has documented that distrust of the criminal legal
system is a major barrier victims face in accessing care, but the potential scale to which they
affect the provision of services for victims of violence is not yet known.
Second, recent efforts nationwide to create coordinated-community responses to victimization
have led many VSPs to create relationships with many fields, including law enforcement. It is not
yet known how these relationships may positively affect the experience that victims have with the
criminal legal system or with accessing services more generally. The NCVSP provides a unique
opportunity to collect data that will bolster policymakers’ understanding of the connections
between the criminal justice system and the provision of victim services. Reliable data about
these relationships are likely to inform efforts to make victim services more equitable and
accessible.
2. Collect relevant information about common services that VSPs provide
The vast majority of our proposed changes involve relatively minor changes that speak to
common services VSPs in our networks provide – almost always driven by demand from victims.
Child care, drop-in centers, substance abuse treatment, career services, and assistance making
funeral arrangements are services that are central to the missions of many organizations and
including questions about those activities and services in the NCVSP would capture valuable
data about VSPs’ role in the communities they serve.
The more significant changes in this category speak to victims’ legal needs apart from criminal
legal proceedings stemming from their victimization experience. As research we conducted using
the NCVS and will publish later this year shows, victimization is concentrated among people who
rent their homes and especially so among the poorest renters. Many victims need – and many
VSPs provide – civil legal services for landlord/tenant and employment issues. Some victims also
require assistance with family law matters, such as custody, and also with criminal defense.
To address these realities, we first propose distinguishing civil legal assistance related to
navigating the justice system from a victim’s perspective from legal assistance that addresses
victims’ needs more holistically (question G6). We believe this can be accomplished by replacing
the extant category of “civil legal services” with two separate categories. The first would ask
about legal assistance with protective or restraining orders specifically, and the second about
civil legal assistance in family law, landlord/tenant, or employment matters.
3 of 4

Second, we suggest adding public defenders to the list of government agencies that provide
victim services (question D1). Because some VSPs regularly work with victims of gun violence and
of police violence, we also propose adding these crime categories as options in questions G11-13.
These changes would enable us and the states we work with to better understand the work that
VSPs are doing in our communities.
3. Quantify concerns that are widely held among VSPs in our networks
The final two changes we propose stem directly from the concerns most widely held among
VSPs in our networks: concern about their organization’s capacities to meet the needs of their
clients and communities, and a related concern about their organization’s abilities to successfully
write grants and secure funding. National data quantifying the extent of these concerns would
significantly improve all stakeholders’ understanding of how to strengthen the service landscape
so that it is more accessible to all victims of violence.
ASJ and CSSJ Strongly Support the 2023 Iteration of the NCVSP
The 2017 NCVSP was a valuable resource for ASJ and CSSJ. We enthusiastically support the
2023 iteration, and are excited about the possibility of collecting additional data that will further
enhance our ability to work with states to strengthen accessible and holistic services for all
victims of violence.
In addition to these proposed changes, we also offer our assistance in promoting the NCVSP to
organizations providing victim services, including among our member networks, towards the goal
of maximizing response and completion rates.
Thank you for considering this comment. If you would like to discuss our recommendations or
how ASJ and CSSJ can contribute to the success of the next NCVSP, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
Sincerely,

Aswad Thomas
Vice President, Alliance for Safety and Justice
National Director, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice

Shakyra Diaz
Chief of Federal Advocacy
Alliance for Safety and Justice

Attachment: List of Modifications to the NCVSP Proposed by the Alliance for Safety and Justice
and Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
4 of 4

List of Modifications to the NCVSP Proposed by Alliance for Safety and Justice and Crime
Survivors for Safety and Justice
Section E: Non-Profit and Faith-Based Organizations
● Add question: Does your organization have a contract or formal agreement with any law
enforcement agency, court, corrections agency, or prosecutor’s office? (e.g. district
attorney, police or sheriff, probation or parole department, court, jail, pretrial services
agency)? [Yes/No]
● Add question: Is your organization co-located with a law enforcement agency, court,
corrections agency, or prosecutor’s office? [Yes/No]3
Section D: Government Agencies
● Add “Public defender” as an answer for question D1.
Section G: Services for Victims
Information and referral services
● Add “Assistance making funeral, burial, cremation, memorial, or other related
arrangements for people who died as a result of violence” to question G2.
Financial and material assistance
● Add “Child care” to question G3.
● Add “Job training, financial literacy, or career services” to question G3.
Emotional support and safety
● Add “Drop-in center” to question G4.
● Add “grief support” and “healing circles” to the parenthetical of option [a] for question G4.
● Add “Substance abuse treatment” to question G4.
● Add “Violence prevention or intervention (street- or school-based outreach)” to question
G4.
Medical and health assistance
● Change “HIV/STD testing” to “STD/HIV prophylaxis, treatment, or testing” in question G5.4

3

The latitude and longitude variables in the NCVSP make it seem possible to determine this by comparing
NCVSP data with the data from the Law Enforcement Agency Identifiers Crosswalk (ICPSR 35158). In
practice, however, both law enforcement agencies and VSPs regularly occupy multiple buildings, making
comparisons of these sources of data unreliable. An additional complication is that the LEA Identifiers
Crosswalk data is currently more than ten years old.
4
Because of the window period between possible exposure and a reliable test result, HIV/STD testing is
rarely administered in the immediate aftermath of victimization. Prophylaxis is a more common service
provided by VSPs working with recent victims.

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Legal and victims’ rights assistance
● Change G6[a] to “Assistance navigating the justice system from a victim’s perspective
(e.g., representation; advocacy; accompaniment; assistance in exercising victims’ rights;
etc.)”
● Differentiate between assistance with protective/restraining orders and other forms of
civil justice related issues in question G6 by deleting G6[b] and replacing it with two new
options: 1) Legal assistance with protective or restraining orders and 2) Civil legal
assistance in family law, landlord/tenant, or employment matters.
● Add “Criminal legal support to victims who are defendants, including defense services” to
question G6.
Other services
● Add “Drop-in center” as an answer to question G7.
Crime types for which your organization provided services
● Add “Gun violence” to questions G11, G12, and G13.
● Add “Police violence (victimization where law enforcement used force to cause injury or
death)” to questions G11, G12, and G13.
Section K: Current Issues of Concern to VSPs
● Include two new questions about the level of concern:
1) “How concerned are you about your organization’s capacity to meet the needs of the
victims and communities you serve?” and
2) “How concerned are you about your organization’s capacity to fundraise?”
These questions could replace extant questions about technology and staff retention.

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