Despite major advancements in the victim service field over the past several decades, efforts to demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of these services have lagged

This $1.5 million cooperative agreement from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime will support implementation of the Measures for Providers Responding to Victimization Experiences (IMPROVE) platform nationwide. Funded under the Crime Victim Assistance/Discretionary Grants program (CFDA 16.582), key objectives include bringing awareness of IMPROVE to victim service providers (VSPs), distributing and sustaining the free-to-use platform, and collecting and analyzing outcome data to quantify the impact of victim services. Research Triangle Institute will partner with the Justice Research Statistics Association and Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Statistical Analysis Center to develop outreach, training, technical assistance, and a sustainability plan for IMPROVE. A $312,023 subaward was also issued to the Justice Information Resource Network Inc. to support these efforts. Data collected via IMPROVE aims to move the field from a focus on outputs to service effectiveness and quality through survivor-reported short-term outcomes and experience feedback. Findings will convey the critical impacts of VSPs to funders and policymakers. The three-year award was effective October 1, 2022.

The field needs data on the outcomes and quality of services from survivors perspectives in order to make necessary improvements to services and demonstrate that victim service funds are making a difference for survivors. The measures for providers responding to victimization experiences (IMPROVE) platform was developed to fulfill this need. IT is a low-burden, free-to-use platform and tool that victim service providers (VSPS) can use to collect valuable information about the short-term outcomes of services and survivor perspectives on the way services were provided. The goal of this project is to implement the IMPROVE tool with VSPS nationwide and develop plans for its sustainability. The following are the major objectives: 1) bring awareness and communication about the IMPROVE tool and its benefits for VSPS and train them on how to use IT; 2) distribute, manage, and sustain the IMPROVE tool for VSPS nationwide; and 3) use the IMPROVE tool for the collection of data on outcomes, analyze the data, and disseminate the findings. RTI international will partner with the justice research statistics association and the GA criminal justice coordinating council statistical analysis center to carry out this effort. Key project activities include the following: 1) develop and implement an outreach and communication plan to encourage VSPS to utilize the IMPROVE tool; 2) develop and implement a training and technical assistance (TTA) plan that includes online resources, an online helpdesk, group TTA webinars, and peer-to-peer training; 3) develop and implement a data collection and analysis plan, which includes a data dashboard that presents aggregate data collected from the IMPROVE tool; 4) develop and implement a sustainability plan for the IMPROVE platform; and 5) report on IMPROVE distribution, usage and functionality, and outcomes of victim services. These activities will help to move the victim service field from a focus on outputs to a focus on effectiveness and quality of services through the utilization of the IMPROVE tool. The project will provide OVC and the field with valuable data to quantify and convey to funders and policymakers the critical impact that victim services have on survivors lives.