Victims' Program Grant Application - Essay Example

? VICTIMS’ PROGRAM GRANT APPLICATION Project Grant Application for Community-driven Initiatives in addressing the needs of Underserved Populations of Crime Victims. Project Summary Many a time, the law of the State has been said to be discriminatory in its delivery of justice and issuance of the national cake to the benefit of all. Sadly, the biases have been identified to be shifted against underserved populations including people with disability, elderly people, women, and children (Bach and David, 2009). Meanwhile, recent studies show that it is people in such underserved populations that suffer the worse forms of crimes (Barry and Tom, 2009). The purpose of this grant is therefore to address the issue of underserved needs of underserved people through a community driven initiative. The community-driven initiative, as the name implies shall be a community based education and awareness project that seeks to identify key legal aspects of criminal education and support that is absent among this population and address them accordingly. The focus of the education program will be to equip the populace with knowledge of their basic human rights and rights under the criminal justice system. The support aspect of the initiative will on the other hand empower the crime victims to take up legal issues of their offenses for legal redress. Specifically, the community-driven initiative shall involve the setting up of community based advocacy agencies within high risk areas. High risk areas where there are a lot of underserved population crime victims will be identified through both primary and secondary research and development. After identifying these areas, offices of “Hope for Underserved Crime Victims” shall be opened. The duties of the office shall include identifying as many crime victims who have not received due legal redress to their cases of crime as possible and seeking ways of addressing their diverse issues. Program Narrative Statement of the Problem The history of victimization problem Victimization against people of underserved population is a problem that has a long history in the United States and other places of the world. Some historians actually trace the problem to the larger problem of social discrimination and disparity (Bach and David, 2009). This is because of the huge lapses that have been found in the criminal justice system in the protection of the fundamental human rights of people in minority groups such as women, children, the elderly and the disabled. Day in and out, issues of criminal injustice against women, children, the elderly and the disabled have been aired in the media. This has generally given most criminals a field day to have the notion that the law does not have the kind of teeth to bite them when they extend their acts to these underserved people. Indeed, statistics and data from existing agencies and associate organizations such as Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, and Family Justice Center Alliance give evidence to the fact effect that records of crime against these underserved people is higher as compared to other groups in the United States (Colquitt and Jessica, 2011). As part of the history of victimization against underserved people, it has been found that instead of coming out boldly after facing criminal acts, these people are isolated and even blamed as the cause of their own actions. In some cases, these people who suffer hate and bias crimes are sidelined for justice because the masses of the people are always on the side of those who commit the crimes (Flynn, 1998). The scope of the problem The Chico State and National Victim Assistance Academy identifies several groups of underserved populations, as well as several types of problems that these people face. However, in order to ensure that the grant is specific and well coordinated into a section of relief that it can rightly find solutions to, there are specific scopes of needs of underserved crime victims that will be considered. As far as crime victims are concerned, only four out of the total number identified by the agencies named above shall be included in the project. These are women, children the disabled, and the elderly. In effect, crime victims generally classified under racial and tribal distinctions shall not be captured. The scope of crime to be looked at among this population shall also be limited to physical and sexual abuse. This means that issues of thief and other criminal offenses that do not directly involve physical and sexual abuse shall be excluded. The rationale for the delimitation or scope that has been set on the project is basically to ensure that available funds can be used to thoroughly address problems that are identified. It is not because some problems and victims are considered as more important than others. Once there is sufficient coverage within a little scope, it is deemed better than having a shoddy coverage within a large scope because in the whole idea of support for crime victims, the idea is to ensure realistic solutions to victims. Failure to address the problem adequately As explained under the rationale for the scope of the project, it is important to ensure that only a sizeable aspect of the problem is handled so that there can be adequate solution to the problem. This is because of the consequences that failures to address the problem adequately has brought in times past, and is projected to bring if it is make to continue. In times past, it has been identified that failure to address the problem of crime against underserved population adequately has resulted in a more resistive criminal base against underserved people (Carlile, 2011). This was the result of a study in which most respondents who have been convicted of crime against underserved people before answered to questionnaires, indicating that the major motivating factor that gives them confidence to do the things they do is because of failures of advocacy programs (Colquitt and Jessica, 2011). Because advocacy agencies have generally failed to achieve any successes with their campaigns, the notion has been that there can never be any firm State or National defense for underserved crime victims. In effect, when one is committing crime against them, there is that sharp notion of impunity. This program must therefore not fail in its agenda and quest so as not to repeat the vicious cycle that is already in the system. What is more, a failure to address the problem adequately means a strong disregard for the criminal justice system and by extension, the judiciary system of the nation. The major cause of failure has thus been a poor measure of a scope that can rightly be handled by advocacy groups. The potential to have a significant impact on the problem A successful implementation of the grant project is expected to bring several significant impacts on the problems that have been identified among underserved population. The first of these significant impacts has to do with access to victim services in the aftermath of crime. Studies have showed that access to effective victim services from service providers has been a major area of deficiency for underserved crime victims (Gonzalez and Tom, 2008). This is generally because these people do not have the necessary knowledge and support to received victim services. With this program that seeks to raise awareness among crime victims therefore, it is expected that the level of knowledge that these people have on their fundamental human right will be enhanced. With such knowledge acquired, it is automatic that the need for effective victim services to be sought after criminal encounters shall be developed. In the larger perspective, this project is expected to bring about an entire change and delivery of the criminal justice system to the ordinary American and other in-dwellers. Currently, it is open secret that the criminal justice system of the United States has come under strict ridicule by practitioners within and without the country for its inability to be evenly distributed. The long term significant impact on the problem would therefore be that equaled justice for underserved population would raise the image of the country’s criminal justice system in the international circles (Barry and Tom, 2009). Another potential significant impact on the problem with the right program, which is a community based advocacy program, is that it will ensure that not just some but all crime victims under the scope of the project are captured. This is because the project is going to be located within the midst of the local people and so identification of such crime victims will not be much of a problem for the project administrators. This means that the project is going to be carried out on a decentralized basis rather than a centralized basis. Indeed, the use of centralized program implementation systems toward the alleviation of the plight of crime victims has been found to be highly ineffective. This is because such programs are not able to get close up with affected people and contain so much bureaucracy that make access to aid unattractive to the already reserved population base of underserved people (Flynn, 1998). With this decentralized program that goes right down to the communities where affected victims are found, it is projected that everyone who matters and should receive aid will be captured for onward support. The long term impact of this significant aspect of the project is that it will bring about improvement in the personality and identity of crime victims. The reason this is important is that crime victims are not in any way the causers of their predicament but once they are faced with them, they are sidelined and stigmatized as though they had were rather the culprits (Carlile, 2011) Project Overview, Goals and Objectives Description of Project As indicated earlier, the entire project is going to be a community based agency with an office situated right in the premises of identified group of underserved crime victims. This involves several tasks of organizational administration and operation, which have been outlined as followed. Generally, the project will be administered by an array of professionals who will be identified to be purposely deliver detailed and precise victim support services to affected people. These people are targeted to include legal aids, psychotherapists, field researchers, guidance and counselors, and volunteer human rights activists. The working duties of these administrators will be interwoven and related to each other. On an individual basis however, each of them will have a well defined assigned role that is aimed to bringing the collective aim of the project to fruition. The field researchers will for example be responsible for research and development, aimed at identifying underserved crime victims within the vicinity of the project. They will also have the duty of raising awareness within the vicinity of the presence of the new agency and educate people on the need to use the agency. Much of the paradigm into getting people to patronize the services of the agency shall however be based on an approach to be known as the ‘fish-them’ approach. With this approach, the agency shall task itself with going to find the affected persons and giving them support. The rationale for this approach is that because of the kind of disparity that has existed for these underserved people in years past, most of them are withdrawn from victim services and are hardly willing to come open about their situations (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991). After clients are sourced for the agency through the work of the field researchers, the counselors will come next in line with the core duty of ensuring that crime victims are given the necessary counseling and emotional support needed to overcome the fear of victimization and stigmatization. The aim of this will be to restore the moral dignity of affected victims, especially those who have gone through various acts of physical and sexual abuse. Indeed, based on the outcome of counseling sessions with victims, the need for psychotherapy referrals will be necessitated. Once such referrals are made, the psychological needs of victims shall be taken over by the clinical psychologists or psychotherapists. All of these interrelated victim service deliver will be done to ensure that there is comprehensive need offered to underserved people. As has been expressed earlier, it is for the need for comprehensiveness of care that there has been a scope that does not flood the agency with victims who will only receive partial support. The work of counselors and clinical psychologists will give legal aids a fair idea of the gravity of problem that each victim faces. Based on this feedback, the right kind of legal assistance will be given. The work of voluntary human rights activists will take operations within the agency to an entirely new dimension and open a new channel of support. This is because the human rights activism shall be the only independent component of the project, though it shall be somewhat related to the roles of the other service providers. For example as part of their independence of service, they shall be required to give mass or open air public education to dwellers of the vicinity where the agencies will be found. This means that this human rights activism will center on preventive modules rather than curative modules. By implication, they will advocate for human rights abuses in the form of physical and sexual abuses to cease and also equip people with the processes and steps they would need to take once they are faced with human rights abuses. As stated earlier, there is enough evidence to the effect that people become withdrawn from justice because they don’t have an idea of the steps to take to seek such forms of justice (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991). The aspect of the work of the human rights activists that will be related to the other agencies will be when these activists support legal aids after they have filed suits in court. This will be done through media publicity and awareness creation for the cases to be followed so as to ensure guaranteed justice. Goals of the Project The goals of the project generally refers to what the overall outcome of the project is expected to be or accomplish. In this, two broad goals are found. The first goal is bring about justice for all, with specialized focus on underserved population who suffer crime victimization. The second goal is to ensure guaranteed wellness to all people, especially those crime victims within underserved populations. In the first goal, there will be calculated efforts to ensure that no one within the scope of the project is left behind in the delivery of justice. The criminal justice system will therefore be provoked to be executed in a manner that captures the interest and attention of all people with none left behind. The era of pushing crime victims who are children, disabled, elderly and women to the periphery will be aimed to be ended through the accomplishment of the goals of the project. Again, the era where due process on the justice system was only half-baked in the sense that investigative processes that were started were never held on to the end will be a thing of the past. With the second goal, the project hopes to accomplish a state of wellness for affected people. This is because several people who go through physical and sexual abuse end up becoming mentally, emotionally, psychologically, physically and spiritually depressed. Studies have actually showed that giving such people legal justice alone cannot be enough in restoring hopes back into their lives but the latter form of support as well (Gonzalez and Tom, 2008). a Objectives of the Study As the goals of the project spells out the broad spectrum of project, the objectives try to find out specific tasks and activities that need to be performed in order to realize the goals. In effect, the objectives are indicators of positive progress. The objectives of the study are thus given as follows: 1 To set up a community based victim service office 2 To identify as many underserved crime victims as possible 3 To work in collaboration with professional in the provision of service support to underserved crime victims 4 To raise the awareness of the public on their right under the laws of the State in seeking justice on their cases of crime 5 To record reduced crime rates against underserved population. References Bach, R. and David J. K. (2009). A Social Infrastructure for Hometown Security: Advancing the Homeland Security Paradigm. Homeland Security Affairs 2 (3). Pp. 23-34 Barry, H. and Tom R. T. (2009). “The Other Side of Injustice: When Unfair Procedures Increase Group-Serving Behavior.” Psychological Science 20, 1031. Carlile, A (2011). Report to the Home Secretary of Independent Oversight of Prevent Review and Strategy. London: HM Government. Colquitt, J. A. and Jessica B. R. (2011). Justice, Trust, and Trustworthiness: A Longitudinal Analysis Integrating Three Theoretical Perspectives. Academy of Management Journal 54, 1202. Flynn, D. W. (1998). Defining the “Community” in Community Policing. New York: Police Executive Research Forum. Gonzalez, C. M. and Tom R. T. (2008). “The Psychology of Enfranchisement: Engaging and Fostering Inclusion of Members through Voting and Decision-Making Procedures.” Journal of Social Issues 64, (2008): 447. Pascarella E. T and Terenzini P. T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More