Nearly all state departments of corrections have victim services offices, and in addition, many states have victim compensation boards or offices located in other state agencies. In many cases, these offices are responsible for ensuring that opportunities for victim support, including financial assistance, exist. ^[1]   When these agencies do not exist, however, or their services are limited, representatives from the correctional facility, releasing authority, and community corrections must assume the responsibility of performing outreach to victims, offering services to victims, and ensuring that victims' input is incorporated (where appropriate) into the re-entry process. Whenever possible, criminal justice agencies should coordinate efforts to maximize their ability to reach victims and to provide them with a range of support services or referrals to appropriate community-based victim services. In addition, partnering with victim advocates and community volunteers maximizes the efficiency and efficacy of any corrections-based victim programs and services.

A victim advocate (either staff or volunteer in a corrections-based victim services unit or community-based organization) should be able to provide information to victims about the individual's status or about available support and services in the community, including peer support groups. The advocate may also develop a safety plan with the victim to help him or her to feel and to be protected as the release date nears. While historically such safety plans have tended to consider only the actions that victims themselves may take to ensure their safety, victim advocates and service providers should also consider how other stakeholders can support the victim. For example, the safety plan should be coordinated with planning for the individual's transition and supervision strategy, to ensure that appropriate constraints are incorporated into those plans and made known to the victim.

Example: Victim Wrap-Around Process, Washington Department of Corrections

The Victim Wrap-Around Process (VWAP) program provides direct safety planning for victims who are at risk during re-entry. Community Victim Liaison (CVL) Managers contact people (including prior victims) who they believe to be at risk three to six months prior to the release of the individual. If the victim chooses to participate, the CVL encourages him or her to take the lead in identifying which organizations they want to participate in and what they want to accomplish, and encourages community organizations to join together in support of the victim. Victim Wrap-Arounds are intensive, multidisciplinary, and designed to help victims to feel safe and be safe.

The pending release of an individual may revive a victim's past trauma or renew concerns about his or her safety. Accordingly, corrections administrators and other policymakers should ensure that supportive counseling is made available to victims before the release date. Notably, some victims need more professional counseling, therapy, or psychiatric treatment, which should also be made available to them. If an advocate is not trained or qualified to provide the appropriate level of counseling, he or she must be trained to make a referral to a qualified professional.

In addition to counseling, victims may need assistance with basic needs at the time of an individual's re-entry. For instance, an intimidated victim or witness who is at risk of harm when the person convicted of that offense returns to the community may be forced to re-locate, in which case he or she might require assistance with housing, food, clothing, transportation, employment, and child care. Victims may also have medical needs related to or aggravated by the original offense, including substance abuse treatment. Finally, some victims may need practical assistance in securing their homes, such as adding locks or installing a caller-ID system.

Example: Office of Victim Services, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections

As part of victim safety planning under the Ohio Plan for Offender Re-Entry, personnel at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections' Office of Victim Services will help a victim to develop a viable relocation plan if the victim chooses to relocate as a result of a particular prisoner's release.