New Toolkit to Help Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism

A new online toolkit is available to help communities prepare for and respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism in the most timely, effective and compassionate manner possible. The Office for Victims of Crime released Helping Victims of Mass Violence and Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Office for Victim Assistance and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism. Administrators, emergency managers, law enforcement, prosecutors, health care providers and victim service providers can access the toolkit to:

• Develop a comprehensive victim assistance plan for responding to incidents of mass violence, terrorism, natural disasters and high-profile criminal incidents.
• Bring key partners together to review existing emergency plans, and to initiate or continue the development of a victim assistance plan within a community.
• Establish victim assistance protocols, which can greatly enhance the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts.
• Follow protocols for short- and long-term responses to victims following incidents of mass violence.

To learn more, view the toolkit at
http://ovc.gov/pubs/mvt-http://www.ovc.gov/pubs/mvt-toolkit/index.html.