The Critical Analysis of Victim Assistance is, in many respects, the JCVVS' hallmark course. While the JCVVS offers professional education courses on various special topics, the Critical Analysis of Victim Assistance program offers an opportunity for practitioners to reflect on the practices and policies that frame their work. Critical analysis means to look at things through different lenses or perspectives, to question what is, and to consider what can be. It means consideration of various values, approaches, and collaborations. As a field that is vying for social recognition as a profession, critical analysis is important for victim services.

The course environment is designed for collegial interaction. Instructors and participants alike work together in the learning process. Critical analysis is encouraged by:

• full consideration of various perspectives,
• challenging assumptions of practice, policy, and societal responses,
• facilitating active discussion of problems and issues,
• fostering a critical attitude where it is acceptable to question, and
• engaging in learning activities based on practice.

A testimonial from one participant reflects the intent of the course, "Through instruction and knowledge gained throughout this course, I have realized areas where my own program is lax...I liked the challenges that were presented. The exercises really forced my normal thought process to broaden. This program should be mandatory for anyone in the victim services field."

The next Critical Analysis of Victim Assistance course is scheduled for September 17-19 at California State University, Fresno.

The California State University, Fresno (CSUF) in collaboration with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Law Enforcement and Victim Services Division and the California Victim Witness Coordinating Council (CVWCC) hosted the second annual California Victim Assistance Academy (CVAA).

This year over 70 victim advocates and allied professionals from throughout California attended the 40-hour weeklong foundation level training. The program was on the CSUF campus from June 3rd through June 8th and undergraduate and graduate credit was available upon request. During the week, attendees convened to learn about victimology, victim's rights, and service provision. The attendees were encouraged to network with each other during learning activities and with voluntary events outside of classroom time.

The CVAA is an intensive academic training program that is made possible by a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Since 1998, OVC has funded 30 states including California to begin a State Victim Assistance Academy (SVAA). Each SVAA is based on the National Victim Assistance Academy (NVAA) model of which the JCVVS universities contributed to the development and hosting.

JCVVS e-newsletter reviews offer a brief synopsis of research and programs relevant to violence and victim studies. Brevity does not allow for comprehensive analysis, rather key points and observations for further review and consideration. Reviews are provided by persons affiliated by the JCVVS and do not necessarily reflect the position of the JCVVS or the affiliate Universities.

Victim Awareness Classes
by Mario Gaboury, J.D., Ph.D.

Victim Awareness classes, sometimes referred to as "impact of crime" or "empathy education" programs, are reportedly used in some facilities in 73% of state-level corrections departments (National Institute of Corrections, 2004, p. 10). However, these programs have been subjected to very limited research. For example, Stutz (1994) reported lower re offense rates and higher restitution payment rates from a sample of those completing the classes in Washington State. Putnins (1997) studied the effects of Awareness Classes on "sociomoral reasoning maturity" in delinquents and found significant, positive differences in the group exposed to the classes as compared to controls. Schiebstad (2003) indicated that gains in knowledge and attitudes occurred in an evaluation of a sample in Iowa. Turner studied a program in Maine and reported qualitative results from participants, staff presenters and victims that were characterized as "uniformly positive," while the "quantitative data created an entirely different impression" that was not positive regarding the program's impact" (Turner, 2004, p. 13).

Commencing in 2000, JCVVS Executive Committee member and UNH professor Dr. Mario T. Gaboury, directed a project to evaluate the Connecticut Department of Correction's program. The study, conducted with Dr. Lynn Monahan (also a JCVVS Executive Board Member) and Dr. Jim Monahan of UNH and Patricia Niesyn from the Connecticut Department of Correction reported significant increases in offenders' "knowledge of victimization facts," "knowledge of victims' rights," and "offender sensitivity to the plight of victims" as compared to a matched comparison group, while a fourth factor measured in that study, "victim blaming," did not appear to be significantly affected by the program (Monahan, Monahan, Gaboury and Niesyn, 2002). This study was virtually replicated in 2007 by Gaboury and his colleague, Dr. Christopher Sedelmaier, who evaluated a standardized victim awareness curriculum in four states (California, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia). Essentially the same three factors that were found to be significant in the Connecticut sample were also significant in this multi-state sample, while victim blaming and a new factor, "accountability," were not found to be significantly different (Gaboury and Sedelmaier, 2007).

In order to fully investigate the efficacy of awareness classes, it is important to also study behavioral changes, e.g., disciplinary infractions and recidivism. Will cognitive improvements lead to actual changes in offending behavior? A study of the disciplinary infractions of still incarcerated offenders found a significant lowering of serious (Class A) infractions in the African American adult male population (Gaboury, Sedelmaier, Monahan and Monahan, 2007), while no significant differences were found for other groups in this sample. Currently, a longer-term follow-up of comparing recidivism rates is underway (Gaboury, Sedelmaier and Hynes, in preparation). Although much more research is required, it seems clear that victim awareness classes hold hope for changing attitudes and increasing knowledge, and might also produce behavioral improvements that would have a positive effect on public safety and reduce victimization by reducing criminal offending among those who experience the program.

References
Gaboury, M.T., Sedelmaier, C. and Hynes, P. Evaluating the Effects of a Victim Awareness Curriculum on Recidivism. In preparation.

Gaboury, M.T. and Sedelmaier, C. (2007). Effects of a Standardized Victim Impact Curriculum Upon a Multistate Inmate Sample, paper accepted for the \ American Society of Criminology annual meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Gaboury, M.T., Sedelmaier C., Monahan L.H., and Monahan J.J. (2007). A Preliminary Evaluation of Behavioral Outcomes in a Corrections-based Victim Awareness Program for Offenders, paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting, Seattle WA. (Also submitted for publication).

Monahan, L.H., Monahan J. J., Gaboury M.T., and Niesyn P.A. (2004). Victim Voices in the Correctional Setting: Cognitive Gains in an Offender Education Program. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 39, 21.

National Institute of Corrections (2004). Corrections- based Services for Victims of Crime. Longmont, Colorado: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections Information Center (http://www.nicic.org/pubs/2004/019947.pdf)

Putnins, A.L. (1997). Victim Awareness Programs for Delinquent Youths: Effects on Moral Reasoning Maturity. Adolescence, 32, 709-715.

Schiebstad, I. (2003). An Evaluation of Victim Impact Classes. Unpublished paper. Saint Ambrose University, Social Work Program, Davenport, Iowa, U.S.A.

Stutz, W.A. (1994). Victim Awareness Educational Program Evaluation. Unpublished paper. Washington State Department of Corrections, Division of Community Corrections, Victim Services Unit, Post Office Box 4119, Olympia Washington, 98504-4119 U.S.A.

Turner, W.M. (2004). Evaluation of the Impact of Crime Program. Unpublished paper. Northeast Research Service, Post Office Box 422, Blue Hills, Maine 04614, U.S.A. (Report prepared in cooperation with the Center for Juvenile Justice of the Southern Maine Community College and the Maine Department of Correction, Correctional Recovery Academy)

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