Goal

To improve responses to child and youth victims and their families by providing consistent, coordinated responses that address the presenting issues and full range of victims' needs.

Current Victim Services

Currently, the systems of care charged with caring for children and families are fragmented. Consequently, youth and families enter through several "wrong doors" before finding or receiving adequate services that meet their needs as victims. This approach may cause undue frustration for youth and families at a time when they need the most support.

Unlinked Services Chart

Linking Systems of Care
Guiding Principles

I. Healing Individuals, Families, and Communities

Linked Systems of Care communities are concerned with the healing of individuals, families, and communities who have experienced or have been exposed to violence.

II. Linked Systems of Care

All systems of care are connected and aspire to maximize collective impact through communication, collaboration, and coordination.

III. Informed Decision Making

Linked Systems of Care provide as much information as possible to families and practitioners so that the most targeted, holistic, safe, and effective interventions are available.

Linked Services Chart

Linked

The goal of the Linking Systems of Care project is to formally integrate those systems, by implementing a "no wrong door" approach to equip all systems of care to respond effectively to victims of crime. This approach ensures that these young victims and their families are set on a path toward healing in a timely and thoughtful way.

Meet the Demonstration Sites

Linking Systems of Care demonstrated change in four states that were chosen for the strength of their application in a competitive federal award process. They were all remarkable in the strength of their statewide collaborations, diversity of their youth populations and stakeholders, and long-term commitment to modelling change.

In each of the states a lead grantee organization built a Linking Systems of Care network of stakeholders and partners; assessed underserved populations and service gaps; developed concrete strategies, techniques, and tools for meeting victim needs; and, linked child and youth victims to an expanded array of support services. Subject to adequate participation and performance, each demonstration project had the possibility of up to six years of ongoing project support through the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).

State of Montana

Montana

Montana entered Linking Systems of Care as a demonstration site in 2015. Under the leadership of the Montana Board of Crime Control, they implemented consistent screening for childhood through young adults exposure to crime as a victim and worked with a diverse range of communities to link children and youth to services. Their work encompassed urban and rural areas of the state, and they worked closely with Tribal and non-Tribal partners.

State of Virginia

Virginia

Virginia entered Linking Systems of Care as a demonstration state in 2015. Under the leadership of their state Department of Social Services, they implemented strategies across a diverse range of communities and stakeholder agencies to screen children and youth exposed to crime, coordinated victim support services, and built a foundation of state policies and tools designed to sustain Linking Systems of Care practices.

State of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois entered Linking Systems of Care in 2018. Under the leadership of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), they completed a 15-month planning process and entered into implementation that brought together state agencies across various systems of care , conducted a comprehensive gap analysis that addressed both urban and rural communities, and surveyed service providers and the families of children and youth who had experienced crime as a victim.

State of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio entered Linking Systems of Care in 2018. Under the leadership of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, they assembled a broad range of stakeholder agencies and embarked on a planning and implementation process to identify gaps within the current victims’ support network and developed a plan for identifying needs and making robust service referrals.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Montana Board of Crime Control Logo Virginia Heals Dave Yost Ohio Attorney General ICJIA