The Crime Victims Legal Network has been busy the last few months with updates to our website, new content and the development of an app! If you missed the release of our Victim Compensation Online Claim Guide, check it out here. The Guide was created for both crime victims and advocates using the NYS Office of Victim Services’ Portal to help complete and submit victim compensation claims online. Our goal is to let you know what information you may need and offer helpful tips to submit the application successfully.
We also have created a Victim Compensation App that will be released next month! The app was created to help crime victims determine if they are eligible for victim compensation and the type of claim they can apply for. The biggest mistake people were making when applying for compensation was filing for the wrong type of claim. So, we developed a comprehensive tool that will help victims determine if they are eligible and the type of claim to file by simply answering a few questions, all in less than five minutes!
We have added new content to our site about LGBTQ+ crime victims’ rights, and presumptive Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); look for this in the ‘Know Your Rights’ section. Huge thank yous to Empire Justice Center’s attorneys Amy Schwartz- Wallace and Lettie Dickerson and interns Elyse Harmon and Shivani Damera for help with the LGBTQ+ content, and Office of Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs’ Daniel Kos and Gayle Murphy at the Center for Resolution and Justice for their help with the ADR and Mediation content. In the coming weeks, we will be updating our Legal Help Directory to include civil legal organizations with specific programs that provide services for LGBTQ+ crime victims and ADR services.
To get feedback on the new content and to help us continue to improve the NY Crime Victims Legal Help website, our partners at SUNY Albany Center for Humans Services Research are holding virtual focus groups. Your input and that of your clients directly informed the content and design of the site. As we approach the second anniversary of the site’s statewide launch, we are again seeking your input to ensure the website continues to be easy to use and helpful to victims of crime. Please sign up here to participate in a focus group this Wednesday or Thursday.
We will be entering the third year of our grant in October and we have many projects planned for the upcoming year. We hope to add content to our website for victims of sexual assault on college campuses. The SUNY Albany Center for Human Services Research will be conducting a needs assessment to help us determine what information would be most useful for these victims. Keep an eye out for more information about interviews and surveys. We are also looking for experts in this area to help us develop or review legal content for our site. If you can help, please contact us at rparthasarathy@empirejustice.org.
We’ll also be revealing a new search results page for our Legal Help Directory. In addition to providing information about organizations based on specific legal issues and locations in New York State, users will be able to view related Know Your Rights and Legal Forms information. This provides a streamlined and intuitive experience for crime victims and advocates to get the information and assistance they need.
Stay tuned for all the exciting things happening here at the Crime Victims Legal Network!