Measuring the Impact of Victim Services

To provide the infrastructure needed to demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of victim services, RTI International, the Justice Research and Statistics Association, and the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee Statistical Analysis Center, propose developing a Victim Outcome and Satisfaction Survey (VOSS) instrument and platform. The development of a standardized VOSS instrument and methodology will enable victim service providers (VSPs) to assess whether outcome-oriented performance goals are being met and will facilitate the collection of national-level performance data.

This project will build off the lessons learned from the state of Georgia’s efforts to implement statewide outcome performance measures. The applicant will develop and validate a trauma-informed, low-burden VOSS instrument that measures victim perceptions of the quality of services and the extent to which services and referrals addressed their needs. RTI’s open-source, freely available, customizable survey application, Tangerine©, will be optimized for VSPs to use for survey administration, data collection, and easy back-end data visualization and export. Tangerine is a secure web-based application that allows VSPs to customize the survey language and add their own questions to the end of the survey. It can be used online or offline and on any internet-ready device or electronic kiosk.

For the development of the survey and the platform, the project team will draw on extensive experience measuring victim service outcomes, expertise in victim surveys and survey methodology, knowledge of and relationships throughout the victim service field, and experience developing and using innovative data collection platforms. The project will also utilize a panel of experts representing major organizations throughout the field. Once developed, the VOSS instrument will undergo extensive cognitive testing to ensure that the questions are clear and consistently understood and that the measures are valid and reliable. A large pilot test will focus on identifying and addressing any issues related to the functionality of the platform.

Key deliverables will include a toolkit to support full implementation of the VOSS; a tool exemplar to enable replication and evaluation of the methodology and findings; practitioner-oriented products, including webinars and summary reports; and peer-reviewed articles.

"Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law," and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR 200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF