The Alaska Victim Assistance Academy (AVAA) provides victimology training to people working with crime victims. The curriculum embraces the entire scope of victim services, and addresses issues unique and specific to Alaska.

The AVAA offers a comprehensive, week-long, academically-based course of study in victims’ rights and services and victimology, modeled on the curriculum established by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime for use in the National Victim Assistance Academy.

AVAA curriculum is designed to meet the educational and training needs of beginning to intermediate level victim service providers, victim advocates, and allied professionals working with victims of crime.

Training is tailored specifically to the laws of Alaska and the unique challenges faced by service providers in our urban and rural communities. Over two years in the making, more than 25 Alaska organizations along with our academic partner, the University of Alaska, Anchorage, have joined us in the planning efforts to create the AVAA. Academic curriculum is based on the results of a recent statewide needs assessment and identifies current best practices and programs.

Academy training is focused on delivering new knowledge about victims’ rights, services and victimology and a high standard of service to victims, to benefit both clients and service providers. This week-long course will provide meaningful opportunities for collaboration, collegiality and support, bringing together rural and urban colleagues. We hope you will join us for this exciting new educational program featuring well-known presenters and the latest information in the victim services fields!

Session topics include, but are not limited to:

• Legal Rights of Victims
• Tribal Courts & Tribal Sovereignty
• Safety Planning & Lethality Assessment
• Hate Crimes, Homeless Victimization
• Child Abuse, Juvenile Sex Offenses
• Immigrant Victims of Crime
• Stalking
• Sexual Assault
• Trauma Centered Advocacy
• Cyber Bullying, Sexting, Internet Exploitation
• Human Trafficking
• Dynamics of Domestic Violence

AVAA is designed for individuals in rural areas who have three years or less in the field or have had limited training opportunities. Individuals with more experience may also wish to attend the academy to enhance their knowledge. The training is appropriate for individuals working in direct victim services, including:

• Law enforcement
• Prosecutors’ offices
• Alaska Village Public Safety
• Courts of Law
• Probation, Corrections
• Elder Care
• Nursing, Hospital Emergency Rooms, Village Health Care
• Interpreting
• Teaching
• Clergy
• Agencies helping victims of crime including domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, general crime advocacy, and legal advocacy

Admission preference will be given to paid employees. Volunteers may also apply, and may be admitted as space allows. The Academy is limited in number of participants.

PICK. CLICK. GIVE. ALASKA

When you apply for your Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, you have the opportunity to give to an Alaska non-profit organization. If you would like to share a portion of your dividend with Victims for Justice, sponsors of AVAA, click here. And, thank you!

^{Victims for Justice, the host agency, is an Alaska non-profit organization serving victims of violent crime throughout the State of Alaska. This website was produced by Victims for Justice under Project # 2008-VF-GX-K010, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.}