Breaking the Silence on Crime Victims with Disabilities in the United States

1
Breaking the Silenceon Crime Victims with
Disabilities in the United States

• Joint Statement by
• National Council on Disability
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities
• National Center for Victims of Crime

2

• The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an
  independent federal agency that makes
  recommendations to the President and Congress to
  enhance the quality of life for all Americans
  with disabilities and their families.
• NCD's overall purpose is to promote policies,
  programs, practices, and procedures that
  guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals
  with disabilities, regardless of the nature or
  severity of the disability and to empower
  individuals with disabilities to achieve economic
  self-sufficiency, independent living, and
  inclusion and integration into all aspects of
  society.

3

• Founded in 1985, the National Center for Victims
  of Crime is the nations leading resource and
  advocacy organization for victims of crime. Our
  mission is to forge a national commitment to help
  victims of crime rebuild their lives.
• National Crime Victim Helpline/1-800-FYI-CALLOur
  Helpline provides one-on-one support to help
  victims understand the impact of crime, access
  victim compensation, develop safety plans,
  navigate the criminal justice and social service
  systems, learn about their legal rights and
  options, and find the most appropriate local
  services.

4

• The Association of University Centers on
  Disabilities (AUCD) is the central office
  representing member UCEDDs, LEND Projects, and
  DDRCs, and is their representative to the federal
  government and constituent organizations and
  agencies.
• The mission of AUCD is to nurture, support, and
  assist member programs in their endeavor to
  enhance the quality of life for persons with
  developmental disabilities through
  interdisciplinary training, exemplary service,
  technical assistance, dissemination of
  information, and research.

5
Breaking the Silenceon Crime Victims with
Disabilities in the United States

• The ultimate goal of this partnership is to
  foster greater public awareness about crime
  victims with disabilities and to forge a national
  commitment to better serve this particularly
  vulnerable population.

6
Crime Victims with Disabilities

• Children with a reported disability are 68
  percent more likely to be victims of maltreatment
  than children with no reported disability.
• Women with developmental disabilities are at a 4
  to 10 times greater risk than the general
  population for sexual assault.
• More than one-fourth of persons with severe
  mental illness were victims of a violent crime in
  the past year, a rate more than 11 times that of
  the general population.
• 15,000 to 19,000 people with developmental
  disabilities are raped each year in the United
  States.

7
Legislation

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• Fair Housing Act (as amended in 1988)
• Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act

8
Breaking the SilenceStrategy Steps

• Public Education
• Research
• Public Policy
• Programs and Services
• National Leadership

9
Public Education

• Raise awareness of persons with disabilities
  victimized by crime
• circumstances
• needs

10
Research

• Engage in national research
• establish the prevalence
• understand consequences
• identify best practices for services
• identify best practices for prevention

11
Public Policy

• Adopt public policies that integrate needs of
  crime victims with disabilities
• federal
• state
• local services

12
Programs and Services

• Improve
• number of available services
• access to appropriate services

13
National Leadership

• Foster the development of leaders
• represent victims with disabilities
• serve as agents of change

14
Contact

• National Council on Disability
• [phone] Voice(202) 272-2074
  TTYwww.ncd.gov/
• Association of University Centers on Disability
  [phone]
  www.aucd.org
• National Center for Victims of Crime
  [phone]
• 1-800-211-7996 TTY www.ncvc.org