Programs of Assisting Victims of Crime Essay Example

Introduction

Bullying is a common phenomenon in most learning institutions around the world and its impact is particularly adverse to students with special needs such as those living with autism and cerebral palsy. As such, it is essential for parents and educators to have access to the services of professional victim service workers for counseling interventions for their children with special needs in the event they are bullied. This research provides a comprehensive discussion on the importance of having access to victim service workers in helping children with autism and cerebral palsy after being bullied and physically assaulted by their peers at school.

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Roles of Victim Service Worker

Victim service workers are educated on how to deal with the effect of victimization. For instance, they can help victims to talk about their problems to the police and provide correct information about their ordeal when seeking a remedy with the criminal justice system. Also, the victim service workers can accompany the victims of an unfavorable event to court and also offer guidance to the victims on how to complete a victim assistance program application documents to claim benefits. Ultimately, in the featured context, the victim service workers will help the siblings with the special needs to deal with their emotions that are resultant after being victimized at their school.

Services That the Victimized Children May Need Different From Other Victims

The two children with autism and cerebral palsy may have a heightened need on how to manage their emotions in contrast to other normal kids under the same circumstances. Additionally, this is because they may be unable to express themselves in the right way through the speech. For instance, the boy with autism is likely to have poor nonverbal dialogue skills like using gestures to express himself and this can affect the right expression of his emotions to a victim service worker. On the other hand, his sister with cerebral palsy may have problems communicating due to her condition. For instance, she could have aphasia, dysphagia, dyspraxia, stuttering or dysarthria due to cerebral palsy.

Programs of Assisting Victims of Crime with Disabilities

The largest organization that can help victims of crime with special needs in close proximity is the Disabled Crime Victims Assistance Incorporation (Ceccato & Newton, 2015). The program deals with the counseling of victims to enable them to manage their lives after victimization events among other functions. The program also helps the families of the victimized disabled persons to help their affected loved ones in the home environment. Also, the American Psychological Association Violence Prevention Program (VPO) is situated in locally and it can also help children with disabilities victimized through crime (Toporek et al., 2006). Nevertheless, the VPO program is not strictly for the disabled persons since it also helps normal persons who have also been traumatized by crime.

Providing the Services to Clients

When offering the services to the clients, the first step would be to identify the nature of victimization that has been inflicted on a client. Subsequently, it would be possible to determine if the client can benefit from a simple counseling session, which I can perform or if he/she requires more professional help from programs like the VPO. In the event the level of suffering being experienced by the victim is great, I can book a session for the client with programs like VPO and also take the client there if offered an appointment. Finally, I would ensure that I contact the client's relatives or close family members since it is probable that they may also like to be involved in the clients' counseling process.

Public Policy Initiatives for Victims of Crime

There are two primary policies in the United States that are developed to protect people from being victimized by crime. Nevertheless, among such policies in the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed into law on in the United States in 2009 (Marion, 2011). The policy restricts the infringement of suffering to persons based on their ethnicity, race, gender or sexual orientation. Other policies include the Crimes Victim's Rights Act, which would ensure that the victim attains protection from the accused in the event he/she acted out against his/her perpetrator during the crime (Doyle, 2008).

Conclusion

In conclusion, bullying is a common phenomenon in most learning institutions around the world and its impact is particularly adverse to students with special needs such as those living with autism and cerebral palsy. To help the persons victimized through crime, the services of victim service workers can be obtained. The workers are educated on how to deal with the effect of victimization on clients, even those with special needs. Some of the programs that can help persons victimized through crime include the Disabled Crime Victims Assistance Incorporation and VPO. Also, when offering services to the victims of crime, it is essential to assess their level of suffering before deciding on the right program to place them. Also, a victim service worker, an individual should also contact the relatives of the patients since they might like to be involved in their victim's counseling process. Ultimately

References

Ceccato, V., & Newton, A. (2015). Safety and Security in Transit Environments: An Interdisciplinary Approach. New York: Springer.

Doyle, C. (2008). Crime Victims' Rights Act. New York: Nova Publishers.

Marion, N. (2011). Federal Government and Criminal Justice. New York: Springer.

Toporek, R. L., Gerstein, L., Fouad, N., Roysircar, G., & Israel, T. (2006). Handbook for Social Justice in Counseling Psychology: Leadership, Vision, and Action. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.