Office of Victim Services Education & Certification (OVSEC)

The following standards will be considered by the Office of Victim Services & Education (OVSEC) in granting, denying, or withdrawal of accreditation of sponsors, programs, or parts of programs:

1. Courses must have significant or practical content;
   
   
2. Subject matter must deal primarily with the theory, practice or ethics of victim rights or services;
   
   
3. Courses must be directed to and intended for an audience of Victim Service Providers (VSPs);
   
   
4. Presenter/Trainer must be qualified by practical or academic experience to teach the subject; this experience should be demonstrated in the bio;
   
   
5. High quality written materials (e.g., handouts) must be distributed to or available to participants;
   
   
6. Suitable classroom or laboratory setting must be provided for participants;
   
   
7. Audio-visual and media presentations.
   
   

   1. Audio-visual or media presentations are acceptable as follows:

   
   
1. A presenter/trainer is in attendance or available by telephone hook-up to comment and answer questions; or
   
   
2. Other appropriate mechanisms, as determined by OVSEC, are present to enable the attendee to participate or react with the presenters and other attendees. Appropriate mechanisms include quizzes or examinations, response tracking, user prompts, and instant messaging.
   
   
2. Credit earned solely through audio-visual or media presentations and applied to the annual 12 hour continuing education requirement shall not exceed 6 hours of credit per annual reporting period.
   
   
8. Completed OVSEC authorized attendance sheets, as well as copies of evaluations, shall be submitted to OVSEC within 30 days of the course/program.