Certification Academy

Certification Academy

The Fall 2024 NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy

The Academy will be fully virtual this season and take place in the late fall this year. Dates will be announced soon.  To receive regular updates, sign up to receive Academy and other new training announcements by clicking the button Sign-Up

The NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy provides practitioners who work with victims of crime with an opportunity to receive 40+ hours of substantial training to bolster their knowledge and experience while also gaining prestigious state and nationally recognized certification to reflect their growing expertise.

About

The NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy is the official academy recognized in North Carolina, approved by the National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP). After becoming certified through the prerequisite NCVAN Academy, graduates may seek provisional licensing and certification on the national level through NACP.

In addition to covering up to 22 core topics essential to trauma-informed victim service provision, the program continues to evolve according to emerging best practices. Through ongoing guidance from state and national leaders in the victim service movement and through extensive participant feedback, the NCVAN Academy prepares victim service providers with North Carolina-relevant material directly applicable to their work. The curriculum was also given approval by consultants from the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA).

Credits & Support

Through NCVAN’s partnership with the North Carolina Justice Academy, sworn law enforcement officers who complete the training can receive continuing education credits by submitting documentation

The Academy also counts towards fulfillment of annual organizational training requirements for DV/SA programs set forth by the N.C. Council for Women.

The Administrative Office of the Courts often covers the expenses of attendees from the staff of district attorney offices, including the certification fee and lodging. For more information, contact Megan Lively at the N.C. Conference of DAs.

(Please consult with the applicable entities for possible updates.)

Graduates of the NCVAN Academy often stay in touch with NCVAN to receive ongoing support in their work through technical assistance, programmatic guidance, online training and support groups, and references for those pursuing additional certification.

**Participants must complete each module to become certified as a victim service practitioner.

Become certified as a North Carolina Victim Service Practitioner!

Apply Today

Anticipated Topics

  • Advocating for Homicide Co-Victims
  • Child Abuse
  • Childhood Trauma
  • Domestic Violence
  • Victims and Technology
  • District Attorney’s Role in Serving Victims
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Stalking, Sexual Assault and Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Updates
  • Restorative Justice
  • State & Federal Crime Victim’s Rights
  • Serving Victims With Disabilities
  • Criminal Justice Professionals/Law Enforcement Barriers
  • Ethics in Serving Victims of Crime
  • Serving Sexual Assault Victims in Military Settings
  •  History of the Victims Movement
  •  Serving Victims in Immigrant Communities
  • Crisis Intervention, Victim Empathy
  • Human Trafficking
  • Serving Victims in the LGBTQ Community
  • Victim’s Compensation
  • Utilizing NC-SAVAN

Engage in real-time conversations with facilitators and faculty who are some of the best in the field in North Carolina.

Past presenters and recent faculty:

Dr. Rumay Alexander

UNC-Chapel Hill

 

​Marie Brodie

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

 

​Pam Dickens

Disability and Victim Advocate

 

​Amy Durall

Project Manager Intl. Association 

of Chief of Police

 

Sabrina Garcia, M.A.

Retired Law Enforcement Specialist

 

Angelica Reza Wind

Executive Director, 

Our Voice, Asheville

 

Liddie Shropshire and Kim Banko

NC Department of Public Safety

 

Michelle Scott

US Attorney’s Office – Eastern District

Juliette Grimmett

Sexual Assault Victim Policy 

Strategist NC Dept of Justice

 

​Kit Gruelle

Advocate & National Trainer 

on Domestic Violence

 

​John Guard

Pitt County Sheriff’s Office

 

​Kristian Hall

Sexual Assault Response 

Coordinator – NC National Guard

 

Christine Long

Executive Director, 

NC Human Trafficking Commission

 

Jane Allen Wilson

NCVAN Director of Training

Amily McCool

Domestic Violence Attorney

Scharff Law Firm

 

Michael Parker

Former Prosecutor

 

​JP Przewoznik

Assistant Professor in the 

UNC School of Social Work

 

​Roxanne Rosenberg

Licensed Professional Counselor/

Child Trauma Specialist

 

​Shirley Rutledge

Victim Witness Coordinator – 

US Attorney’s Office

 

​Aurelia Sands-Bell

Medical University of South Carolina – 

Mass Violence

 

Participants

NCVAN’s Academy participants represent a diverse group of allied professionals. Our students are law enforcement officers, military personnel, therapists, court officials, clergy, victim advocates, to name a few. In this way, the academy is a blended learning experience. Networking brings valuable connections that benefit participants well beyond the completion of the certification.

student

Prerequisites For Acceptance

To become eligible for certification upon completion of the Academy, students are expected to have had at least 6 months of experience in a state-recognized program. Applicants who do not yet meet these requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis for the training itself until the prerequisite has been met. For this reason, applicants are sometimes encouraged to apply to a future upcoming Academy to ensure this requirement is met.

Not all community-based non-profit victim service agencies are state-recognized.  To determine if a program is state-recognized in North Carolina, advocates from community-based, nonprofit victim advocacy programs can click below to consult the following program lists by county or region.

Domestic Violence Programs Sexual Assault Programs Child Advocacy Centers

“The exceptional training provided through this week-long intensive program is essential to NCVAN’s goal of ensuring that victims of violent crime in North Carolina receive reliable, consistent services. Facilitators, presenters and participants alike share a guiding commitment to provide victims thorough and thoughtful person-centered support.”

 

– Jane Allen Wilson, Director of Training

Renewing Your Victim Service Practitioner Certification

If you are already certified as a victim service practitioner through NCVAN’s Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy, your certification remains current for three years and expires according to the date of issuance.

Remaining current is highly recommended. In addition to providing a strong foundation in effectively serving victims of crime, your certification is a means to demonstrate a standard of excellence to employers and other victim service providers, recognized anywhere in the state. Your certification is also a stepping-stone to national certification should you choose to pursue advanced recognition.

Fortunately, the steps to renewal are simple and easy, and we are more than happy to assist you.

While you are always welcome back to attend the NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy again for updates and networking, it is not necessary to repeat the Academy in order to renew your certification. Simply demonstrate that you completed a minimum of 20 hours of supplemental training in victim services by approved providers over the course of your 3-year certification period, and we can consider your application for recertification.

A number of trainings can be counted towards your recertification, including-but not limited to-any trainings and webinars that NCVAN provides, along with trainings and webinars provided by other statewide non-profit victim services organizations, such as the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Child Advocacy Centers of North Carolina, and others. We also recognize some special victims trainings by state government entities, and we will consider workshops from many state and national conferences. Many victim service practitioners seeking to reapply find that they already met the training requirements for renewal in the course of their work. If you have any questions, you are welcome to reach out to us for clarification or assurance on what we can accept.

If your certification has already expired, but you met the 20 minimum hours of training requirement prior to your certification expiration date, you may still apply for recertification without repeating the entire Academy. The start date on the new certificate will simply be post-dated to match the original expiration date.

To begin your recertification application, you will need to have a form of payment ready for the $125 processing fee. You will also need to first prepare, scan, and upload the following documents with your application:

  •  ​A log of your continuing education training hours  (Download Blank Log HERE)
  •  Copies of certificates from your direct victim service trainings*
  • A copy of your soon-to-expire (or recently  expired) certification*

*If you are unable to locate your training certificates or your most recent certification/recertification certificate, we may be able to work with you. Please contact us.

To upload training materials and to complete the application to recertify, click the button below.

Submitting an application does not constitute recertification. In the application process, we will first review your training hours. Then we conduct a new criminal background check for each application received, which requires a social security number and birth date. Such highly sensitive personal information is encrypted and protected through CVENT and through the background check portal.

Once approved, you will be notified, and your new certification will be sent via the U.S. Postal Service to the mailing address provided in your application, usually within two weeks. If, for some reason, we are unable to approve your application, we will contact you to discuss it in case there is an opportunity to resolve the matter. Until final approval or denial, your application status remains pending.

We look forward to continuing to recognize you as an official North Carolina Certified Victim Service Practitioner!

Recertification Academy Application

Apply Now

FAQs

What is the Victim Service Practitioner Academy?

A: NCVAN’s Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy (the Academy) provides practitioners who work with victims of crime with an opportunity to receive 40 hours of substantial training to bolster their knowledge and experience, while also gaining prestigious state and nationally-recognized certification to reflect their growing expertise.

NCVAN’s Academy is the official academy recognized in North Carolina, approved by the National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP). The curriculum is also approved through the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA). The program continues to evolve in keeping with emerging best practices and research through ongoing guidance by the Academy Steering Committee and thorough, extensive participant feedback.

Upon completion of the pre-requisite NCVAN Academy, NOVA may consider NCVAN Academy graduates for provisional licensing on the national level.

Law enforcement officers who complete the training and certification may receive continuing education credits through NCVAN’s partnership with the North Carolina Justice Academy.

Why should I choose NCVAN’s Academy?

A: NCVAN sees that credentialing of professionals is a serious undertaking, requiring thoughtful and deliberate planning and development. The training faculty includes a number of well-known and seasoned experts steeped in North Carolina law and practices who bring direct and deeply-relevant experience from the field. Training is conducted in a real-time classroom environment, providing opportunity for full engagement with the facilitators.

NCVAN’s Academy participants themselves are more than students; they are professionals who have worked in a victim service-related profession for at least six months. Representing a diverse group of allied professionals, our students are: law enforcement – military – therapists – court officials – clergy – other victim advocates – to name a few. In this way, the academy is a blended learning experience. Networking brings valuable connections that benefit participants well beyond the completion of the certification program.

To assure professionalism, NCVAN conducts a criminal history check on all students, which also protects the integrity of the work and upholds the significance of the certification awarded.

Who should apply and how do I qualify?

A: The NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy is open to professionals who have been working directly with victims of crime at a recognized program for at least six months or more. Participants typically come from law enforcement, district attorney offices, the military, state-recognized domestic and sexual violence programs, and other agencies and organizations which provide direct support to victims of crime. The training serves professionals who seek a thoughtful and thorough understanding of the experience of victims of crime and how better to serve them.

The pre-requisite of having six months of prior experience serves to provide each participant with a framework to lend relevance to the highly-specialized training and to assure participants have a common baseline for reference in networking and in group discussions.

Exceptions are sometimes made. If a potential participant does not meet the six-month or current work prerequisite, we may consider other variables, including but not limited to, becoming employed with a state or other agency in a position that will primarily directly serve victims of crime, or having a prior work history that makes participation relevant. To be considered for an exception, the potential participant should email a request to the director of training upon applying to the Academy, and include relevant information such as a description of the person’s new role or employment and/or a resume which lists past work experience and references.

Who are the members of the Academy Training and Advisory Committee?

A: Click on CURRENT MEMBERS to see the NCVAN Training and Advisory Committee members.

What is included in your curriculum?

A: Below is a sample of the presentation topics that are typically covered during the week.

  • History of the Victims Movement

  • Building Relationships for Community Advocacy

  • Working with Immigrant Victims of Crime

  • Theory of Crisis Intervention/Victim Empathy

  • Human Trafficking

  • Advocacy for Victims of Homicide

  • Child Abuse

  • Domestic Violence

  • Victims and Technology-Cyberbullying

  • District Attorney’s Role in Serving Victims

  • Cultural Relevancy

  • Stalking

  • Sexual Violence

  • Restorative Justice

  • Federal Victims’ Rights

  • Serving Victims With Disabilities

  • Criminal Justice Professionals: The Barriers We Face

  • Working with Victims in a Military Setting

  • Victim’s Compensation/NCSAVAN

  • Childhood Trauma

  • Serving Victims in the LGBTQ Community

Who can I contact for more information?

A: Please email the training team at training@nc-van.org.

What is the cost of certification?

A: The cost of certification is $250.00 per participant. Payment should be received no later than two weeks before the academy. Placement in the academy is not guaranteed until payment is made. Without the payment by the deadline, the applicant’s place in the academy may be canceled, and the participant may be placed on the waiting list. If special payment arrangements are needed, please contact us for more information.

What is the cost of recertification?

A: The cost of recertification is $125.00. Additionally, certified practitioners must submit documentation of 20 hours of continuing education to the NC Victim Service Practitioner Oversight Committee every three years to be re-certified.

How long does recertification take?

A: Certified practitioners must submit documentation of 20 hours of continuing education to the NC Victim Service Practitioner Oversight Committee every three years to be re-certified.

Are there scholarships available?

A: Yes. We are pleased to announce the NCVAN Memorial Scholarship program. Two scholarships will be awarded to two deserving victim advocates working in a recognized nonprofit victim service organization in North Carolina. Each scholarship will help defray costs associated with attending the next upcoming NCVAN Victim Service Practitioner Certification Academy.

The Memorial Scholarship covers the cost of certification along with one night of lodging for recipients who may require overnight accommodations.

Note: While there is just one application for the scholarship, two will be awarded. Each NCVAN Memorial Scholarship will be awarded in memory of four much-loved North Carolinians whose lives ended because of homicide.

To learn more about The Jenna and Ethen Nielsen Memorial Scholarship & The Stephen and Michael Hoyle Memorial Scholarship and the application process, see our SCHOLARSHIP page.

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