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Goal

To improve responses to child and youth victims and their families by providing consistent, coordinated responses that address the presenting issues and full range of victims' needs.

Current Victim Services

Currently, the systems of care charged with caring for children and families are fragmented. Consequently, youth and families enter through several "wrong doors" before finding or receiving adequate services that meet their needs as victims. This approach may cause undue frustration for youth and families at a time when they need the most support.

Unlinked Services Chart

Linking Systems of Care
Guiding Principles

I. Healing Individuals, Families, and Communities

Linked Systems of Care communities are concerned with the healing of individuals, families, and communities who have experienced or have been exposed to violence.

II. Linked Systems of Care

All systems of care are connected and aspire to maximize collective impact through communication, collaboration, and coordination.

III. Informed Decision Making

Linked Systems of Care provide as much information as possible to families and practitioners so that the most targeted, holistic, safe, and effective interventions are available.

Linked Services Chart

Linked

The goal of the Linking Systems of Care project is to formally integrate those systems, by implementing a "no wrong door" approach to equip all systems of care to respond effectively to victims of crime. This approach ensures that these young victims and their families are set on a path toward healing in a timely and thoughtful way.

Group of happy kids about to play basketballGroup of happy kids hugging each other Group of kids sitting and smilingGroup of kids playing on the grass

What was the Linking Systems of Care Project?

Linking Systems of Care for Children and Youth Demonstration Project (LSC) did not propose a single approach! States were funded to identify young victims of crime proactively and work holistically with their families and communities to address their needs. Each state approached their work differently, unified by the LSC Guiding Principles and a “No Wrong Door” approach to victim services.

Who was involved in this work?

The four demonstration sites worked in their states to meet the needs of children and youth (and their caregivers) who had been exposed to violence. The LSC work was guided, supported, and documented by the project’s federal partners and national experts.

What Did They Learn?

The LSC sites, Montana, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, benefited from rigorous project planning, national expertise, peer-to-peer learning, and trial and error. Unified by their adherence to the values and principles set forth in the Guiding Principles, each state’s partners, needs, and approach to victim services and linking systems were unique.  The LSC Coordinator Toolkit provides guidance and tools for jurisdictions interested in replicating LSC activities. The LSC Lessons Learned Report narrates a story of how events unfolded.

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Montana Board of Crime Control Logo Virginia Heals Dave Yost Ohio Attorney General ICJIA