The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking an applicant to administer the 2018 National Survey of Victim Service Providers (NSVSP). The NSVSP is part of BJS’s larger Victim Services Statistical Research Program, an effort to develop a statistical infrastructure around victim services and address major gaps in our knowledge about the availability and use of services to support victims of crime or abuse. As a follow-up to the National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP), the NSVSP will collect more detailed information on services provided, staffing, and organizational constraints from a representative sample of victim service providers (VSPs).

The goal for the NCVSP was to generate a validated frame of all active VSPs serving victims as their primary function or through dedicated staff or programs for victims. There are many organizations that serve victims through the course of their regular activities (e.g., YMCAs, homeless shelters, or churches), but without dedicated programs or staff, these entities are likely not able to provide data on key topics of interest (e.g., staffing, funding, or number of victims served) comparable to that provided by other VSPs. For example, it would not make sense to compare the funding an entire law enforcement agency receives to the funding received by a domestic violence shelter. Moreover, there is no way to identify the universe of entities that provide services to victims on an ad hoc or informal basis.