In This Issue

Message from the Executive Director
President's Column
Membership Matters
Board Election Results
Professional Development and Training
TVFI Mid-Year Progress
TAAVA Alumni Network Updates
Board of Directors
Welcome New Members
Job Board
Save the Dates

Board of Directors

President
Rose Luna, MSLC
Austin

Secretary
Jessica Serrano, MPA
Plano

Treasurer
Suzanne Bradford, BBA, CPA
Lockhart

Region A Coordinator
Vacant

Region B Coordinator
Julie Jesperson, BA
Austin

Region C Coordinator
Jennifer Sterling, LCSW
Arlington

Region D Coordinator
Vacant

Region E Coordinator
John Dominguez, BA
El Paso

Region F Coordinator
Brenda Fuentes
Edinburg

At-large Member
Mary Breaux, PhD
Huntsville

At-large Member
Lacy Hensley, LMSW, MA
Fort Worth

At-large Member
Jim McKee, BA
Tyler

Ex Officio
Executive Director
Natacha Peláez-Wagner, M.Ed.
Austin

We welcome the following new members who have joined TVSA in the last quarter:

Christine Haywood, Fort Sam Houston

Sgt. Robert Tijerina, Cedar Park

New Agency Members:

Crime Stoppers of Houston

Kaitlynn Frey
Andy Kahan
Sydney Zuiker

Did You Know?

TVSA has a job board on our website! We have retooled the job board to make it easier for employers to submit job postings. Employers wishing to post a victim services position opening can fill out a form online to submit their posting to TVSA. Please send us your available job listings!

Victim services professionals engaged in job searches can view postings as well, with links to the human resources departments of pertinent agencies and/or applications directly for the listed positions. The job board is available at this link: http://www.txvsa.org/Active-Job-Postings

TVSA 2023 Biennial Training Conference

May 9-12, 2023

Hilton Garden Inn, South Padre Island

Registration open through May 1st!

TVSA 2023 Biennial Training Conference- Info and Registration

TVSA Annual Meeting

May 11, 2023

Hilton Garden Inn, South Padre Island

TAAVA Alumni Network Invitational Session

May 11, 2023

Hilton Garden Inn, South Padre Island

TAAVA Alumni Network Quarterly Meeting

September 20, 2023

Virtual

Message from the Executive Director

By Natacha Peláez-Wagner, M.Ed.

We are now well into the fall, when we enter into “the season," which began earlier with Diwali, and moved on into Thanksgiving and now proceeds through Advent/Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa and other manners in which we celebrate in our diverse society. When one looks more closely at each holiday, they have a common foundation: a spirit of light and happiness, peace, doing good unto others and preparation for better days ahead. It is a time of reflection and of gratitude for the abundance and gifts we have in our personal and professional lives.

When I reflect on my upcoming eighth year anniversary at TVSA this month, I feel I have much for which I can express gratitude:

for committed board members, who give of their time and talent to further our mission to support, educate and recognize our state’s victim service professionals, their very own colleagues;

for equally dedicated staff, who work in an organization that is big on heart and commitment, but small in resources and where personal sacrifices are made daily in providing quality programs and services for our professionals;

for our members, who participate in our trainings and other events, supporting one another through networking and sharing of resources;

for our many professionals, state and national, who volunteer to serve as trainers and instructors in our educational offerings, bringing high standards of excellence to TVSA;

for all those who contribute to TVSA monetarily or in-kind, enabling us to further expand and continue our programs and services;

Thank you to all of you, who make TVSA the most positive and collegial place to come to work to each and every day! You form a part of an organization that uplifts our profession, which in turn ensures sustained and improved services to crime victims in our Texas community, not just during this season, but all throughout the year.

President's Column

By Rose Luna, MSLC

As fall season is in full swing, food, family, gatherings, and connection are in the air. This season reminds us of being thankful and for being kind to others. My hope is that you all navigate this season to find peace and connection with loved ones and fur babies. Our work does not take holiday breaks as crimes unfortunately occur year round. You are vessels of hope to the community and our great state of Texas. We are thankful for all you do and hope to assist in your professional journey in victim services.  

TVSA is committed to partnering with you all to ensure our work makes your life just a bit easier. Our team is working on professional development opportunities to begin in January with our Texas Advanced Academy for Victim Assistance (TAAVA), as well as sustaining connection with professionals graduated from the academy through our new alumni network. We have also begun preparations for our first in-person conference since the pandemic to be held at the beautiful South Padre Island, TX.  We will keep you apprised of the progress.

We wish you all a cheerful holiday season and look forward to an industrious new year! As always, I’m open to conversations, ideas, and feedback on how TVSA can better serve your needs.

Happy Holidays and take care!

By Brooke King, M.A., Membership Committee Chair

On behalf of the Regional Coordinators (Julie Jesperson - Region B; Jennifer Sterling – Region C, John Dominguez - Region E, and Bernice Garza - Region F) and myself we hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got to enjoy time with loved ones.

We have open Regional Coordinator positions in Regions A (panhandle) and D (southeast); so if you are interested in joining our team and working with us to support TVSA please reach out to myself and Natacha! As a regional coordinator you get to help support exciting projects such as the systems-based victim services series we just wrapped up and planning for our 2023 biennial training conference in South Padre Island! We had our first planning session last month and are so excited about what's to come! The biennial conference is a huge project for the membership committee and we work alongside the training committee and board to support this opportunity for our membership. I hope you will consider joining us!

We look forward to supporting your membership needs throughout the upcoming year. You can reach us at any time at info@txvsa.org.

Job Notice

TVSA is hiring! The Education and Engagement Coordinator will be responsible for coordination and facilitation of the Texas Victim Friendly Initiative (TVFI) program; coordination and facilitation of the advanced academy alumni network; and providing staff support to the membership committee. 

For more information, the full position may be viewed here. Please share this posting with your professional networks. To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to: director@txvsa.org. 

Professional Development and Training 

By Mary Breaux, PhD, and Lacy Hensley, LMSW, MATVSA Board Members

The TVSA Biennial Victimology Research Symposium was held in October 27-28 at the Hilton Conference Center and Hotel in College Station. The symposium was a success as the participants enjoyed the plenary sessions, workshops, and networking with fellow professionals. The poster session was amazing, highlighting the latest victimization research presented by Sam Houston State University graduate students and alumni. The event offered the latest in research and promising practice trends in victim services delivery that focused on victimization, justice, and healing. Our presenters represented a half dozen state and national universities and four advocacy organizations. We look forward to another exciting research symposium in 2024!

Plans are well underway now for our seventh annual Texas Advanced Academy for Victim Assistance (TAAVA) in management and leadership, to be held January 25-27 in Hutto. Our curriculum is based on the Office for Victims of Crime model program standards for leading and managing in a trauma-based profession. The academy is unequaled in Texas for training professionals who lead victim services programs or aspire to do so in their career paths. The academy application and additional information is available at txvsa.org/event-5022900.

We are also pleased to announce that our biennial training conference will be back at its home in South Padre Island on May 9-12, 2023, after our intervening pandemic year virtual conference in 2021. Our call for proposals will be going out this month, and early registration will open on February 7^th. More conference announcements will be headed your way soon!

TVFI Program Updates

By Larryisa Thomas, MA, Texas Victim Friendly Initiative Coordinator

TVSA is currently holding its first quarterly progress status meetings with each of our nine Texas Victim Friendly Initiative (TVFI) program sites: Mission Police Department, Pasadena Police Department, Roanoke Police Department, Travis County District Attorney’s Office, Williamson County Attorney’s Office, 229th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Harmony Home Children’s Advocacy Center, Hidden Gem Family Center, and the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone. This is the time for each site’s project team lead to review their progress on their team's action plans, receiving technical support from TVSA and reviewing adjustments they may wish to make in their work toward becoming more victim friendly service organizations.

An additional tool being provided to the sites this year is a victim survey that can be used by the agencies. It is being made available to the project sites in English and Spanish. In the next quarter we will be meeting collectively with the sites for a mid-year meeting, that will allow each site to present a few highlights and challenges in their respective action plans' progress and to share ideas and solutions with one another. As the 12-month TVFI project is ongoing, the agencies will continue to establish victim friendly policies and practices that will better improve their agencies' trauma-informed approaches in their service to crime victims.

TVSA Launches TAAVA Alumni Web Page

By Joseph Garza, BA, Education and Engagement Coordinator 

This season has been an exciting one for the TAAVA alumni. As your Education and Engagement Coordinator I am proud to say that in addition to hosting our second quarterly meeting in November we also launched our TAAVA Alumni exclusive web page.

The page is the product of a lot of time, effort, and energy from our staff. Our goal was to produce an engaging tool for all of our advanced academy alumni to access. The alumni page features a wealth of information including announcements for our upcoming meetings; archived meeting links, where presented information can be revisited, referenced, or printed; an alumni directory, where members can find contact information for their peers and reach out to them as desired; an alumni “lost and found” where members can see who we have lost touch with and assist TVSA in reengagement for support and fellowship. However, our proudest feature of the page is the discussion board. The board enables alumni to share learning experiences, gather insight from peers, and prompts pre- and post- meeting learning engagement with interactive activities. This month’s featured discussion topic was on cultural identity. The topic aligns with Mr. Jose Juan Lara Jr.’s, alumni meeting presentation, “Inclusion Begins with Us.” If you are an alumni, check out the discussion board and share your cultural learning experience with us. When you visit the discussion board you can read about my personal cultural experience journey and I encourage you to share a little bit about your own journey as well.

When I arrived at TVSA in July our goal was to provide year ‘round access for victim-service specific training, resource awareness, professional growth, and most importantly camaraderie with your statewide academy alumni peers. I hope you feel that we are moving in the right direction and on our way to meeting these goals and objectives. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns. I can be reached at 979-248-0680 or edengcoord@txvsa.org. Do not forget to mark your calendar and plan to attend our next Alumni Network meeting on February 1, 2023 12-1:30p central. Thank you for your continued support and I hope to see everyone’s smiling face on February 1^st. Until then, I am wishing all a joyous holiday season, a fruitful new year, and may God Bless all.

President's Column

By Rose Luna, MSLC

Summer is quickly melting away the time left with family and preparations for the fall.  It is also a reminder of the strength of Texas communities and those serving victims of violent crimes in Texas.

The last few months have been tough.  The world witnessed a horrific act of violence on innocent children and public-school teachers at Robb elementary in Uvalde, TX.  This tragedy hit close to home on many levels.  We also witnessed the compassion, generosity, and love by the Uvalde community and communities across Texas.  As our state joins the Uvalde community during the difficult days ahead, our prayers and positive thoughts go to the families, those directly affected by this tragedy and to the first responders and medical community who witnessed the outcome of such carnage. 

Victim services from various agencies and communities descended in Uvalde to assist.  Our field of work came together to provide support.  I am humbled by the delicate mix of perseverance and compassion that it takes to respond to crime scenes and to work with victims of violent crimes.

I would like to recognize all system-based advocates and victim assistance coordinators in Texas.  The news headlines did not mention your heroic efforts but those of us who work in the advocacy community know the gravity of your work and the impact you have on Texas communities across our great state. 

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your service.

By Brooke King, M.A., Membership Committee Chair

On behalf of the Regional Coordinators (Julie Jesperson - Region B; Jennifer Sterling – Region C, John Dominguez - Region E, and Angela Luna- Region F) and myself we hope everyone has been able to go on an exciting vacation or spend some time relaxing after the hustle and bustle of the past year!

We have open regional coordinator positions in regions A (Amarillo/Panhandle/Lubbock) and D (Houston/Southeast Texas/Galveston), so if you are interested in joining our team please reach out to myself and Natacha!  

We hope you have been able to attend one or all of our virtual series on systems-based victim services this year, where we have also hosted regional breakouts to discuss the services at a more local level. We are excited that this series has been so well received. The speakers, information, and connections made have been fantastic! We hope you have gotten as much out of it as we have.

Our last meeting of the series, on juvenile system victim services, is scheduled for September 22^nd. We hope you will join us! Registration for the meeting is free for TVSA members and $40 for non-members, which includes a one-year membership to TVSA. Registration is open at: Juvenile System Victim Services: Registration.

We also want to make sure you are aware that registration for the 2022 TVSA Victimology Research Symposium is now open at 2022 Research Symposium. Early registration ends August 31^st! Check out the link for more information.  

We look forward to connecting with you at an upcoming meeting!

Introducing the TAAVA Alumni Network!

By Joseph I. Garza, BA, Education and Engagement Coordinator

TAAVA Class of 2021

I am beyond excited to join the TVSA team as the Education and Engagement Coordinator. It is an honor to work with such a brilliant and motivated team and to be a part of the Texas Advanced Academy for Victim Assistance and the creation of the Alumni Network. Jeni Pirtle, Natacha Peláez-Wagner, and Kathy Broussard did a phenomenal job of researching, organizing, and creating the foundational steps to help bring the Alumni Network to fruition and I hope that you find the final product beneficial, useful, and effective. As many of us know, a career in victim services can be difficult to manage, with many advocates either working on their own or with a geographically scattered team and those two variables, coupled with a very broad operational environment, can make this career field isolating and difficult to navigate at times. The vision of the TAAVA Alumni Network is to provide a place for the alumni of our management and leadership academy to receive continuing professional growth, resource awareness, networking and, most importantly, camaraderie with your statewide academy alumni peers. Our first meeting was held on August 16^th and was well attended. We are already preparing for our next gathering on November 15th. I look forward to meeting many more of you soon!

Professional Development and Training 

By Dr. Mary Breaux, PhD, and Lacy Hensley, LMSW, MA, 2022 Symposium Co-Chairs

Texas Victim Friendly Initiative Resumes

By Larryisa Thomas, BA, Texas Victim Friendly Initiative Program Coordinator

TVSA has resumed its Texas Victim Friendly Initiative this summer, with nine new sites participating in the program across our state: the Mission Police Department, Pasadena Police Department, Roanoke Police Department, Travis County District Attorney’s Office, Williamson County Attorney’s Office, 229th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Harmony Home Children’s Advocacy Center, Hidden Gem Family Center, and the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone.

The TVFI Program is a year-long facilitated, quality improvement program that provides support to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices and advocacy organizations to become more trauma-informed (“victim friendly”.) The nine agencies have created work groups of staff that have committed to the program and will work collaboratively to grow in their level of victim friendliness throughout the year. All sites have completed a baseline organizational self-assessment that includes eight key areas of measurement: leadership and governance, policy, physical environment, cross-sector collaboration, interventions and interactions, training and staff development, program evaluation, and crime victims’ rights. The sites are now developing their action plans for growth and conducting baseline staff surveys to measure attitudes, knowledge and perceptions of their agencies’ victim friendliness. TVSA facilitates their progress throughout the year and provides technical assistance and support in the area of resources and referrals during their work. At year end, the sites will once again undergo the self-assessment and staff survey to measure their organizational improvement and, coupled with their action plan accomplishments, TVSA will determine their level of Victim Friendly Agency designation at the completion of the prorgram.

An addition to the TVFI program this year is our new resource team, composed of past program participant agencies who have opted in voluntarily to be available to sites in sharing their knowledge and experience based on their participation in the program last year. We are excited and appreciative to have the Collin County District Attorney’s Office, Manor Police Department, Abigail’s Arms and Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston serving on our TVFI resource team this year.

Board Spotlight:
Jim McKee

Jim McKee was elected to the TVSA board of directors this spring and took office at our annual membership meeting in May. Jim has been a TVSA member for many years. He serves as Executive Director of Crisis Response Ministry, an organization providing practical, emotional and spiritual care and support for victims of crime or disaster in several regions in our state. Jim's life in public service started with working as a volunteer with the Mabank Fire Department in East Texas. Volunteering with the fire department guided Jim into taking emergency medical care courses where he later obtained his paramedic license. Jim is also a reserve deputy sheriff and mental health officer.

“TVSA has provided the training and resources I need to better advocate for victims,” Jim shared. “TVSA provides a professional foundation for reference. Having high standards and best practices makes them an indispensable tool for resources and advocacy for direct victim services."

 “As a board member I hope to become a resource for advocates and desire to encourage faith-based victim organizations to become a part of the TVSA family. To serve a bellwether organization like TVSA is truly a privilege. It is an excellent opportunity to encourage and support other members as we face new challenges and opportunities in victim services."