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FAQ
Training Requirements
Accreditation Standards

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FAQ

Who is a Victim Service Provider (VSP)?

A victim service provider is a person

• who is employed by a local government or state agency and whose job duties involve providing victim assistance as mandated by South Carolina law
• or whose job duties involve providing direct services to victims and who is employed by an organization that is incorporated in South Carolina, holds a certificate of authority in South Carolina, or is registered as a charitable organization in South Carolina, and the organization鈥檚 mission is victim assistance or advocacy and the organization is privately funded or receives funds from federal, state, or local governments to provide services to victims.

鈥淰ictim service provider鈥� does not include a municipal court judge, magistrates court judge, circuit court judge, special circuit court judge, or family court judge.

What is the responsibility of employers?

• Public crime victim assistance programs shall ensure that all victim service providers employed in their respective offices are certified through the department.
• Private, nonprofit programs shall ensure that all crime victim service providers in these nonprofit programs are certified by a Victim Services Coordinating Council-approved certification program. Victim Services Coordinating Council approval must include review of the program to ensure that requirements are commensurate with the certification requirements for public victim assistance service providers.
• Crime victim service providers, serving in public or private nonprofit programs and employed on the effective date of this article, are exempt from basic certification requirements but must meet annual continuing education requirements to maintain certification. Crime victim service providers, serving in public or private nonprofit programs and employed after the effective date of this article, are required to complete the basic certification requirements within one year from the date of employment and to meet annual continuing education requirements to maintain certification throughout their employment.
• The mandatory minimum certification requirements, as promulgated by the deputy director, may not exceed fifteen hours, and the mandatory minimum requirements for continuing advocacy education, as promulgated by the deputy director, may not exceed twelve hours.
• Nothing in this section shall prevent an entity from requiring, or an individual from seeking, additional certification credits beyond the basic required hours.

Who has to be certified?

• 础苍测辞苍别听employed听by a local government or state agency whose job duties include providing mandated victim services (Article 15 of SC Code of Laws); or
• 础苍测辞苍别听employed听by a SC victim assistance organization (as defined by the agency鈥檚 mission) whose job duties include providing direct victim services.

Who has to be certified as a Notifier/Support Staff?

础苍测辞苍别听employed听by a summary court or detention center whose job duties include providing notification to crime victims.

Even if providing victim services is not the employee鈥檚 main job, the employee must be certified if he or she provides direct victim services (e.g., victim notification of hearings, assistance with compensation claims, counseling assistance). This requirement is for full and part-time employees.

What are the requirements for certification?

To become VSP certified, new employees must complete the 15-hour "Basic Core" training within their first year of employment. Once the "Basic Core" has been completed, VSPs are required to complete 12 hours of CVST-approved trainings every calendar year thereafter to maintain VSP certification. Notifiers/Support Staff have a 2-hour training track that they must complete every other calendar year. Specific hourly requirements can be found on the CVST听Training Requirements听page.

If I am new to victim services, how long do I have to get certified?

VSPs employed in a SC public agency or private nonprofit program after January 1, 2009, are required to complete the certification requirements within one year from the date of employment. They also must meet annual continuing education requirements to maintain certification throughout their employment.

Who provides the training?

• VSPs are able to obtain training from a variety of approved sources, including organizational, local, state, regional, and national trainings.
• Notifiers/Support Staff are able to obtain training from organizational, local, state and regional trainings as long as they follow the Notifier/Support Staff training track and have been submitted to CVST for approval.

If my organization is hosting a victim service related training, how can we get the training approved by CVST?

For a training to be accredited by CVST, it will need to comply with CVST's Standards of Accreditation. In addition, an听, must be submitted to CVST at least 30 days prior to the training. The application must include all required documents, including a course description, a detailed agenda, and presenter biographies.

How do I get credit for attending a CVST accredited training?

For in-person trainings:听The only way a VSP or Notifier/Support Staff can get credit for attending a CVST accredited training is by signing CVST's official VSP, Notifier/Support Staff Training Sign-Out Sheets. CVST will not accept a certificate of attendance as proof of attendance for accredited trainings. In addition, a VSP or Notifier/Support Staff must attend the entire training in order to receive CVST credit. The only exception for this requirement is that you are attending a multi-day training, or the training has simultaneous workshops, with sign-out sheets provided for each day and/or session. Your VSP number must be provided on the sign-out sheet to ensure that you receive continuing education credit.

For virtual trainings:听A report/log that tracks attendees, obtained from the training platform, will be provided to CVST by the training sponsor. The only thing you must do is provide your VSP number when registering for the training to ensure that you receive continuing education credit.

Can I get credit for attending a training that was not accredited by CVST?

A VSP who attends a training that was not accredited by CVST, but would like the training to be considered for possible VSP continuing education credits, must submit a completed听听(NACR) through our website. This application must be submitted within 30 days of attending said training and include all required documents printed on the NACR application.听

Can I get credit for presenting at a CVST-accredited training?

VSPs can receive up to 6.0 hours of credit each calendar year for presenting at CVST accredited trainings only. CVST cannot issue credit for presenting at non-accredited trainings. Presenters cannot receive credit for the same course presented more than once a year. VSPs who present at a CVST accredited training, and wish to receive credit, must sign the CVST Presenter Sign-Out Sheets. If a presenter attends the remainder of the training, and would like VSP credit, they must also sign the regular VSP, Notifiers/Support Staff Training Sign-Out Sheets.

What if I am unable to complete my required hours due to a medical condition?

The Department of Crime Victim Services Training, Provider Certification, and Statistical Analysis (CVST) may waive the training and certification requirements when the applicant鈥檚 failure to meet such requirements was the result of a medical condition. The decision to grant a waiver shall be made by the Deputy Director on a case-by-case basis that considers the relevant factors, including, the severity, duration and timing of the medical condition, and presentation of a medical excuse with the treating doctor鈥檚 name and the dates that you were excused. If the Director denies a request for a waiver, the applicant may appeal to the Victim Services Coordinating Council.

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Training Requirements

Essential/Mandatory Criteria set for Basic Core VSP Training:

• Each topic will have core criteria that must be included in the Basic VSP training, regardless of which agency is providing the training.
• These criteria are the minimum standards that ALL victim service providers should know upon completion of Basic VSP training.

Clarification on volunteer VSP training requirements:

• VSP certification is recommended, but not required, for volunteers who provide direct services to crime victims. All volunteers should adhere to their agency鈥檚 training policies and procedures.

Promulgation of training standards:

• All VSPs must obtain a minimum of 15 hours in approved Basic Core for VSPs in year 1 of employment and a minimum of 12 hours of approved VSP continuing education each subsequent calendar year for VSPs.
• All Notifiers/support staff must obtain 2 hours of specialized training for Notifiers every other year.

Basic Core Training Requirements

• SC Victims鈥� Rights and Statutes -2 hours
• Crime Victim Compensation - 1 hour
• Ethics - 1 hour
• Criminal Justice System/Court Procedures - 2 hours
• Communication - 2 hours
• Multidisciplinary Collaboration - 2 hours
• Self-Care - 1 hour
• Specialized Training - 4 hours

15 HOURS TOTAL

The training areas listed above have specific content that must be covered in order to receive credit.

Please view our听VSP 2.0 Field Guide听for additional information.

Notifiers/Support Staff Requirements:

Summary Court and Detention Center employees who have been identified by their supervisor as crime victim notifiers are considered Notifiers/Support Staff. Notifiers/Support Staff must complete the 2 hour Notifiers/Support Staff training track every other calendar year.

Notifiers/Support Staff Training Track

1st hour

Review of Victim鈥檚 Bill of Rights (Section 24)

2nd hour

Review of Article 15 (Detention Centers) & (Law Enforcement) & Summary of Act 141 & 343 Law Enforcement (Section 14-1-211) &

(Section 16-3-1520, 1525-notwithstanding the provisions of Section 22-5-510), Section 16-3-1530, 1535, 1540, 1545, 1550, 1560)

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Accreditation Standards

The following standards will be considered by the Department of Crime Victim Services Training, Provider Certification and Statistical Analysis (CVST) 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 at and intended for an audience of VSPs.
4. Presenters must be qualified by practical or academic experience to teach the subject. Experience should be documented in the bio of each presenter.
5. High-quality written materials such as handouts must be distributed to participants or otherwise made available.
6. A suitable classroom or laboratory setting must be provided for participants.
7. Trainees must be allotted a 15-minute break for every three hours of training.
8. CVST-authorized sign-out sheets must be submitted to CVST within 30 days of the course/program.

In extending accreditation for VSP trainings, CVST reserves the right to have a representative attend all programs without charge to CVST and/or its representative and requires adherence to its accreditation standards.

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