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From: ' To: HQ-DIV42-VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM <HQ-DIV42- VICTIMASSISTANCEPROGRAM®ic.fbi.gov> Subject: Newsletter 11.27.20 Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2020 16:47:09 +0000 Importance: Normal Attachments: VSWG_November Full_call_.docx; VSRT_Incident_Response_Process_Flow_Chart_- _Updated_11.9.2020.pdf Inlinc-Images: image001.png; image002.png IN THIS ISSUE Note from the editor: Click the titles below to jump to the corresponding section. . A Message from AD Thompson: Update on the 2021 Strategy Session, All-Hands, VSWG, Highlights . Administrative Matters: VSD Virtual All-Employee Meeting, VSWG Meeting Minutes, Organizational Chart Update, Personnel Update, VSRT Response Flowchart, PREVAIL . Tech Corner: VSATT Working Group Canvass, Microsoft Teams . Communications: National Native American Heritage Month, National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month . Spotlight: VS Salt Lake City (Coeur D'Alene RA) . Important Links A MESSAGE FROM AD THOMPSON All, As mentioned in the 09/18/20 newsletter, on 09/29/20, the VSD management team (AD, SC, ASC, UCs, Special Assistant) held a meeting with the Resource Planning Office to discuss the Director's new strategy for the FBI and determine specifically how we will contribute to and execute the strategy within VSD. We identified the Enterprise Objectives from the Director's strategy we will contribute to over the next fiscal year and discussed division-level strategy on their implementation. Below are the identified Enterprise Objectives for the next fiscal year along with VSD's corresponding initiatives and measures: EFTA00163209 • Promote a Culture of Development and Resilience o Improve Leadership and Workforce Development o Conduct a Comprehensive Review of VSD PREVAIL Program and enhance the voluntary options for workforce engagement o Establish Certified Relief Supervisors • Recruit for the Future o Identify New Hiring Channels o Increase Victim Specialist (VS) Conditional Job Offers o Engage HRD/OPA in Recruitment Opportunities • Strengthen Confidence and Trust o Develop a Clear Communications Plan for Specific Policy Items o Designate Child Abuse Reporting Officials o Create Divisions SOPs/Standards of Practice • Align Resources to Priorities o Develop a Comprehensive Workforce Training Program o Implement Field Alignment of Victim Specialists (FAVS) — only vacant FSL will be considered, no VSs will be personally impacted • Enhance Rigor and Accountability o Define Evaluations, Expectations, and Competencies o Enhance Victim Services Training Tracker (VSATT) Capabilities • Foster Innovation and Creativity o Continue UNET Workstream and Capabilities o Create a Recognition Program These initiatives and measures are certainly not a comprehensive list of all the things we plan to do, but they do represent the ones that align directly with the Director's strategy, cascade down to each unit, and become part of your plan objectives. The cascading process is designed to provide purpose and direction for the goals and objectives of all employees in the division and provides you with greater visibility into how you are contributing to the overall mission and success of VSD and the FBI. A big thank you to the Executive Staff team for doing such a great job planning and executing the strategy meeting for us! Please note the save the date email that was sent for our VSD Virtual All-Hands on 12/09/20 from 1:00pm - 4:30pm EST. We will discuss topics of interest to the division and provide two mandatory trainings. The training requirement only applies only to FBI employees, so contractors and employees who have already completed the trainings may leave the meeting at 2:30pm EST. I want to ensure we address items you would like to hear about and answer any questions you have, so please submit any topics or questions to VSD's Executive Staff. Please note the minutes from our last VSWG meeting on 11/04/20 are attached. Thank you to the VSWG for their hard work, and thank you for your submissions which form the basis of our discussions with the WG and inspire many of the newsletter articles. I really enjoy these meetings and getting to hear your thoughts and suggestions. One thing we discussed was ensuring VSs are included in the VSATT WG — we 100% agree. Please see the canvass below to volunteer. EFTA00163210 Also please take the time to read the VSRT article below and review the attached flowchart. MAPAs , an did a fantastic job putting this together with input from folks across the division. It is an important reference for all of us and provides a lot of transparency to the process. Next, I am excited to highlight some of the great work of VSD! VS received the 2020 Heart of Gold Award from Victim Witness Services in Flagstaff, AZ. This award is given to members of law enforcement who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion and dedication to working with victims of crime. VS was specifically nominated because the advocates at Victim Witness Services noted she goes above and beyond to serve victims of crime. Congratulations! PM VOS VS (NY), and MAPA supported a briefing on 11/12/20 to victims of Jeffrey Epstein regarding an Office of Professional Responsibility report on the handling of this investigation. The meeting was hosted by the Department of Justice and specifically run by the Assistant Deputy Attorney General (ADAG) Stacie Harris. ADAG Harris sent an email to thank everyone involved for their support in this briefing — not just for the victims, but for the ADAG herself. She specifically stated, "FBI Victim Services is a gem." Thank you for the hard work that went into supporting this briefing and for representing us all so well! In the 11/25/20 edition of the FBI Public Affairs News Briefing, a VS was highlighted! KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, NM interviewed VS (AQ/Santa Fe RA) about the need for more VSs in the FBI, the importance of the VS role, and the rewarding nature of the job. Engagements like these provide invaluable connections with the community and allow us to recruit for our division in new and more personal ways. The full interview is on KRQE's website. Please note we don't include awards and other achievement highlights in the newsletter when requested not to share them publicly. I wanted to mention this in case you are wondering why some things are not highlighted and to make sure you know it is always your choice whether or not you are highlighted. I hope everybody is having a great holiday week and staying safe. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS VSD Virtual All-Employee Meeting • The next VSD All-Employee Meeting will take place virtually on 12/09/20 from 1:00pm - 4:30pm EST. You should have a placeholder invitation on your calendar. • During this meeting, we will also have instructor-led mandatory Equal Employment Opportunity Awareness and Ethics Training. Please note that this requirement applies only EFTA00163211 to FBI employees, so contractors and employees who have already completed training may leave the meeting when the trainings begin at 2:30pm EST. . Please submit any topic/questions you would like addressed during the All-Hands to VSD's Executive Staff for inclusion in the agenda. VSWG Meeting Minutes . The minutes from the November VSWG meeting are attached. Topics included: NCMEC CIR/VIR, all-employee conferences, VNS, VSATT, performance assessments, IT devices for VSs, and recent Solution Focused Input forms. Organizational Chart Update . The VSD Org Chart has been updated to reflect a few key hiring updates: o In addition to her ELEVATE duties, Instructional Systems Specialist (ISS) will now serve as VSD's Training Coordinator, reporting to Assistant Section Chief Steve Amato. In this expanded role, will be responsible for evaluating VSD's training needs, modifying existing training programs, and developing new programs to promote workforce development and agility. o To improve span of control and provide oversight to the Mobile VS and VSIC programs, the Victim Program Management Unit (VPMU) has posted for a third GS- 14 Supervisory Program Manager position on www.fbijobs.gov. The posting is open to current FBI employees only (Job ID #35632) through 11:59pm (EST) on 12/07/2020. All interested and eligible employees are encouraged to apply. o Victim Services Coordinator assignment as the International Victim Services Liaison in LEGAT Rome ended on 09/30/2020. This position was a short- term, part-time pilot position established to evaluate the operational benefit and cost effectiveness of establishing a permanent victim service provider position overseas. At the close of the pilot program, VSD made the difficult decision to not renew the program in order to realign the position to other priority matters. To that end, the position has been converted to a GS-13/14 Forensic Disaster Assistance Specialist, reporting to the Terrorism & Special Jurisdiction Unit (TSJU). This position will be responsible for coordinating the FBI's efforts to identify, autopsy, and repatriate victims' remains in collaboration with internal and external partners in the aftermath of terrorism and other federal crimes. This position will be posted on www.fbijobs.gov in the coming days. o HRD has provided VSD with an additional FBI-funded position, not-to-exceed (NTE) 3 years, for a GS-7/9/11 IT Specialist. The posting on www.fbijobs.gov is open to current FBI employees only (Job ID #35525) through 11:59pm (EST) on 12/03/2020. . The updated VSD Organizational Chart is attached and available on SharePoint. Personnel Update EFTA00163212 VSRT Response Flowchart • The VSRT program management team, in collaboration with both current and former management and team members across the division, developed a flowchart (attached) identifying the key steps involved in deploying VSRT (from the headquarters perspective) during the first 8-12 hours following a mass casualty incident. • The team identified the key entities involved with executing each step, emphasizing the benefit of having all executive management (Assistant Director, Section Chief, Assistant Section Chief, all Unit Chiefs, Supervisory Special Assistant, Clinical Services Coordinator, Family Engagement Coordinator/Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell) involved from the outset. • Additionally, the collaboration further highlighted the critical roles played by the local Victim Specialist(s) and respective Program Manager and Victim Services Coordinator in providing timely and accurate information to inform deployment decisions. The inclusion of all stakeholders in the initial hours following a mass casualty incident, including the handlers of arguably our favorite VSRT members, and M, will help set our team up for success I PREVAIL • Thanksgiving brings thoughts of gratefulness, joy and happy times. However, it can also bring sobering reflections about how difficult 2020 has been. To keep as much positivity as possible in our thoughts and actions, if you have time, a good read might be Martin Seligman's "The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist's Journey from Helplessness to Optimism." This book is autobiographical, taking the reader on a journey through Seligman's life as a psychologist. Seligman witnessed and is a major contributor to the field's shift from looking at the individual from his or her weaknesses that result in pathological behaviors, by focusing on past actions as predictors for the future. With the birth of positive psychology, the field has moved to focusing on strengths and learning how to teach individuals to actively use hope for a more positive future. This holiday season we have a lot to process and give thanks for. Reading books such as "The Hope Circuit" might help to us to keep positivity in the fore-front of our minds — so that positivity is our default moving forward into 2021. Happy Thanksgiving. TECH CORNER VSATT Working Group Canvass Microsoft Teams EFTA00163213 COMMUNICATIONS National Native American Heritage Month • The Criminal, Cyber, and Response Services Branch (CCRSB), under which VSD falls, will be spotlighting a topic of interest each month. This month's spotlight is National Native American Heritage Month. • If you would like to nominate a topic to be highlighted in the upcoming months, please reach out to Writer/Editor for submission to CCRSB. Topics can include, but are not limited to, investigations, division success stories, national heritage month, etc. Please submit topic suggestions by the 20th of each month. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month • VSD and the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) are collaborating with the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) on a communications strategy for effectively messaging about National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month throughout January, both internally and externally. • If your field office is participating in any related activities or communications, please reach out to Writer/Editor PM and CVPC so we can highlight these events internally to VSD, as well as share with OPA to highlight for the Bureau (if possible, depending on the event/communication). SPOTLIGHT EFTA00163214 Thank you for your nominations so far— we now have a few lined up for upcoming newsletters! If you want to nominate a person or program for a future Spotlight, please email IMPORTANT LINKS . VSD SharePoint Site . VSD Templates *please SAVE AS — do not edit in SharePoint* . K Daily Reports . VS Regional Map . VS Regional Spreadsheet . CAFI Map EFTA00163215 • VSO Org Chart • PREVAIL • PSU Portal EFTA00163216