December 2007 Newsletter (requires Adobe Reader)  
 

Who We Are

 MoVA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote fair treatment for victims of crime.
 

 Our Goals

 To create a community of concerned citizens, agencies and organizations which shall work to:

• Assist in the exchange of information and ideas relevant to the field

• Encourage the sharing and utilization of resources

• Identify and address issues of concern to the field.

 To develop and present educational materials and events for public and professional information.

 To provide for cooperation on policies and programs which affect victims and network members.

 To increase the efficiency of MoVA members, law enforcement personnel, other members of the   criminal justice system, and the interested public in responding to the needs of victims of crime.

 To encourage and support the development and continuation of victim services throughout the State.

Where We Came From

    The Missouri Victim Assistance Network (MoVA) had its beginnings in 1983 when the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) targeted Missouri as one of twenty states to develop a statewide coalition of victim service providers. The following year, 1984, the Governor's Crime Commission and the State Department of Public Safety sponsored the First annual Victim Seminar in Missouri. At that conference participants organized a planning committee, which laid the groundwork for MoVA. This initial committee was drawn from different geographic and service areas from across the state, and they quickly grew into a cohesive, and highly committed working group. Several tasks were identified and taken on simultaneously. These included organizational, legislative, and educational concerns.

    From this planning committee came the development of the original by-laws and the election of a Board of Directors and officers in November of 1984. The Board of Directors continued to work on the legislative and educational concerns, and the refinement of the by-laws. In September of 1986, the Third Annual Conference was held in the City of St. Louis. At this conference there was the formal presentation of the by-laws to the attending members, and the first election by the membership of the Board of Directors for MoVA positions on the Board of Directors. There are twenty-five members serving on the Board of Directors, and each director is elected for a three-year term of office. Each year one-third of the Board of Directors' term expires thus creating openings for new directors, or for the reelection of an existing director. The officers are elected by the Board of Directors to one-year terms, and they comprise the Executive Committee.

    MoVA has become a force within the State of Missouri in the efforts to improve the treatment of victims of crime. Some of MoVA's accomplishments are: