![handle is hein.journals/novan1997 and id is 1 raw text is:
REGIONAL TRAINING
SERIES TO DEVELOP
CRISIS TEAMS
Since 1986, NOVA has presented sev-
eral hundred training institutes to prepare
volunteers to work on crisis response teams.
Our traineees and volunteers-all of you!
-come from varied professional walks of
life and are trained to provide emotional
first aid in the aftermath of violent crimes,
accidents and natural disasters. NOVA-
trained folks have responded locally, na-
tionally and internationally.
In 1996. NOVA was awarded a grant
from the U.S. Department ofJustice, Office
for Victims of Crime (OVC), to provide a
series of four regional trainings to help
spread the development of community-
based crisis response teams. Such teams,
composed of trained professional volun-
teers, are front-line response teams that
help people affected by dire tragedy to
cope with the psychological aftermath of
the event.
The first series of four regional train-
ings (Hot Springs, AR, Tucson, AZ, Port-
land, OR, New York, NY) werewell received.
Several hundred trainees made a commit-
ment to return to their home communities to
begin establishment of local community
crisis response teams.
Based on the success of the first se-
ries, we are pleased to announce that OVC
has decided to fund four more regional
training sessions, to be presented in the
summer of 1997 (see box). They are all 40-
hour sessions, held over 4 or 5 days. OVC
funding will cover the registration fee and
the training manual (a $550 value); partici-
pants will pay their travel, lodging and meal
costs for the week.
NOVA encourages all CRT members
and training graduates to get the word out
to colleagues and others who may be inter-
ested in attending a 1997 regional session.
Our hope - and OVC's hope - is that
these sessions will encourage participants
to develop local crisis response teams or
focus on creative ways to improve the
emotional support given to victims and
emergency responders after a traumatic
event.
Everyone who has received this news-
letter will automatically receive a brochure
in February or March. The brochure out-
lines the application process - seats are
not guaranteed - so be on the lookout for
the brochure!
The NOVA CRT training manual is
being substantially revised and
updated. If you are interested in
obtaining a copy of the new edition.
please call Cheryl Guidry Tyiska
at 202-232-6682 to reserve a
copy. Available early summer;
cost not yet determined.
June 2-6, 1997
Longmiont, CO
(near Boulder/Denver/Rocky
Mountain National Park)
June 23-27, 1997
Danvers, MA
(near Salem and Boston)
July 6-11, 1997
Savannah, GA
(on the historic riverfront)
July 30-August 2, 1997
Indianapolis, IN
(four ten-hour days!)
SEEKING INFO ON
LIABILITY FOR TEAMS
AND VOLUNTEERS
NOVA frequently receives requests
for information about legal liability forcrisis
response teams and individual volunteers.
To date, our answer has been:
For unlicensed crisis responders, there
are no legal standards that define profes-
sional misconduct, so the law cannot at-
tribute malpractice when such a re-
spondergives badadvice to a victim. Check
your local laws with regard to Good Samari-
tan and similar statues relating to
volunteerism. The laws vary slightly from
one jurisdiction to another.
We recommend that licensed and in-
sured professionals (in whatever field)
check their insurance coverage to find out
what is and what is not covered by the
insurance company when serving as a vol-
unteer. Those who are covered by insur-
ance supplied by an employer should find
out ifthe coverage applies outside ofregu-
larworking hours and offregular work sites.
We'd like to give a more comprehen-
sive answer to our callers - and to those
who attend our training sessions - so to
begin our research we are seeking informa-
tion from the folks in our database. How
have you approached the issue of liability
in your own teams or as an individual vol-
unteer/practitioner'? How would youlyour
team handle:
* the personal injury ofa team mem-
ber that occurred while responding to a
community crisis?
* physical or emotional injury of a
victim by a crisis response team member?
* liability coverage for yourteam's
board of directors or governing board?
We will also consult (again) with legal
experts on this matter.
Please fax your guidelines to Cheryl
Tyiskaat(202)462-2255. Clarification will
be provided in a future Crisis Responder
THE
CRISIS RESPONDER]
Volume 2, Issue 1, February 1997
A General Information Bulletin for Active NOVA National Crisis
Response Team Members and CRT Training Graduates](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/novan1997&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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