Certified Victim Assistance Specialist (CVAS) is a professional designation acknowledging an individual's commitment to education, experience and conduct in victim assistance and recognizes those who specialize in victim services, advocacy and response.

Certification is available to all qualified individuals meeting the established professional standards set forth by the SC Victim Assistance Standards and Certification Board.  If you are a salaried staff member, volunteer or intern and have been or are affiliated with victim services/and or advocacy, or you are a student, victim/survivor and meet the requirements, this certification was created for you.  CVAS's include volunteers and paid staff of all victim assistance disciplines who provide counseling and trauma intervention, administrative support and leadership, public safety, advocacy, and other direct and indirect services.

• Victims, survivors, employers, co-workers, allied professionals and the general public expect competence, integrity and protection from harm.
  
• Practitioners should have appropriate and tangible recognition for the specialized work they perform, their skill, their level of training, and professional conduct.
  
• Certification offers a method of increasing credibility through a national standard of excellence.
  
• Practitioners and programs are competing for funding which require basic levels of service and accountability.
  
• Certification remains with you regardless of your current employment status or location.
  

• Recognition for specialized work, training, and experience.
  
• Networking opportunities with a peer group of professionals.
  
• Educational opportunities and affiliations.
  
• Increased value to employers and the community through measured expertise, integrity and competence.
  
• A certification award suitable for framing and certification ID card.
  

Applicants may present any past or current in-service, continuing education or academic courses they have taken in or out of state which meet the course requirements.  The SCVASCB requires 40 hours of core victim service training, and 28 hours of electives.  Your courses related to victim assistance, program management, trauma response, victim advocacy and criminal justice are all applicable toward CVAS educational requirements.

See the back of this flyer for more important information about
the SCVASC Board, the Certification Process, and the Certification Kit Application.è

The South Carolina Victim Assistance Standards and Certification Board (SCVASCB) is a private non profit organization comprised of a 17 member multidisciplinary peer review board.  The board represents traditional victim service programs as well as nationally recognized victim assistance leadership.  The mission of the Board is to establish and promulgate professional standards and to assist with and promote educational opportunities to those who assist and provide services to crime victims and their families.

1) Request your Certified Victim Assistance Specialist Application Kit by completing this form and mailing it with a $10 non-refundable Application Fee to the SCVASCB, 5000 Old Buncombe Road, Unit 27-133, Greenville, South Carolina 29609.  You will receive a Certification Kit.

2) Complete the CVAS Certification Application Kit and return it with the proper documentation and the $100 nonrefundable certification fee to the SCVASCB.  (Some professional membership fees may be funded through your agency's victim assistance grants).  Professional fees may be tax deductible.

3) Provide (past or present) evidence of:

• 68 hours of specialized course work (40 hours in designated core courses/28 hours in electives).
  
• 6000 hours (3 years) of applied work experience
  
• 500 hours applied supervised work experience.
  
• 2 letters of recommendation.
  
• A resume.
  
• Completed Certification Kit and Applicant Questionnaire.
  

Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis by the SCVASCB.  Qualified applicants will be awarded a three year Certified Victim Assistance Specialist certificate.

4) Re-certification:  A CVAS must complete thirty hours of continuing education every three years, and submit a recertification fee of $75 with documentation of training to keep certification current.

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