Greater Orlando Chapter of SUNA

The Role of Victim Advocates in the Criminal Justice System

CE Information
2.0 contact hours
Completion Time
2 hours
Available Until
December 31, 2024
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Overview

Specialties
Forensic

Victim Advocates play a vital role in the Criminal Justice System and help keep victims engaged throughout this process. They fill various roles the victim needs and are involved beginning from the aftermath of the crime through the end of the court process. Community advocates and system-based advocates fill these various roles and can work together with, police, and prosecutors to help guide victims through the court process. We will also discuss the criminal justice system through a victim’s lens and shed light on the barriers and difficulties faced while going through this process. The reason for this presentation is to help law enforcement officers become more aware of what a victim may go through and experience in the criminal justice process.

Learning Objectives

Law Enforcement Objectives:

Objective 1:  Participants will understand the role of a community-based advocate.

Objective 2: Participants will understand the role of a system-based advocate within a prosecutor’s office.

Objective 3: Participants will understand the victim’s perspective through criminal justice system

 

Nursing Outcome:  

Attendees will have improved knowledge of the role of the advocate in the criminal justice process.

Speakers

Michelle Carpenter-Wilkinson
Michelle Carpenter-Wilkinson B.S., C.A., R.A.S.S.

Chief Executive Officer

Michelle Carpenter-Wilkinson has been a Victim Advocate for 28 years. She provides direct trauma-informed services to all victims of crime. Michelle has a Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies. She is a Credentialed Advocate at the Advanced Level as a Comprehensive Specialist for her work with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors through the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (#NO5-152-5166). She is also a Registered Advocate with Senior Standing in the State of Ohio (#RA-12-97-0228-MUL). Michelle has provided direct trauma-informed services to assist over 25,000 victims of crime. As the Chief Executive Officer, she also provides oversight of the daily operations of the Haven of Hope as well as direct supervision of her staff. Michelle is the Chair and Founder of Marsy's Law Task Force, the chair of the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Coalition, co-chair of the Sexual Assault Response Team, a board member of the Community Corrections Board, and the President of the local FEMA board. She has used her years of service and expertise to create and implement on-scene response services that have built relationships between law enforcement and victims of crime. She provides 24/7 on-call services to assist local law enforcement at scenes that are very chaotic and traumatic, providing trauma support for law enforcement as well as victims of crime.

Cory Hamilton
Cory Hamilton Victim Advocate/SART Coordinator

Cory Hamilton is the victim advocate for the Union County Common Pleas Court and handles all adult felony cases. She has been a full-time advocate for the Union County Prosecuting Attorney since 2011. Cory has a Bachelor of Political Science Degree from The Ohio State University and has successfully completed the Ohio Attorney General’s BASICS Advocacy Academy. Cory attends various training courses throughout the year to continually enhance her response to victim’s needs, including on Strangulation, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Marcy’s Law. Cory is also the Union County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Coordinator and has helped lead the Union County Walk-A-Mile-In-Her-Shoes Event since 2013. Cory has assisted the prosecutor’s office in hosting various trainings for local criminal justice professionals including the Statewide TRIAD Conference on Elder Abuse, Non-Fatal Strangulation, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Tess Kurth
Tess Kurth

Victim Advocate – Special Prosecutions

I graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human and Consumer Sciences with a specialization in Child and Family Studies in 2012. I started my career with a non-profit company, Youth Advocate Services, as a Home Visitor for one year. Then I moved to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office as a Victim Witness Assistant (Victim Advocate) in the Juvenile division for another year, then moved into the adult criminal division as a victim advocate. I became a certified application assistant for the Safe at Home Program with the Ohio Secretary of State. I was with the Franklin County Prosecutors office for 10 years before transitioning to the Ohio Attorney General’s office, Special Prosecutions section as a Victim Advocate. I have been with the OAG’s office since August 2023.

CE Information

This activity offers 2.0 contact hours to attendees.

Law Enforcement:

You will need watch the video in its entirety and complete an evaluation with attestation to receive credit for this course.

Nursing:

Criteria for awarding nursing contact hours:

  • Watch the complete presentation
  • Score of 100% on post-test 
  • Completion of evaluation with attestation

Disclosures

There are no relevant financial relationships for anyone in a position to control educational content.

Forensic Nursing Network Inc. is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Wisconsin Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. (#4002574) 

This project is supported by Grant No. 2022-ST-SAK-904 “SAK Statewide Collaboration with Law Enforcement” awarded by the Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Department of Public Safety. The opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Department of Public Safety.

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Presentation
Duration: about 2 hours | Quality: HD
Course Evaluation
9 questions
Post-Test
3 questions | 3 correct test question required to pass
Certificate
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The Role of Victim Advocates in the Criminal Justice System

This project is supported by Grant No. 2022-ST-SAK-904 “SAK Statewide Collaboration with Law Enforcement” awarded by the Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Department of Public Safety. The opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Department of Public Safety.

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