WTC Records Folder 0128 Disaster Information General label, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Responding to Terrorism Victims - Oklahoma City and Beyond Page 6 of 7

assistance, or the specific services delivered.

The Victim-Witness Assistance Unit also established a toll-free telephone information line for victims to obtain assistance and initiate regular group meetings with survivors and family members. This toll-free telephone line alleviated the need for staff to make hundreds of calls to victims to provide trial-related and other information and gave victims the freedom to obtain information at times that were appropriate and convenient for them.

Victim -Witness Assistance Unit

Going beyond the requirements of federal laws, the Victim-Witness Assistance Unit addressed immediate needs for food and shelter, organized large-scale resource coalitions, and engaged in personal troubleshooting for individual victims. It also gathered federal job vacancy announcements for federal employees, helped create a "job fair" for nonfederal employees, and worked with small federal agencies to arrange extra administrative leave and waive administrative barriers for a donated leave program. In compliance with federal law and U.S. Department of Justice policy, the U.S. Attorney's Office kept victims informed about the progress of the criminal case and available services with frequent case status letters. (See chapter VI, "Legal Issues Pertaining to Victims of Terrorists.")

Within the first few weeks, the Victim-Witness Assistance Unit held group or individual meetings to explain victims' rights and determine the availability of resources with the following: Social Security Administration staff, the Western District Court Clerk's Office, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development staff, displaced residents of a nearby apartment building damaged by the bombing, the FBI chaplain, Oklahoma Community Foundation, State Victims' Compensation Program, American Red Cross, and Project Heartland.

As the number of victims and the volume of work increased, an immediate need developed for additional victim-witness assistance staff skilled in managing victim data; handling the emotional, resource, and support needs of victims and families; training other

:. fr i* , . professionals to serve victims; and organizing community resources while still handling other existing case responsibilities of that office. The Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) immediately moved to supplement the resources of the Victim-Witness Assistance Unit by obtaining permission from the U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Kansas and in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma to detail their victim-witness coordinators temporarily to the Western District office It EOUSA then provided financial assistance to pay for the travel and lodging of

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/respterrorism/chap3.html 9/29/01

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