6 USC 258 - Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program

§ 258. Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program

(a) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Forensic interview specialist

(2) Victim

(3) Victim assistance specialistThe term “victim assistance specialist” is a victim assistance professional who—

(A) has experience working with victims of crime in a service capacity;

(B) has been trained on the exposure of various forms of trauma and other stressors experienced in working with victims; and

(C) may have experience working with local government and community-based organizations, including victim advocacy centers, child advocacy centers, child welfare agencies, faith-based organizations, and other social service programs.

(b) In general

(1) provide oversight, guidance, training, travel, equipment, and coordination to Homeland Security Investigations victim assistance personnel throughout the United States;

(2) recruit not fewer than—

(A) 1 forensic interview specialist and 1 victim assistance specialist for each Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge office;

(B) 1 victim assistance specialist for—

(i) every Homeland Security Investigations office participating in a human trafficking task force; and

(ii) every Homeland Security Investigations office participating in a child sexual exploitation task force;

(3) support Homeland Security Investigations regional attaché offices, to the extent necessary;

(4) provide training regarding victims’ rights, victim-related policies, roles of forensic interviewers and victim assistance specialists, and an approach that is—

(A) victim-centered;

(B) trauma-informed; and

(5) purchase emergency items that are needed to assist identified victims in Homeland Security Investigations criminal investigations, including food, clothing, hygiene products, transportation, and temporary shelter that is not otherwise provided by a nongovernmental organization.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title IV, § 447, as added Pub. L. 118–96, § 3(a), Oct. 1, 2024, 138 Stat. 1570.)