Washington, DC - Today, the Department of Justice recognized the late Joye E. Frost with the Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services for her lifelong dedication to improving victims’ services during the National Crime Victims’ Service Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Frost passed away on March 12 after a long battle with cancer.
“Joye Frost dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of victims of crime, and she was highly effective,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Her work to expand and improve the impact of victim assistance after trauma such as sexual assault, terrorism, or mass violence, made sure that many people received the help they needed. The Department of Justice—and the United States—is better because of Joye and her invaluable efforts, and so today we honor her memory.”
During her almost 20-year tenure with the Office for Victims of Crime, Frost launched the Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services Initiative to expand the reach and impact of the victims’ assistance field. She fostered a groundbreaking partnership between OVC and the U.S. Department of Defense to strengthen support to military sexual assault victims. Frost was also instrumental in developing OVC’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and Sexual Assault Response Team training and technical assistance initiatives.
“Ms. Frost’s untimely death is not only a devastating loss for us in the Office for Victims of Crime, but also for the victim services community which she helped to transform by spending most of her professional life advocating on behalf of victims,” said Director of the Office for Victims of Crime Darlene Hutchinson. “The Department of Justice is extremely proud to honor Joye for her contributions. Her passion, integrity, and dedication will not be forgotten.”
During today’s ceremony, the Justice Department recognized a dozen individuals and organizations for their outstanding efforts on behalf of victims of crime. Awardees were selected from public nominations in ten categories.
Each year in April, the Department of Justice observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by taking time to honor victims of crime and those who advocate on their behalf. In addition, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Offices organize events to honor the victims and advocates, as well as bring awareness to services available to victims of crime. This year’s observance takes place April 8-14, with the theme Expand the Circle: Reach All Victims.
The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, within the Office of Justice Programs, leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each year. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in 1981 to bring greater sensitivity to the needs and rights of victims of crime.
The Office of Justice Programs provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies. Because most of the responsibility for crime control and prevention falls to law enforcement officers in states, cities, and neighborhoods, the federal government can be effective in these areas only to the extent that it can enter into partnerships with these officers. More information about the Office of Justice Programs and its components can be found at https://www.ojp.gov . More information about Crime Victim’s Rights Week can be found at https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw/ .
