Use of the social capital framework for assessment of a training and education program for people working with crime victims

Abstract

Social capital theory provided a framework for assessing the impact of participation in the Michigan Victim Assistance Academy (MVAA), an intensive university based education program for people whose job includes assisting crime victims. The MVAA was designed to, among other things, increase participants’ social capital as reflected by quality of relationships and network building. The model used to assess the MVAA links participation in the MVAA to increased social capital and improvements in both individual victim service (IVS) and coordinated community response (CCR) outcomes. Data were collected with in‐depth telephone interviews with academy graduates. Empirically supported relationships for a sample of primarily white female participants confirm a Revised MVAA Model. Findings show that the majority of study participants did increase their social capital by forming new relationships and improving existing relationships, and that this increase translated into positive IVS and/or CCR outcomes. Furthermore, the presence or absence of workplace or community barriers or resources did not greatly impact the participants’ ability to translate social capital into desired outcomes. That is, participants were able to draw upon their social capital to improve victim service regardless of their work or community environment. Implications for future university based victim service provider educational programs are discussed.