ADVOCACY for Crime Victims
APP Consulting provides victim-centered advocacy and support for individuals and families navigating the aftermath of crime. Services may include guidance in understanding the criminal justice process, identifying appropriate resources and services, preparing for interactions with criminal justice professionals, and helping survivors understand their options throughout the process.
Our approach is compassionate, client-centered, and focused on empowering survivors to make informed decisions while promoting safety, dignity, and healing.
Supporting employees after crime requires more than good intentions—it requires thoughtful, informed action.
APP Consulting also works with employers to develop victim-centered policies, response protocols, and support systems for employees impacted by crime. We help organizations better understand the needs of victims and develop thoughtful practices that support safety, dignity, healing, and informed decision-making.
PREVENTION
Practical Screening, Background Check Practices and Training
Awareness is your first line of defense.
APP Consulting helps organizations strengthen background check and screening practices through practical, informed recommendations designed to identify gaps, improve internal protocols, and support safer environments for children, vulnerable populations, employees, and the communities they serve.
Services include reviews of background check policies, screening procedures, and publicly available data sources to help organizations assess whether their existing practices are comprehensive, consistent, and aligned with their safeguarding responsibilities.
For organizations serving children and other vulnerable populations, APP Consulting can evaluate existing screening practices and identify opportunities to strengthen policies, procedures, documentation, and ongoing review.
APP Consulting also provides education and training for community organizations, child- and vulnerable-population-serving programs, and employers on the appropriate use of publicly available information and resources as tools for safety, prevention, and informed decision-making.
Our focus is not simply on completing a background check—it is on helping organizations understand what information is available, recognize potential gaps in their screening processes, and build thoughtful practices that support safety and prevention.
PARTNER with us on prevention strategies and victim-centered policy solutions.
APP Consulting works with employers and organizations to develop thoughtful, victim-centered policies and practices. We provide guidance on trauma-informed responses, leave and accommodation considerations, workplace safety planning, and connections to victim support resources. Our goal is to help organizations navigate sensitive situations with care while supporting alignment with applicable requirements, organizational responsibilities, and recognized best practices.
We also work with organizations and stakeholders to identify opportunities for meaningful policy improvements that strengthen prevention, enhance victim safety, and improve responses to individuals impacted by crime.
APP Consulting provides informed, responsible commentary and educational insight on issues involving crime victims’ rights, prevention, public safety, and the criminal justice system. Drawing upon decades of professional experience, we provide a victim-centered perspective on emerging issues, policy discussions, and matters of public interest while promoting accuracy, accountability, and respectful dialogue.
Our work is grounded in publicly available information, professional experience, research, and established best practices.
Strong communities depend on strong partnerships.
APP Consulting helps agencies, organizations, and community partners strengthen collaboration and develop effective information-sharing practices to better protect victims and vulnerable populations.
We work with multidisciplinary teams to strengthen communication, improve coordinated responses, and identify practical solutions for sharing and using information responsibly while supporting privacy, accountability, and public trust.
By connecting people, resources, and systems, we help communities improve victim services, strengthen prevention efforts, and support the safety of vulnerable individuals, including missing and exploited children.
Sometimes meaningful change begins with a new approach.
Facility dogs can provide comfort and support to victims and witnesses navigating difficult and often overwhelming criminal justice proceedings. Developing an effective facility dog program requires thoughtful planning, clearly defined policies, appropriate partnerships, and an understanding of how a facility dog and handler can be responsibly incorporated into an organization’s work.
APP Consulting provides guidance to courts, victim service programs, law enforcement agencies, child advocacy organizations, and other organizations interested in developing or strengthening a facility dog program. Assistance may include program planning, policy and protocol development, identifying appropriate partnerships and resources, defining the role of the facility dog and handler, and preparing organizations for successful implementation.Our experience with facility dogs began in 2011, when APP Consulting Managing Director Laurie Myers established the first court facility dog program in Massachusetts with Wena, a professionally trained facility dog. Their work together demonstrated how thoughtfully implemented facility dog programs can provide meaningful support to victims while complementing the work of victim advocates and criminal justice professionals.
Wena passed away in 2021, but the program she helped establish remains an important part of the experience and perspective APP Consulting brings to organizations considering facility dog programs of their own.
With more than three decades of experience in crime victim advocacy, criminal justice systems, public safety, policy development, and cross-agency collaboration, APP Consulting brings a practical, victim-centered perspective to complex challenges.
We help organizations identify gaps, evaluate existing practices, strengthen collaboration, and develop thoughtful solutions that improve victim services, prevention efforts, and responses to vulnerable populations.
Our approach combines professional experience, publicly available information, research, and established best practices. We make complex issues understandable by providing clear, accessible information that supports organizational planning, public education, media engagement, and informed decision-making.
At the center of our work is a simple principle: effective policies and practices should promote safety, respect the experiences of victims, and help organizations turn good intentions into meaningful action.
