Victims' training targets prisons

Nearly 2,000 Division of Prisons staff will soon be going through training to educate them about victims’ rights and department initiatives to provide services to victims of crime.

Leading the training will be Chris Rinehart, the newest member of the Department of Correction’s Victim Services staff.

Rinehart joined Correction in October as a victim education outreach specialist who primary responsibility is to train Department of Correction staff and other agencies about victims’ rights, victim sensitivity and the department’s victim services. Her background includes five years of experience providing services to crime victims ranging from direct service work with adult/child survivors of sexual violence and their families to systems advocacy as a children's medical program coordinator.

Chris Rhinehart

Prior to joining DOC, she worked as a victim assistance coordinator for Pennsylvania's Office of the Victim Advocate in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. In this position, she coordinated and provided oversight to the Impact of Crime Classes taught throughout the DOC.

The DOP training is a continuation of an ongoing outreach and training effort, which has included training for victim advocate notification coordinators within the Division of Community Corrections and victim information coordinators within the Division of Prisons.