The NSVSP sample was selected from the final list of VSPs in the 2017 NCVSP. The NCVSP included 12,196 VSPs that served victims as their primary function or had dedicated victim service staff or programs. See Methodology on the NCVSP data collection page for more information on roster development. Before selecting VSPs for the NSVSP sampling frame, duplicate entries were removed, leaving 11,879 VSPs left in the frame. From this list, 7,237 VSPs were sampled based on geography and VSP type.
Respondents were asked to categorize their organization as nonprofit or faith-based; governmental; hospital, medical, or emergency; campus; tribal; informal; or for-profit. After review and consultation with expert panel members, BJS excluded informal and for-profit VSPs from the NSVSP because these types of VSPs often lack public visibility, service a small number of crime victims, and are highly unstable over time. In addition, these VSPs were largely heterogeneous, making it difficult to draw a representative sample.
Even with duplicates removed from the sample, BJS expected a high rate of VSP ineligibility for several reasons. First, many VSPs whose eligibility status could not be confirmed during the NCVSP remained in the sampling frame. These VSPs remained on the frame so as to not unintentionally remove eligible agencies. Over the course of the collection period, some of those agencies were reached and identified as ineligible. Additionally, the NSVSP administration began nearly 2 years after the end of the NCVSP. During this time, some VSPs on the NCVSP roster had gone out of business, stopped serving victims, or become ineligible for other reasons. Approximately 17.6% (1,276) of the 7,237 sampled VSPs were deemed ineligible. An additional 20.2% (1,460) had an unknown eligibility status. A total of 3,269 eligible VSPs responded to the NSVSP, for an overall response rate of 57.7%.
