Cindy Kuhr, Director of DSOVWA

Spotlight on Cindy Kuhr

Director of the Direct Services for Ohio Victim Witness Association

Cindy Kuhr is the epitome of a multi-tasker. As the Director of the Direct Services for the Ohio Victim Witness Association (OVWA), her responsibilities revolve around ensuring that victims throughout the State of Ohio receive the resources that they need to overcome the trauma that they have experienced. Her energy and commitment to her career are only exceeded by her skill.

This organization operates out of the Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation as well as statewide. The purpose of the agency is to field a service that can help any victim in the state that needs help and cannot find it locally. In instances of extreme events, such as the events of September 11 & hurricane Katrina, the services have extended to aid victims outside the realms of the state. As co-founder (with Jeannette Adkins) and co-coordinator for the Ohio Crisis Response Team (OCRT- a sister organization to OVWA), Cindy responds to and or coordinates a range of services using a list of trained professional crisis responders.

The agency also helps serve as “back up” for any agency that encounters a victim that needs some form of aid—whether it is accompanying a victim to a court appearance, assistance in sensitive interviews, locating familial resources or educational information. Direct services, community crisis response and support to jurisdictions with limited resources, or nonexistent, victim assistance programs are all provided. She not only responds to requests personally, but has many trained advocates & volunteers as well. Cindy is responsible for organizing and delegating experienced volunteers to provide crisis intervention, sensitive interviews & investigations, trial support & court escort, community crisis intervention, neutral party requests, child interviews, death notification, training, and referrals to local law enforcement and victims. It is such referrals that created her working relationship with Bio Safe North America, as is Ms. Kuhr states: “This organization (Bio Safe North America) works professionally and sensitively to assist in reducing trauma to crime victims.”

Ms. Kuhr has been with the agency that is funded by the Ohio Attorney Generals office since its inception in 2000. Her dedication also earned the program not only a nomination for, but also a receipt of, the Tadini Bacigalupi Award for Outstanding Program from the National Organization for Victim Assistance in 2002. The program is commended for achieving neutrality in high profile cases. Ms. Kuhr works with crime victims & local law enforcement in rural & urban settings. Her scope of an investigation can be compared to that of a special prosecutor. One example may be when a local jurisdiction wishes to remove themselves from a case due to some knowledge of the individuals involved.

Her undergraduate degree in Social Work was obtained from Wright State University and her Masters Degree in Counseling/Education from the University of Dayton. She is also a licensed by the State of Ohio as a Social Worker as well as a Registered Advocate (R.A.) in the State of Ohio. Her educational background combined with her inquisitive nature enables her to approach each case with compassion, neutrality & trustworthiness. Her training programs are recognized at the national level in death notification, child abuse investigations, crisis response & other victim’s assistance topics. Cindy was also instrumental in development of the first ever Ohio BASICS Victim Assistance academy by serving on the advisory and curriculum committee.

“Helping those who help crime victims” is not only the motto by which the agency follows, but the motto of Cindy lives as an individual. While some may look at her daily activity list as exhausting, Cindy finds it refreshing to be able to utilize her time in helping those in need while still maintaining a balance in her life. For further information about how her services may be further utilized, please call 740 845-2641 or email OVWAStateOffice@aol.com.

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