Overview#
A domestic violence victim is released from hospital following an assault. Within 24 hours, she needs to know whether her attacker is still in custody, what protective order process is available, and how to access emergency housing assistance. Without a coordinated system, she might get three separate calls from a police victim advocate, a prosecutor's office, and a nonprofit service provider, each asking the same intake questions and each unaware of what the others have already done. Argus Victim Services & Advocacy Platform changes that by putting all three on the same case record.
The platform delivers victim-centred case management that connects victim advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement, and social services in one coordinated workflow. It covers victim notification, resource coordination, compensation claims, safety planning, and long-term support tracking, all with the privacy controls and trauma-informed design that vulnerable individuals require. The platform supports VOCA compliance, HIPAA-aligned privacy protections, and multi-language access for diverse victim populations.
Open Standards#
- HIPAA (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164): Victim records containing health-related information are handled under HIPAA-aligned privacy controls, with the platform's privacy service explicitly enforcing HIPAA compliance flags, data minimisation, and audit-trail integrity for all access to protected data.
- NIEM (National Information Exchange Model): A dedicated NIEM connector base class governs inter-agency data exchange, ensuring that case information shared between law enforcement, prosecution, and social services conforms to NIEM-conformant JSON structures validated against the NIEM JSON Specification v5.0.
- OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749): Court system integrations, including the Tyler Odyssey e-filing connector and CM/ECF, authenticate via OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow with Bearer token authorisation, securing all outbound connections used to retrieve custody status, court dates, and restitution orders.
- OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP v1.2): The automated victim notification infrastructure enforces CAP urgency, severity, and certainty fields for alert messages, with CAP XML stored alongside each notification record to ensure interoperability with downstream alerting systems.
- ISO 19005 (PDF/A): Court-admissible archival documents, including victim impact statements and compensation claim packs, are generated to ISO 19005-1 through ISO 19005-4 conformance levels, with XMP metadata markers ensuring long-term reproducibility for legal proceedings.
- ISO 8601 / RFC 3339: All timestamps across case records, court hearing alerts, custody status updates, and compensation claim deadlines are serialised in ISO 8601 format, guaranteeing unambiguous datetime exchange between the platform and integrated court and government systems.
- GraphQL (June 2018 specification): The entire case management, notification, and court filing API surface is exposed through a strawberry-based GraphQL layer, enabling structured queries and mutations for victim record retrieval, referral tracking, and advocate assignment.
Last Reviewed: 2026-02-05 Last Updated: 2026-04-14
Key Features#
Victim Registration and Intake#
A sensitive intake process collects essential information while respecting privacy boundaries and minimising re-traumatisation. Automated case detection links victim records to police incident reports, booking events, and court filings so advocates are alerted when a crime occurs rather than waiting for a referral. Communication preferences are set at intake and honoured throughout the case.
Automated Victim Notification#
A real-time notification system keeps victims informed about case progress, court proceedings, offender custody status, and critical events. Notifications are delivered through the victim's preferred channel: SMS, email, phone, or secure portal message. Opt-out management and privacy controls ensure victims control their own notification experience.
Victim Compensation Claims Management#
The compensation claim process guides victims through eligibility screening, form completion, supporting documentation, and claim submission. Automated population of state compensation forms reduces the burden on victims during a difficult period. Status tracking and deadline monitoring prevent claims from stalling due to missed documentation requirements. Plain-language explanations accompany every status update and denial.
Resource Directory and Referral Network#
A continuously updated directory of victim support services matches victims to appropriate resources based on crime type, demographics, geographic location, and specific needs. Crisis services, emergency housing, counselling, legal aid, financial assistance, and specialist support services are all included. Referral tracking confirms that connections have been made and that victims are receiving the services they need.
Safety Planning and Risk Assessment#
Evidence-based risk assessment tools identify high-danger situations and inform personalised safety planning. Domestic violence lethality screening, stalking threat assessment, and other validated instruments are integrated. Safety plans are documented, shared with authorised team members, and updated as circumstances change. Multi-agency coordination ensures that safety information reaches everyone who needs to act on it.
Court Support and Victim Impact Statements#
Hearing reminders, courtroom preparation materials, accompaniment coordination, and structured victim impact statement tools help victims navigate the criminal justice process. Advocates can track court dates, document preparation activities, and coordinate with prosecutors on victim participation. Restitution orders are tracked from the court through payment to the victim.
Multi-Language Support and Accessibility#
All victim communications are available in over 50 languages. Interpreter coordination for in-person meetings and court appearances is managed within the platform. Accessible formats including large print, braille, and screen-reader-compatible documents are available on request.
Use Cases#
- Coordinating multi-agency support for domestic violence victims across law enforcement, prosecution, and social services
- Managing victim notification programmes for large caseloads with automated status updates and custody alerts
- Supporting compensation claim preparation for victims navigating complex state funding processes
- Safety planning coordination for high-risk cases where multiple agencies share responsibility for victim protection
Integration#
- Case management and investigations for linked incident records
- Court systems for hearing schedules, custody status, and restitution orders
- State victim compensation programmes for direct claim submission where APIs are available
- Social service provider networks for resource referrals and referral confirmation
- HR and personnel systems for advocate assignment and caseload management
- All victim records stored with enhanced privacy controls, scoped to the organisation, with role-based access control and a complete audit trail on every access