Deadline: 12-Jun-23
The Office on Violence Against Women is seeking applications for the Services Training Officers Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program (STOP Formula Grant Program) to support communities, including American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, in their efforts to develop and strengthen effective responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Purpose Areas
- Funds under this program must be used for one or more of the following purposes:
- Training law enforcement officers, judges, other court personnel, and prosecutors to more effectively identify and respond to violent crimes against women, (including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including the appropriate use of nonimmigrant status under subparagraphs (T) and (U) of section 101 (a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act .
- Developing, training, or expanding units of law enforcement officers, judges, other court personnel, and prosecutors specifically targeting violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Developing and implementing more effective police, court, and prosecution policies, protocols, orders, and services specifically devoted to preventing, identifying, and responding to violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the appropriate treatment of victims including implementation of the grant conditions.
- Developing, installing, or expanding data collection and communication systems, including computerized systems, linking police, prosecutors, and courts or for the purpose of identifying, classifying, and tracking arrests, protection orders, violations of protection orders, prosecutions, and convictions for violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening victim services and legal assistance programs, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking programs, developing or improving delivery of victim services and legal assistance to underserved populations, providing specialized domestic violence court advocates in courts where a significant number of protection orders are granted, and increasing reporting and reducing attrition rates for cases involving violent crimes against women, including crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing the needs and circumstances of Indian tribes in dealing with violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Supporting formal and informal statewide, multidisciplinary efforts, to the extent not supported by state funds, to coordinate the response of state law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, victim services agencies, and other state agencies and departments, to violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Training of sexual assault forensic medical personnel examiners in the collection and preservation of evidence, analysis, prevention, and providing expert testimony and treatment of trauma related to sexual assault.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs to assist law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and others to address the needs and circumstances of individuals 50 years of age and over, individuals with disabilities, and Deaf individuals who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of such violence or assault and targeting outreach and support, counseling, legal assistance and other victim services to such individuals.
- Providing assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in immigration matters.
- Maintaining core victim services and criminal justice initiatives, while supporting complementary new initiatives and emergency services for victims and their families, including rehabilitative work with offenders.
- Supporting the placement of special victim assistants (to be known as “Jessica Gonzales Victim Assistants”) in local law enforcement agencies to serve as liaisons between victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and personnel in local law enforcement agencies in order to improve the enforcement of protection orders. Jessica Gonzales Victim Assistants shall have expertise in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
- Providing funding to law enforcement agencies, victim services providers, and state, tribal, territorial, and local governments (which funding stream shall be known as the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program)
- Developing and promoting state, local, or tribal legislation and policies that enhance best practices for responding to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Developing, implementing, or enhancing Sexual Assault Response Teams, or other similar coordinated community responses to sexual assault.
- Developing and strengthening policies, protocols, best practices, and training for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors relating to the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases and the appropriate treatment of victims.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault against men, women, and youth in correctional and detention settings.
- Identifying and conducting inventories of backlogs of sexual assault evidence collection kits and developing protocols and policies for responding to and addressing such backlogs, including protocols and policies for notifying and involving victims.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs and projects to provide services and responses targeting male and female victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, whose ability to access traditional services and responses is affected by their sexual orientation or gender identity, as defined in section 249(c) of title 18 of the United States Code.
- Developing, enhancing, or strengthening prevention and educational programming to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or female genital mutilation or cutting, with not more than 5 percent of the amount allocated to a state to be used for this purpose.
- Developing, enhancing, or strengthening programs and projects to improve evidence collection methods for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including through funding for technology that better detects bruising and injuries across skin tones and related training.
- Developing, enlarging, or strengthening culturally specific victim services programs to provide culturally specific victim services and responses to female genital mutilation or cutting.
- Providing victim advocates in State or local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, and courts to provide supportive services and advocacy to Indian victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- Paying any fees charged by any governmental authority for furnishing a victim or the child of a victim with any of the following documents: (A) A birth certificate or passport of the individual as required by law. (B) An identification card issued to the individual by a State or Tribe, that shows that the individual is a resident of the State or a member of the Tribe.
OVW Priority Areas
- In FY 2023, OVW is interested in supporting the priority area(s) .In shaping their strategies for FY 2023, OVW encourages states and territories to develop and support projects that: Advance racial equity as an essential component of ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
- Increase access to justice for all survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, including through exploration of survivor-centered criminal justice system reform.
- Strengthen efforts to prevent and end sexual assault, including victim services and civil and criminal justice responses.
- Expand economic justice and financial advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, including as a tool for violence prevention.
- Improve outreach, services, civil and criminal justice responses, prevention, and support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking from underserved communities, particularly LGBTQ and immigrant communities.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $17,000,000
- Award Floor: $616,000
- Period of Performance Duration (Months): 24
Activities that Compromise Victim Safety and Recovery or Undermine Offender Accountability
- OVW does not fund activities that jeopardize victim safety, deter or prevent physical or emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions. States and territories will need to ensure that subgrantees do not engage in such activities. Please note that OVW will support survivor-centered alternative pathways to justice and non-criminal approaches to accountability that fall within the statutory scope of this program. Information on activities that compromise victim safety and recovery or undermine offender accountability.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible entities for this program are limited to any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Specifically, only the designated state office, pursuant may apply.
- Applications that are submitted by ineligible entities will not be considered for funding.
- Other Program Eligibility Requirements
- In addition to meeting the eligible entity requirements outlined above, applicants for this program must also meet the requirements. All certification and other eligibility related documents must be current and developed in accordance with the FY 2023 solicitation.
For more information, visit Office on Violence Against Women.