Deadline: 8-Jul-25
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women is accepting applications for its Enhancing Investigation and Prosecution Initiative designed to promote and evaluate effective investigation and prosecution responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
OVW grants support coordinated community responses that provide services to victims and hold offenders accountable.
Purpose
- Funds under this program must be used for one or more of the following purposes:
- To fund law enforcement officers, prosecutors, investigators, and systems-based victim assistants dedicated to handling cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- To promote enhanced criminal justice data collection, tracking, use, and reporting regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- To enhance law enforcement and prosecution responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as part of a coordinated community response. This may include one or more of the following:
- Identification, implementation, and evaluation of trauma-informed investigation and prosecution strategies;
- Implementation of policies, practices, and protocols designed to ensure that domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are promptly and thoroughly investigated and appropriately charged and prosecuted;
- Fostering greater accountability, transparency, and building of community trust related to the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and/or
- Providing and supporting training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors who handle investigations related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including but not limited to: providing strategies to build a case based on trauma-informed, victim-centered, and offender-focused practices.
Priorities
- Applications that fare well in merit review and substantively address one or more of the priorities listed below, to the extent consistent with the program’s authorizing statute, may receive priority consideration for funding:
- Measures to combat human trafficking and transnational crime, particularly crimes linked to illegal immigration and cartel operations, that support safety and justice for trafficking victims who have also suffered domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and/or stalking;
- Projects to provide victim services, especially housing, and improve law enforcement response in rural and remote areas, Tribal nations, and small towns that often lack resources to effectively combat domestic violence and sexual assault; and
- Proposals submitted by states or units of local government that certify they comply with federal immigration law.
Funding Information
- Expected total amount of funding: $8,000,000
- Anticipated number of awards: 15
- Expected award amount: $500,000 to $750,000
- Duration: 36 months
Role and Responsibilities
- Applicants that receive funding under this program will be required to engage in the following activities:
- Participate in OVW-sponsored training and technical assistance (TTA).
- Collect and report performance indicators.
- Participate in an assessment or evaluation, if OVW conducts one that requires recipient involvement.
- Participate in training on effective, trauma-informed investigation and prosecution strategies.
- Integrate effective and trauma-informed investigation and prosecution strategies into agency policies and procedures.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants are limited to:
- Tribal, state, territorial, county, and/or local law enforcement agencies that investigate crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.
- Tribal, state, territorial, county, and/or local prosecutors’ offices that prosecute crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
