Violence Against Women Grants Office
Fiscal Year 1998 Program Plan
The OJP Violence Against Women Grants Office (VAWGO) administers one formula and four discretionary grant programs. The grant programs are designed to help prevent, detect, and stop violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. VAWGO works in partnership with state, local, and tribal governments, as well as private, nonprofit organizations, to develop and support programs that ensure victim safety and offender accountability. The grants finance efforts by communities to create and adopt locally responsive approaches that encourage collaboration among all sectors, including victim service providers, victims' advocates, law enforcement authorities, health care providers, and community organizations representing educators, businesses, members of the clergy, and others involved in the fight to end violence against women. A new program being introduced in FY 1998 supports civil legal assistance programs for victims of domestic violence.
STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants
The STOP (ServicesTraining OfficersProsecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants are awarded to states and territories to develop and strengthen the criminal justice system's response to violence against women and to support and enhance services for victims. Every year, each state and territory receives a minimum of $500,000, plus additional funds based on population. (The only exceptions to this formula are American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which are considered one state for the purposes of this program. American Samoa receives 67 percent of the annual allocation, and the Northern Mariana Islands receive 33 percent.) States and territories must allocate 25 percent of the grant funds to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution, 25 percent to victim services, and the remaining 25 percent among the three categories at each grantee's discretion.
As of the end of FY 1997, more than $275 million has been awarded to states and territories. In FY 1998, $172 million is available for grants to states and territories, technical assistance to grantees and subgrantees, evaluation of projects, and research. VAWGO will send an application kit to the designated agency in each state and territory in January 1998. All awards are expected to be made by the end of February 1998.
STOP Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grants
The Violence Against Women Act requires that 4 percent of the amount appropriated each year for the STOP Violence Against Women formula grants must be allocated for grants to Indian tribal governments. The STOP Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant Program is intended to reduce violent crimes against Indian women by providing federal financial assistance to Indian tribal governments to develop and strengthen the tribal justice systems' responses to violent crimes against Indian women. In responding to violent crimes against Indian women, the program encourages tribal governments to develop and implement effective strategies tailored to address their unique circumstances. Tribes with law enforcement and prosecution responsibilities must allocate 25 percent of their grant funds to tribal law enforcement, 25 percent to tribal prosecution, and 25 percent to private, nonprofit victim service providers.
In FY 1998, $6.8 million is available for grants to Indian tribal governments. Application kits will be distributed to all eligible tribes in January 1998, and applications will be due in early 1998. The application kits will specify the deadline for submission.
Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies
Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies provide resources and support to help states, local governments, and tribal governments treat violence against women as a serious crime requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system, including police officers, prosecutors, judges, probation officers, and other court personnel to ensure the victim's safety. With the resources provided through this program, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors' offices, and the courts collaborate with each other and with nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services agencies to develop and implement programs strengthening the community response to mandatory and pro-arrest policies. Specific goals of the program are to:
Implement mandatory arrest or pro-arrest programs and policies in police departments, including mandatory or pro-arrest programs and policies for violations of protection orders;
Develop policies and training programs in police departments and other criminal justice and tribal agencies to improve tracking of cases involving domestic violence;
Centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, probation, parole, or judicial responsibility for domestic violence cases in groups or units of police officers, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, or judges;
Coordinate computer tracking systems to ensure communication among police, prosecutors, and both criminal and family courts;
Strengthen legal advocacy service programs for victims of domestic violence by providing complete information and support to the victim as the case against the perpetrator develops and moves through the criminal justice system; and
Educate judges and others responsible for judicial handling of domestic violence cases about violence against women, and improve judicial handling of such cases.
To enhance victim safety and offender accountability, VAWGO has awarded nearly $52 million to 141 jurisdictions through the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies to foster state and local efforts to implement mandatory or pro-arrest policies. For FY 1998, Congress has appropriated $59 million for these grants. Application kits will be distributed in January 1998, and applications will be due in early 1998. The application kit will specify the deadline for submissions.
Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grants
The Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grants are designed to address the unique characteristics of rural communities and the additional hurdles faced by victims living in these areas. This program attempts to improve and increase services available to women and children in rural areas by encouraging community involvement in developing a coordinated response to domestic violence and child abuse. Police, prosecutors, judges, nonprofit, nongovernmental victim service agencies, and community organizations in rural jurisdictions are required to collaborate in the development and implementation of programs designed to reduce and prevent violence against women and children in rural communities.
The Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grant Program seeks to:
Develop and implement policies, protocols, and services intended to promote early identification, intervention, and prevention of domestic violence and child victimization;
Increase victims' safety and access to treatment and counseling;
Strengthen the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence and child abuse cases; and
Develop and implement innovative, comprehensive strategies that draw on a rural jurisdiction's unique characteristics and resources to enhance understanding of the complexities of domestic violence and child victimization.
Rural grants were awarded for the first time in FY 1996 to support domestic violence and child victimization programs in 20 rural communities. No solicitation for proposals was issued in FY 1997; instead, 26 FY 1997 grant recipients were selected from the FY 1996 pool of applicants. For FY 1998, eligible applicants include all previous rural grant recipients and other entities that meet the criteria outlined in the application kit.
For FY 1998, $25 million has been appropriated for this program. Applications for these funds will be available in January 1998, and will be due in March 1998. More specific dates will be listed in the application kit.
Grants to Support Civil Legal Assistance for Victims of Domestic Violence
In FY 1998, $12 million is available to strengthen civil legal assistance programs for domestic violence victims. Law school legal clinics assisting battered women, as well as legal clinics operated by other entities, and domestic violence victim assistance programs will be eligible to receive funds through this program. VAWGO anticipates distributing an application kit in early 1998. The application kit will specify the purposes for which grant funds may be used, eligible applicants, and the deadline for submissions.