The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Virginia Services, Training, Officers, Prosecution (VSTOP) grant program.
Donor Name: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
State: Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/20/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The STOP program promotes a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to improving the criminal justice system’s response to violent crimes against women; encourages the development and strengthening of effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to address violent crimes against women; and the development and strengthening of victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) implements the Violence Against Women Act STOP grant program for Virginia. The STOP program, known as VSTOP in Virginia, is guided by the VSTOP State Planning Team.
The VSTOP grant program administered by DCJS offers funds to enhance the capacity of local communities to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women.
Purpose Areas
- 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 (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)).
- 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 in section 40002(b) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(b)).
- 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.
- 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) to promote: a. the development and implementation of training for local victim domestic violence service providers, and to fund victim services personnel, to be known as “Crystal Judson Victim Advocates,” to provide supportive services and advocacy for victims of domestic violence committed by law enforcement personnel; b. the implementation of protocols within law enforcement agencies to ensure consistent and effective responses to the commission of domestic violence by personnel within such agencies such as the model policy promulgated by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (“Domestic Violence by Police Officers: A Policy of the IACP, Police Response to Violence Against Women Project” July 2003)); and c. the development of such protocols in collaboration with state, tribal, territorial and local victim services providers and domestic violence coalitions. Note: Any law enforcement, state, tribal, territorial, or local government agency receiving funding under the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program, and any subgrantee of such an agency, shall (1) receive specialized training, on an annual basis, from domestic violence and sexual assault nonprofit organizations on the topic of incidents of domestic violence committed by law enforcement personnel and (2) provide a report to the Department of the protocol(s) adopted in connection with the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program, including a summary of progress in implementing such protocol(s), once every two years.
- 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.
Priority Area
In accordance with Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025 OVW funding requirements and priorities established by the VSTOP State Planning Team, eligible applications must develop, maintain, or expand initiatives within the Law Enforcement category. This requires that proposed projects will increase access to justice for all survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, by establishing a new VSTOP initiative within the law enforcement category, through the creation of VSTOP officer positions.
Funding Information
- It is anticipated that the VSTOP allocation for CY 2026-2027 funding is $300,000.
- Applicants of this funding opportunity are eligible to apply for a maximum award of $50,000 per year for CY 2026 and CY 2027, for a total of $100,000 for the two-year grant period.
Grant Period
The grant period is 24 months, CY 2026-2027, January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2027.
Eligibility Requirements
Law Enforcement agencies within state or local units of government, that currently do not have a VSTOP grant project, are eligible to apply under this funding opportunity. Eligible applicants must also propose a project in accordance with the purpose area indicated within the Priority Area section of these guidelines. Continuation applicants are not eligible to apply under this funding opportunity.
To be eligible for funding under this grant program, organizations:
- Must have a current and active federal System of Award Management (SAM) registration and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Applicants without a current, active SAM registration will not be considered.
- Must not be excluded or debarred from doing business with the federal government or the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Must be in good standing with all state and federal agencies with which they have an existing grant or contractual relationship.
- Must hold current professional and state licenses and certifications as needed for individual grant-funded projects.
- May not deny benefits to or discriminate against, in both employment and the delivery of services, any person on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability in any program or activity funded in whole or in part by OVW.
- Must maintain statutorily required civil rights statistics on victims served by race or national origin, sex, age, and disability, within the grant period and permit access to any documents, papers, and records to determine that the subgrantee is complying with applicable civil rights laws.
- Must maintain confidentiality of victim information.
- Must comply with DCJS requirements and provide statistical and programmatic information as required.
- Must provide services as defined by DCJS and/or OWV.
- Applicants must not have claims or status reports that are more than 30 days overdue.
For more information, visit DCJS.
