DOJ/OVC: 2023 Building Capacity of National Crisis Hotlines

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) seeks applications for funding to enhance or expand the capacity of national hotlines that are essential for providing crisis intervention services, safety planning, information, referrals, and resources for victims of crime in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Donor Name: Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)

State:  All States

County: All Counties

U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/24/2023

Size of the Grant: $2,000,000

Grant Duration: 36 months

Details:

With this solicitation, OVC seeks to support the enhancement or expansion of national hotlines that are essential for providing crisis intervention services, safety planning, information, referrals, and resources for victims of crime. It also supports participation in the National Hotline Consortium, a group of leading national victim service and crisis intervention hotlines that share technology service delivery and promising practices to provide high-quality support for victims and survivors.

Goals

The goal of this program is to enhance or expand the capacity and infrastructure of national hotline providers to provide crisis intervention support using trauma-informed, culturally and linguistically appropriate, survivor-centered approaches that protect the safety and confidentiality of victims and survivors.

Objectives

• Provide high-quality, trauma-informed services to crime victims and survivors by expanding hotline staffing to improve the ability to provide services and reduce wait times.
• Enhance training for hotline personnel on how to respond to complex crisis situations (e.g., suicide prevention, homicide, human trafficking, child abuse, mass violence) and provide support to minimize their risk and the effects of vicarious trauma and burnout.
• Engage in public awareness campaigns and outreach efforts to increase visibility and awareness of national hotline services, to include trainings or webinars targeted at service providers and community and criminal justice stakeholders.
• Improve access of services and resources by developing culturally and linguistically appropriate materials and resources (and partnering with organizations whose purpose is to create such materials), or improving website accessibility.
• Increase focus on quality assurance and quality improvement by implementing a data-driven improvement process — whether in-house or through a contracted provider — that enhances service provision, technology processes, reporting, and data analysis capacity.
• Collaborate with the National Hotline Consortium to share technology service delivery and promising practices, improve operations, and support accessible, quality victim services and crisis response.
• Work with the National Hotline Consortium to identify the specific needs of victims of cyber- or technology-facilitated crime (gender-based and other harassment and abuse, elder fraud, etc.) and what services are most effective to support resilience and healing.

Funding Information