DOJ/OVW: 2023 Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is soliciting proposals for its Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program.

Donor Name: Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/20/2023

Size of the Grant: $450,000.00

Grant Duration: 36 months

Details:

This program is authorized by the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. § 1304(h)(2)). The OVW Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program (Tribal Jurisdiction Program) supports tribes in their efforts exercise special Tribal criminal jurisdiction (STCJ) over non-Indians who commit “covered crimes” within the Tribe’s jurisdictional boundaries and provides technical assistance for planning and implementing changes in their criminal justice systems necessary to exercise the jurisdiction. Covered crimes” are limited to assault of Tribal justice personnel; child violence; dating violence; domestic violence; obstruction of justice; sexual violence; sex trafficking; stalking; and violation of a protection order. Grant recipients are committed to exercising the jurisdiction to ensure that victims find safety and justice and that non-Indians who commit covered crimes within their jurisdiction are held accountable.

Purpose Areas

Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1304(h)(2), funds under this program must be used for one or more of the following purposes:

to strengthen tribal criminal justice systems to assist Indian tribes in exercising special Tribal criminal jurisdiction, including for— (A) law enforcement (including the capacity of law enforcement, court personnel, or other non-law enforcement entities that have been designated by an Indian tribe as responsible for maintaining public safety within the territorial jurisdiction of the Indian tribe, to enter information into and obtain information from national crime information databases); (B) prosecution; (C) trial and appellate courts (including facilities maintenance, renovation, and rehabilitation); (D) supervision systems; (E) detention and corrections (including facilities maintenance, renovation, and rehabilitation); (F) treatment, rehabilitation, and reentry programs and services; (G) culturally appropriate services and assistance for victims and their families; and (H) criminal codes and rules of criminal procedure, appellate procedure, and evidence;
to provide indigent criminal defendants with licensed defense counsel, at no cost to the defendant, in criminal proceedings in which a participating tribe prosecutes covered crimes;
to ensure that, in criminal proceedings in which a participating tribe exercises special Tribal criminal jurisdiction, jurors are summoned, selected, and instructed in a manner consistent with all applicable requirements; and
to accord victims of covered crimes rights that are similar to the rights of a crime victim described in section 3771(a) of title 18, United States Code, consistent with Tribal law and custom.

Out-of-Scope Activities

The activities listed below are out of the program scope and will not be supported by this program’s funding.

Research projects. Funds under this program may not be used to conduct research, defined in 28 C.F.R. § 46.102 as a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Surveys and focus groups, depending on their design and purpose, may constitute research and therefore be out-of-scope. Prohibited research does not include assessments conducted for internal improvement purposes only.
Tribal justice system response to cases that do not involve one or more of the covered crimes.
Purchase or lease of vehicles

Funding Information