The Grants to Support Families in the Justice System Program works to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice system to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse.
Donor Name: Office on Violence Against Women
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: American Samoa, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/13/2023
Size of the Grant: up to $700,000
Grant Duration: 36 months
Details:
The program supports the following activities for improving the capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court-based and court-related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters.
Purpose Areas
Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12464, funds under this program must be used for one or more of the six purposes discussed below. Although the statute contains eight distinct purpose areas, OVW is limiting applicants to addressing only purpose areas 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. OVW is interested in funding projects that take a coordinated approach to helping families victimized by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as they navigate the justice system. To help achieve this coordinated approach, applicants may propose either a standard project or a comprehensive project.
- Standard Project: Applicants must propose activities either under purpose area 1 (supervised visitation) or 5 (courts). If an applicant is proposing to provide supervised visitation/safe exchange services (purpose area 1), the applicant must propose activities under at least one additional purpose area. The courts purpose area (purpose area 5) canbe addressed in combination with another purpose area or on its own under any one or more of the purpose area 5 sub-categories. However, applications that address pro se victim assistance programs (purpose area 5(b)) or propose education and outreach programs (purpose area 5(e)) also must propose activities under at least one more purpose area 5 subcategory or other purpose area(s).
- Comprehensive Project: Applicants must propose activities under purpose areas 1 (supervised visitation), 5 (courts), and 6 (civil legal services). Applicants may include additional purpose areas in a comprehensive project application but are required to include purpose areas 1, 5, and 6.
Funding Information
- Funding levels under this program for FY 2023 are:
- Standard projects: up to $600,000 for the entire 36 months.
- Comprehensive projects: up to $700,000 for the entire 36 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. §.C. § 12291(a)(37)).
- Units of local government, meaning any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a state (34 U.S.C. §12291(a) (47)). Pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 90.2(g), the following are not considered units of local government and are not eligible to apply as the lead applicant – police departments, pre-trial service agencies, district or city attorneys’ offices, sheriffs’ departments,
- Courts (including juvenile courts), meaning any civil or criminal, tribal, and Alaska Native Village, federal, state, local or territorial court having jurisdiction to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, including immigration, family, juvenile, and dependency courts (34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(7)). This does not include prosecutors’ offices.
- Indian tribal governments, meaning a tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation (as defined in, or established pursuant to, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.)), that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians or the governing body of an Indian tribe (34 U.S.C. § 12291(a) (43)).
- Nonprofit organizations, meaning an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501 (a) of such Code (34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(15)(B)(i)).
- Legal services providers, meaning entities that provide legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This does not include for-profit organizations.
- Victim service providers, meaning a nonprofit, nongovernmental or tribal organization or rape crisis center, including a state or tribal domestic violence and/or sexual assault coalition, that assists or advocates for domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking victims, including a domestic violence shelter, faith-based organization or other organization, with a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(50). Victim service providers must provide direct services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking as one of their primary purposes and have a demonstrated history of effective work in this field. Organizations that provide supervised visitation and safe exchange services to families with a history of domestic violence are considered victim service providers. Culturally specific organizations, Tribal organizations, and population specific organizations serving underserved communities that meet the definition of ‘victim service provider’ are eligible to apply.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
