The Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response Program (ICJR Program) assists state, local, and tribal governments, and courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law, and to seek safety and autonomy for victims.
Donor Name: Office on Violence Against Women
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/20/2024
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Funds under this program must be used for one or more of the following 26 purpose areas:
- To implement offender accountability and homicide reduction programs and policies in police departments, including policies for protection order violations and enforcement of protection orders across State and tribal lines.
- To develop policies, educational programs, protection order registries, data collection systems, and training in police departments to improve tracking of cases and classification of complaints involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Policies, educational programs, protection order registries, and training described in this paragraph shall incorporate confidentiality, and privacy protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- To centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, or judicial responsibility for domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases in teams or units of police officers, prosecutors, parole and probation officers, or judges.
- To coordinate computer tracking systems and provide the appropriate training and education about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking to ensure communication between police, prosecutors, parole and probation officers, and both criminal and family courts.
- To strengthen legal advocacy and legal assistance programs and other victim services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including strengthening assistance to such victims in immigration matters.
- To educate Federal, State, tribal, territorial, and local judges, courts, and court-based and court-related personnel in criminal and civil courts (including juvenile courts) about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to improve judicial handling of such cases.
- To provide technical assistance and computer and other equipment to police departments, prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread enforcement of protection orders, including interstate enforcement, enforcement between States and tribal jurisdictions, and enforcement between tribal jurisdictions.
- To develop or strengthen policies and training for police, prosecutors, and the judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of domestic violence dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking against individuals 50 years of age or over, Deaf individuals, and individuals with disabilities.
- To develop State, tribal, territorial, or local policies, procedures, and protocols for preventing dual arrests and prosecutions in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to develop effective methods for identifying the pattern and history of abuse that indicates which party is the actual perpetrator of abuse.
- To plan, develop and establish comprehensive victim service and support centers, such as family justice centers, designed to bring together victim advocates from victim service providers, staff from population specific organizations, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, probation officers, governmental victim assistants, forensic medical professionals, civil legal attorneys, chaplains, legal advocates, representatives from community-based organizations and other relevant public or private agencies or organizations into one centralized location, in order to improve safety, access to services, and confidentiality for victims and families.
- To develop and implement policies and training for police, prosecutors, probation and parole officers, and the judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of sexual assault, with an emphasis on recognizing the threat to the community for repeat crime perpetration by such individuals.
- To develop, enhance, and maintain protection order registries.
- To develop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing programs for sexual assault perpetrators and notification and counseling protocols.
- To develop and implement training programs for prosecutors and other prosecution related personnel regarding best practices to ensure offender accountability, victim safety, and victim consultation in cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- To develop or strengthen policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking against immigrant victims, including the appropriate use of applications for nonimmigrant status under subparagraph.
- To develop and promote State, local, or tribal legislation and policies that enhance best practices for responding to the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including the appropriate treatment of victims.
- To develop, implement, or enhance sexual assault nurse examiner programs or sexual assault forensic examiner programs, including the hiring and training of such examiners.
- To develop, implement, or enhance Sexual Assault Response Teams or similar coordinated community responses to sexual assault.
- To develop and strengthen policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors regarding the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases and the appropriate treatment of victims, including victims among underserved populations.
- To provide human immunodeficiency virus testing programs, counseling, and prophylaxis for victims of sexual assault.
- To develop, strengthen, and implement policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Indians.
- To compile and annually report data to the Attorney General related to missing or murdered Indians.
- To develop Statewide databases with information on where sexual assault nurse examiners are located.
- To develop and implement alternative methods of reducing crime in communities, to supplant punitive programs or policies.
- To identify and inventory backlogs of sexual assault evidence collection kits and to develop protocols for responding to and addressing such backlogs, including policies and protocols for notifying and involving victims.
Funding Information
Funding levels under this program for FY 2024 are:
- $500,000 for projects that have a service area population up to 400,000 for the entire 36 months;$750,000 for projects that have a service area population of 400,001 to 700,000;
- $1,000,000 for projects that have a service area population above 700,000; and
- $1,000,000 for statewide projects, regardless of population size.
Project Period
The award period is 36 months.
Eligibility Criteria
The following entities are eligible to apply for this program:
- States
- The term “State” means each of the several States and the District of Colombia, and except as otherwise provided, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Tribal governments
- State and local courts (including juvenile courts)
- The term “courts” means 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, and the judicial officers serving in those courts, including judges, magistrate judges, commissioners, justices of the peace, or any other person with decision making.
- Units of local government
- The term “unit of local government” means any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a state.
- State, tribal, or territorial domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions that partner with a State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government
- The term “State domestic violence coalition” means a program determined by the Administration for Children and Families.
- Victim service providers that partner with a State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government
- A victim service provider is 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.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
