FEDERAL AGENCY:

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

AUTHORIZATION:

Violence Against Women Act of 2000; Public Law 106-386.

To provide communities with critical resources that help them forge partnerships across agencies and disciplines to respond effectively to violent crimes against women. VAWO's Technical Assistance Program was created to provide grantees with the expertise and support they need to develop and implement successful local projects, increase victim safety, and bolster offender accountability. Grantees participate in educational initiatives, conferences, peer-to- peer consultations, and targeted assistance that allow them to learn from experts and one another about how to overcome obstacles and incorporate promising practices in their efforts to address violence against women. In addition, the Technical Assistance Program focuses on building the capacity of national criminal justice and victim advocacy organizations to effectively address violent crimes against women and examine issues of special interest to VAWO and its constituents.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

Applicant Eligibility: Eligible applicants are public or private, nonprofit victim advocacy organizations, national criminal justice constituency organizations, judicial organizations, or other agencies with expertise in the technical assistance categories or subcategories described in the VAWO Technical Assistance solicitation.

Beneficiary Eligibility: Eligible applicants are public or private, nonprofit victim advocacy organizations, national criminal justice constituency organizations, judicial organizations, or other agencies with expertise in the technical assistance categories or subcategories described in the VAWO Technical Assistance solicitation.

Credentials/Documentation: Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, and OMB Circular No. A-110 for Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Nonprofit Organizations.

Pre-application Coordination: This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. Application forms furnished by the Federal agency, in accordance with 28 CFR, Part 66 (Common Rule) must be used for this program.

Application Procedure: Applicants must apply through the on-line OJP Grants Management System (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps). The receipt, review, and analysis of applications will follow Office of Justice Programs policies and procedures for the administration of grant applications. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110.

Award Procedure: Upon approval by the Office of Justice Programs, a letter is sent to the applicant agency with copies of the Grant Award. One copy of the Grant Award must be signed by an authorized official and returned to the Office of Justice Programs.

Deadlines: Contact the Violence Against Women Office in the Office of Justice Programs for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Approximately 120 days after receipt of an application.

Appeals: No statutory rights of appeal.

Renewals: Renewals are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Formula and Matching Requirements: Grants will be made for amounts up to 100 percent of the costs of the projects contained in the approved applications. Matching is not required for this grant.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Up to 24 months. Funds are released on an as needed basis to the grantee.

Reports: Each grantee receiving funds under this Subpart shall submit semi-annual progress reports. Upon completion of the grant period, the institution shall file a performance report explaining the activities carried out and including an assessment of the effectiveness of those activities in achieving the purposes of the program. In addition, grantee's must provide the Violence Against Women Office annual statistics on the numbers of victims served, gender, ethnicity, relationship to offender, type of victimization, language, disability, and the number of victims seeking services who were turned away for services.

Audits: In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records: The award recipient must keep complete records on disposition of funds.

Account Identification: 15-0404-0-1-754.

Obligations: (Grants) FY 01 $13,585,450; FY 02 est $9,200,000; and FY 03 est $9,000,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance: There is no specific amount for which eligible organizations may apply. Applicants should carefully consider the resources needed to implement the proposed technical assistance project and present a realistic budget that reflects the costs involved. Awards are commensurate to the scope of technical assistance provided, the size and geographic distribution of the intended audience, the variety of assistance offered (i.e. onsite consultation, training, safety audits, etc.) and products developed.

VAWO currently supports 56 cooperative agreements that address a comprehensive array of issues encountered by States, local jurisdictions, criminal justice agencies, victim advocacy organizations, and communities in their efforts to effectively address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking violence. VAWO's Technical Assistance Program offers VAWO grantees a wide array of training, resources, onsite consultation, and peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities to help them solve problems and implement promising practices.

OJP Financial Guide is applicable.

Regional or Local Office: None.

Headquarters Office: Violence Against Women Office, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531. Telephone: (202) 307-6026.

The STOP TA Project sponsored a series of workshops on implementing these practices and convened meetings between STOP administrators and State domestic violence coalition directors that allowed them to address common concerns and strengthen partnerships. During Fiscal Year 2001, the STOP TA Project will complete a series of Promising Practices brochures complete with checklists for law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, the judiciary, and victim service providers. Through a cooperative agreement with VAWO, the Battered Women's Justice Project has sponsored a series of twelve workshops on "A Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence," "Effective Law Enforcement and Prosecution Responses to Domestic Violence," and "Effective Responses to Domestic Violence by the Courts and Probation" for jurisdictions that are recipients of VAWO'S Grants to Encourage Arrest and Enforcement of Protection Orders. The materials generated for those workshops are available on VAWO's Homepage or by contacting the Battered Women's Justice Project directly. Through a cooperative agreement with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), VAWO supported the development of a model policy for police departments to address the problem of domestic violence perpetrated by police officers. The model policy includes a background paper on the problem and a training guide. These materials are being disseminated to police departments nationwide on an ongoing basis and IACP is assisting law enforcement agencies across the country with effectively implementing then. Through a cooperative agreement with VAWO, Praxis International developed the Duluth Safety and Accountability Audit: A Guide to Assessing Institutional Responses to Domestic Violence. The safety audit leads municipalities through a systematic evaluation of how well the collective procedures of a particular agency, or multi-agency response, enhance victim safety and promote offender accountability. The process is designed to identify gaps in intervention efforts and illuminate enhancements that can strengthen the effectiveness both of individual agencies and coordinated community responses to domestic violence. Praxis International provides the Safety and Accountability Audit guidebook to Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement grantees and trains them on how to utilize the procedure to assess and improve the efficacy of their responses to domestic violence. With funding from VAWO, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Family Violence Prevention Fund collaborated to develop a series of Judicial Institutes on Domestic Violence, workshops for judges from criminal, civil, and family courts and interdisciplinary municipal teams. The Judicial Institutes have been successful in enlisting the support of the judiciary in actively combating domestic violence; establishing a community of judges committed to developing aggressive responses that can share information and promising practices; and providing training and technical assistance to a critical sector of the justice system. Through a cooperative agreement with VAWO, the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence will continue to explore ways to provide culturally appropriate assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in faith communities. Specifically, it will provide national leadership development trainings for VAWO grantees on enlisting religious leaders as partners in responding to domestic violence and provide participating grantees with: Violence in the Family: A Workshop Manual for Clergy and Other Professionals, three educational videos and Keeping the Faith. As part of its FY 2000 TA award, the Center will also offer trainings and curricula that address violence against women in the Jewish community. In addition, the Center will contract with the North American Council for Muslim Women to implement the Peaceful Families Project, designed to provide culturally appropriate assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the Muslim communities.

Technical assistance initiatives supported by VAWO must: Outline a national or regional scope of work. Applicants limiting technical assistance to a specific region(s) of the country must detail why a regional approach is preferable to the development of a national initiative; be developed as collaborative efforts among nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy organizations and police or judicial, prosecutorial, or other criminal justice organizations. Partnerships should be based on meaningful, formal, and respectful collaborations that recognize the distinct role of each professional. Each applicant must submit a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to VAWO signed by authorizing officials of all partner organizations; reach a range of grantees, bringing victim advocates and criminal justice professionals together in ways that challenge them to consider different perspectives and new solutions to the complex problems they confront; reflect an understanding of the positive, systemic, social, and cultural changes that are needed to stop violence against women; incorporate the experiences of survivors and victim advocates; and include strategies for creating and implementing culturally appropriate responses that ensure victim safety and offender accountability. Applications are evaluated through a peer review process through a contract with Professional and Scientific Associates. Multidisciplinary teams of advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, attorneys, and administrators of State STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants with expertise in the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking read the applications and collectively assess the merits of each proposal. Peer reviewers are selected from jurisdictions receiving funds from of one of VAWO's grant programs and are recipients or potential recipients of technical assistance. Applications are rated by peer reviewers on the basis of the following selection criteria, outlined in the Application Kit: 1) The proposed project demonstrates meaningful attention to victim safety and offender accountability; 2) The application clearly describes the grantees, jurisdictions, communities, or constituents to be served including diverse, undeserved populations of women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (e.g., women of color, immigrant and refugee women, disabled women, women in same-sex relationships, and the elderly); 3) The application clearly describes the proposed impact of the project; 4) The application clearly describes the methods, techniques or educational approaches that will be used to foster professional development and cultural change; 5) The soundness of the planning, development and implementation strategy, organizational and staff capability and general time line are clearly described; 6) The budget is reasonable as it relates to proposed project activities; 7) Technical assistance initiatives based in criminal justice or judicial organizations demonstrate, through a Memorandum of Understanding, a commitment to ensuring that nonprofit, non-governmental victim advocacy organizations participate extensively in the development and implementation of the proposed project. (NOTE: Although it was encouraged, applications submitted by nonprofit, non-governmental victim advocacy or service organizations were not required to include Memoranda of Understanding.); 8) The applicant documents past experience with providing training and technical assistance to increase the capacity of communities to effectively respond to violent crimes against women.