DOJ – Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus (2015)

By NLADA on February 10, 2015 • ( 0 )

APPLICATIONS DUE: March 20, 2015, 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Description:

Sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking are serious problems on college and university campuses. Congress created the Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program (hereinafter referred to as the Campus Program) in recognition of the unique issues and challenges that colleges and universities face in preventing and responding to these crimes. This program is authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 14045b.

The Campus Program encourages a comprehensive coordinated community approach that enhances victim safety, provides services for victims and supports efforts to hold offenders accountable. The funding supports activities that develop and strengthen victim services and strategies to prevent, investigate, respond to and prosecute these crimes. The development of campus-wide coordinated responses involving campus victim service providers, law enforcement officers, health providers, housing officials, administrators, student leaders, faith-based leaders, representatives from student organizations, and disciplinary board members is critical. To be effective, campus responses must also link to local off-campus criminal justice agencies and service providers, including local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, courts, and nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy and victim services organizations.

Campuses are encouraged to create or revitalize large-scale efforts that treat sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as serious offenses by adopting policies and protocols, developing victim services and programs that prioritize victim safety, ensuring offender accountability, and implementing effective prevention approaches. Colleges and universities should demonstrate to every student that these crimes will not be tolerated, that perpetrators will face serious consequences, and that holistic services are available for victims.

Funding Title: OVW Fiscal Year 2015 Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program

Agency Name: Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes. Notice allows funding to be used “To develop, enlarge, or strengthen victim services programs and population specific services on the campuses of the institutions involved, including programs providing legal, medical, or psychological counseling, for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to improve delivery of victim assistance on campus. To the extent practicable, such an institution shall collaborate with victim service providers in the community in which the institution is located.

“Population specific services” are defined as:

“The 2013 amendments to VAWA defined the term “population specific services” as “victim-centered services that address the safety, health, economic, legal, housing, workplace, immigration, confidentiality, or other needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and that are designed primarily for and are targeted to a specific underserved population.”

Target Population: Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking from underserved population on campus

Expected Number of Awards: 35

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

How to Apply: Registration: To ensure all applicants have ample time to complete the registration process, applicants must obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) Number, register online with the System for Award Management (SAM) and with Grants.gov immediately, but no later than February 27, 2015 (See “Registration”) Letter of Registration: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of registration to ovw.campus@usdoj.gov by March 2, 2015. This will ensure that applicants are well-positioned to successfully submit an application by the deadline. This letter will not obligate potential applicants to submit an application. Interested applicants who do not submit a Letter of Registration are still eligible to apply.

The complete application package is available on http://www.grants.gov or at the OVW website at http://www.justice.gov/ovw . Applicants wishing to request a paper copy of the application materials should contact Ms. Latinisha Lewis at 202-353-9167.

Current Closing Date for Applications: March 20, 2015, 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Estimated Total Program Funding: $12,000,000

Award Ceiling: Funding levels under the Campus program for FY 2015 is as follows: 1. Individual Projects: up to $300,000 2. Consortia Projects: A. Two to Four campus consortia-up to $550,000 or B. Five or more campus consortia-up to $750,000

Award Floor: $0

Eligible Applicants: Applicants are limited to institutions of higher education as defined under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998.

Priority Consideration: OVW encourages applications from the following institutions or proposing activities in the following areas. Final funding decisions will be based on a combination of factors including but not limited to: peer review score, programmatic review and the extent to which the applicant meets the identified priority area(s).

1. Strengthen coordinated community response and multi-disciplinary teams. OVW recognizes that community colleges rely primarily on community partners to provide critical services and supports to students which are unique characteristics of their campus CCR make-up. Thus, community partners are critical to the coordinated responses developed for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. OVW encourages community colleges to apply for Campus Program funding so that strategies and approaches learned from this model can be applied to other community colleges.

2. Meaningfully increase access to OVW programming for specific underserved populations. OVW recognizes that campuses have diverse student populations whose needs may warrant tailored approaches different from traditionally used approaches. In addition, many campuses, especially those that primarily serve communities of color and other underserved populations, may not be aware of this funding opportunity. Therefore OVW is encouraging applications from the following institutions: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU); Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU); universities and colleges that serve primarily Latino or Hispanic populations or are based in the territories of Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. Also, we are encouraging applicants to support underserved and/or culturally-specific populations in a thoughtful and strategic way. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to develop or enhance culturally and linguistically specific prevention and intervention strategies for underserved communities such as African American; Asian and Pacific Islander; Latino; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ); and Deaf or hard of hearing. During the peer review process, applicants that propose to work with these underserved populations will be assessed on the merits of proposed activities and their partnerships with organizations serving the target populations.

3. Emerging Practice In an effort to integrate violence against women as a key campus safety issue, OVW is interested in applicants that propose to integrate violence against women issues into emergency management plans. OVW has learned that emergency management plans, as required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are detailed strategic plans that warrant the deployment of resources, coordination of departments and systematic communication with the campus community about emergency related public safety events. Some campuses have begun to utilize their emergency management plans to maximize campus resources and leverage their requirement to establish an emergency management plan that also includes a comprehensive response to violence against women. OVW is hoping that this emerging practice will raise the visibility of violence against women as a critical issue in overall campus safety.

4. Planning Grants In FY 2013, OVW administered five two year planning grants that focused on establishing coordinated community response teams and developing a strategic plan to address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. These grants were designed to identify the current strengths and gaps of the campus in addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking and to build the capacity of their institution to effectively respond to these crimes. Planning grantees are encouraged to apply for additional funding to implement prevention and intervention strategies that are based on the identified needs that emerged from the planning process. Applicants that received an FY 2013 planning grant must indicate, in the What Will Be Done section of their proposal, the identified needs that emerged during the planning process and how they will be addressed in this project. Applicants that adequately address aforementioned criteria may receive up to 5 additional points.

Current/Past Funding Recipients: 2014 2013 2012

Link to Full Announcement: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/pages/attachments/2015/02/09/campus_program_solicitation2.pdf

Contact Information: For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact OVW at (202) 307-6026. In Fiscal Year 2015, OVW applications will be submitted through Grants.gov. For technical assistance with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-518- 4726. Grants.gov Number assigned to announcement OVW 2015-4032 It is anticipated that all applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by September 30, 2015.