DOJ – Legal Assistance for Victims (2016)

By NLADA on December 16, 2015 • ( 0 )

Applications Due: February 8, 2016, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time

Description:

The Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance1 needed to effectively aid adult and youth victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking who are seeking relief in legal matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence, at minimum or no cost to the victims. LAV Grant Program funds may not be used to provide criminal defense services. The LAV Grant Program makes awards to law school clinics, domestic violence victims’ programs and shelters, bar associations, rape crisis centers and other sexual assault services programs, private nonprofit entities, Indian tribal governments and tribal organizations, territorial organizations, and legal aid or statewide legal service organizations. Grant funds may be used to provide direct legal services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence. The objective of the LAV Grant Program is to develop innovative, collaborative projects that provide quality representation to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

In FY 2016, funds under the LAV Grant Program may be used for the following purposes:

To implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects between sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating violence victim service providers and legal assistance providers to provide legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
To implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by organizations with a demonstrated history of providing direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of these victims.
To implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide competent, supervised pro bono legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, except that not more than 10 percent of the funds awarded may be used for this purpose.

In FY 2016, OVW will accept applications for the LAV Grant Program from the following:

New: applicants that have never received funding under the LAV Grant Program or whose previous funding expired more than 12 months ago.

Continuation: applicants that have an existing or recently closed (within the last 12 months) award under the LAV Grant Program. Continuation funding is not guaranteed.

Grant recipients that received new or supplemental/continuation funding for 36 months in FY

2014 or received LAV funding in FY 2015 are NOT eligible to apply.

Funding Title: OVW FY 2016 Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program

Agency Name: Office on Violence Against Women

Funding Opportunity Number: OVW-2016-9148

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes

Target Population: Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking

Expected Number of Awards: 70

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Estimated Total Program Funding: $32,000,000

Award Ceiling: $800,000

Award Floor: $400,000

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 January 25, 2016.

Letter of Registration: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of registration to ovw.lav@usdoj.gov by January 25, 2016. This will ensure that applicants are well-positioned to successfully submit their applications 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.

Current Closing Date for Applications: by February 8, 2016, 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Eligible Applicants:

Private nonprofit entities.

Publicly funded organizations not acting in a governmental capacity, such as law schools.

Territorial organizations: For the purposes of this solicitation, a “territorial organization” is defined as a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and/or stalking within a United States territory.

Indian tribal governments.

Indian tribal organizations: The term “tribal organization” means the governing body of any Indian tribe; any legally established organization of Indians which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body of a tribe or tribes to be served, or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities; or any tribal nonprofit organization. The term “tribal nonprofit organization” means a victim services provider that has as its primary purpose to assist Native victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking; and that has staff and leadership with a demonstrated history of assisting American Indian or Alaska Native victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking.

Indian tribal consortia: Any applicant representing a consortium of tribal governments must submit documentation of authority in the form of a resolution or legal equivalent from each tribal consortium member, unless existing consortium bylaws or other tribal governance documents allow action without explicit authorization from the member tribes in the consortium. In that case, the tribal consortium must submit a resolution, a letter, affidavit, or other documentation, as appropriate, that certifies that the tribal consortium has the legal authority to apply for grants under this solicitation on behalf of the consortium. This documentation must be current, be sufficient to demonstrate authority for the application, contain authorizing signature(s), and be submitted by the application’s due date. In addition, a copy of the bylaws or other governance documents that allow the tribal consortium’s action without support from all consortium members must be included with this documentation.

Link to Full Announcement: Here

Contact Information: For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact the OVW at (202) 307-6026.

For technical assistance with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support

Hotline at 1-800-518-4726.

Pre-Application Conference Calls:

OVW will conduct one Pre-Application Conference Call. During this call, OVW staff will review the LAV Grant Program requirements, review the solicitation, and answer questions submitted to ovw.lav@usdoj.gov prior and during the Pre-Application Conference Call. Participation in this call is optional.

The conference call is tentatively scheduled for January 7, 2016 at 2:30 pm E.T.

Anyone interested in submitting an application to the LAV Grant Program may register to participate in the pre-application call. Please note: Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis, and space is not guaranteed. Interested participants from the same agency/jurisdiction are strongly encouraged to participate together so that as many communities as possible can join the call. OVW reserves the right to deny multiple registrations from a single agency/jurisdiction. To register, please e-mail Thelma Bailey, OVW Program Assistant at ovw.lav@usdoj.gov. Registration must be received at least two days prior to the start of the call.