(1) to identify, assess, and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities, by encouraging collaboration among?
(A) domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking victim service

credit: Idaho Statesman photo by Katherine Jones

providers;
(B) law enforcement agencies;
(C) prosecutors;
(D) courts;
(E) other criminal justice service providers;
(F) human and community service providers;
(G) educational institutions; and
(H) health care providers, including sexual assault forensic examiners;
(2) to establish and expand nonprofit, nongovernmental, State, tribal, territorial, and local government victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; and
(3) to increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities, by?
(A) dealing directly and immediately with domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking occurring in rural communities; and
(B) creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Selected Recipients for this Program

Not Applicable.

Uses and Use Restrictions

Funding may be used to carry out programs serving rural areas or rural communities that address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by: (1) implementing, expanding, and establishing cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including developing multidisciplinary teams focusing on high risk cases with the goal of preventing domestic and dating violence homicides; (2) providing treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities, including assistance in immigration matters; (3) working in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues; (4) developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault, including sexual assault forensic examiner programs, Sexual Assault Response Teams, law enforcement training, and programs addressing rape kit backlogs; and (5) developing programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas, including addressing the challenges posed by the lack of access to shelters and victims services, and limited law enforcement resources and training, and providing training and resources to Community Health Aides involved in the delivery of Indian Health Service programs.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

States, Indian tribes, Territories, local governments, and nonprofit, public or private entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations, are eligible to carry out programs serving rural areas or rural communities that address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Beneficiaries include eligible applicants who propose to serve victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence,and stalking in a rural area or rural community, as defined by 42 U.S.C., § 13925(a)(21) to mean (a) any area or community, respectively, no part of which is within an area designated as a standard metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget; or (b) any area or community, respectively, that is (i) within an area designated as a metropolitan statistical area or considered part of a metropolitan statistical area; and (ii) located in a rural census tract.

Credentials/Documentation

Every application must include documentation that the proposed area to be served, in fact, meets the rural eligibility requirements. The requirements include printed documentation of the service area. Instructions to complete the documentation process can be found within the application materials. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

OVW will provide an annual solicitation.

Environmental impact information is not required for this program.

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 Procedures

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants must apply through the online Grants.gov portal. The receipt, review, and analysis of application will follow Office on Violence Against Women policies and procedures for the administration of grant applications. Applicants must provide documentation as specified in the solicitation that the project will be limited to rural areas.

Award Procedures

Upon approval by the Office on Violence Against Women, online notification 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 OVW.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Authorization

Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2013, Title II, Section 202, Public Law 113-4, 42 U.S.C. § 13971.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Applicants will be notified before the end of the fiscal year.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

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

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula. This program has no matching requirements. Match is not required for this grant program; however, applicants are encouraged to maximize the impact of Federal grant dollars by contributing to the costs of their projects. Supplemental contributions may be cash, in-kind services, or a combination of both. MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Length of assistance is provided in an annual solicitation. Funds are released on an as-needed basis to the grantee. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Periodic drawdowns should be based upon immediate disbursement/reimbursement needs and project progress.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Reports are required as stipulated in the program regulations and the effective edition of the DOJ Financial Grants Management Guide.

No cash reports are required.

Semi-annual progress reports shall explain the activities carried out and include an assessment of the effectiveness of those activities in achieving the purposes of the program, including number of persons served and numbers of persons seeking services who could not be served.

Quarterly Federal Financial Reports are required.

Grantees must monitor grant and subgrant supported activities to assure compliance with applicable Federal requirements and that performance goals are being achieved.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, non-Federal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503.

Records

Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award must be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. If any litigation, claim or audit is started before the expiration of the three year period, the records must be retained until all litigation, claims or audit findings involving the records have been resolved and final action taken.

Financial Information

Account Identification

15-0409-0-1-754.

Obigations

(Project Grants) FY 16 $24,231,823; FY 17 est $26,130,481; and FY 18 est $24,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Range: $200,000-750,000.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Program solicitations can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/grant-programs. Recipients must comply with the current version of the DOJ Financial Grants Management Guide found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/grantees.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Tia Farmer 145 N. St. NE, Suite 10W121, Washington, District of Columbia 20530 Email: tia.farmer@usdoj.gov Phone: 202-305-1177

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Criteria are established by the Office on Violence Against Women and included in an annual soliciation.