Legal Assistance for Victims

 

These grants are for increasing the availability of comprehensive civil and criminal legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in matters relating to or arising from the abuse or violence. The goal is to develop innovative, collaborative programs within the legal system that promote victim safety and increase victim economic autonomy.

Active 16.524 Boards and Divisions Offices, Office On Violence Against Women, Department of Justice B - Project Grants Not applicable. 34 U.S.C. 20121 Eligible grantees for this program are private, nonprofit entities, Indian tribal governments and tribal organizations, territorial organizations, and publicly funded organizations not acting in their governmental capacity, such as law schools. Beneficiaries include public or private nonprofit entities providing legal assistance primarily to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and or stalking and victims of these crimes who receive legal assistance. To be eligible for an award under the LAV Grant Program, applicants must certify in writing that they are in compliance with the following statutory requirements: (1) any person providing legal assistance through a program funded under this section-- (A) (i) is a licensed attorney or is working under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney; (ii) in immigration proceedings, is a Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representative; (iii) in Veterans' Administration claims, is an accredited representative; or (iv) is any person who functions as an attorney or lay advocate in Tribal court; and (B) (i) has demonstrated expertise in providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in the targeted population; or (ii) (I) is partnered with an entity or person that has demonstrated expertise described in clause (i); and (II) has completed, or will complete, training in connection with domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault and related legal issues, including training on evidence-based risk factors for domestic and dating violence homicide; (2) any training program conducted in satisfaction of the requirement of paragraph (1) has been or will be developed with input from and in collaboration with a tribal, State, territorial, local, or culturally specific domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking victim service provider or coalition, as well as appropriate tribal, State, territorial, and local law enforcement officials; (3) any person or organization providing legal assistance through a program funded under subsection (c) has informed and will continue to inform State, local, or tribal domestic violence, dating violence, or sexual assault programs and coalitions, as well as appropriate State and local law enforcement officials of their work; and (4) the grantee's organizational policies do not require mediation or counseling involving offenders and victims physically together, in cases where sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or child sexual abuse is an issue. Preapplication coordination is required. 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. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants must apply through the on-line Grants.gov portal and the Department of Justice's JustGrants System. Upon approval by the Office on Violence Against Women, online notification is sent to the applicant agency. The Authorized Representative must accept the award online. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Applicants will be notified by the end of the fiscal year. Not applicable. Continuation grant awards are competitively selected and determined on a case-by-case basis. Criteria for award selection is specified in the program solicitation. The Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program provides an opportunity for communities to enhance legal assistance for victims. Funds may be used: (1) to implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects between domestic violence, dating viiolence, and sexual assault victim services organizations and legal assistance providers to provide legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault; (2) to implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault by organizations with a demonstrated history of providing direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of these victims; and (3) to implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide competent, supervised pro bono legal assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, except that not more than 10 percent of the funds awarded under this section may be used for this purpose. Performance Reports: Semi-annual performance 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. Not applicable. 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. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Information regarding length of awards will be included in an annual solicitation for the program. Funds are released on an as-needed basis to the grantee. Periodic drawdowns should be based upon immediate disbursement/reimbursement needs and project progress. None/Not specified. Ayesha Gaston
145 N. St. NE
Washington, DC 20530 USA
Ayesha.gaston@usdoj.gov
Phone: 2023076026 https://www.justice.gov/ovw 15-0409-0-1-754 (Project Grants) FY 22$35,659,296.00; FY 23 est $42,837,673.00; FY 24 est $35,000,000.00; - Range: $400,000-$900,000 Program solicitations can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/how-to-apply-for-ovw-funding. Recipients must comply with the current version of the DOJ Financial Grants Management Guide found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/grant-management. Not applicable.