(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – The Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) today released the 2022 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Culturally Specific request for proposals (RFPS), intended to support culturally specific communities in their efforts to develop and strengthen effective responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The term ‘culturally specific services’ means community-based services that include culturally relevant and linguistically specific services and resources to culturally specific communities.
“These federal grant programs support communities in their efforts to develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women and marginalized communities,” said OCJS Executive Director Nicole Dehner.
The VAWA program assists local governments and non-profit community-based organizations in administering justice for and strengthening services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. VAWA funds contribute toward developing effective responses to violence against women through activities that include direct services, crisis intervention, transitional housing, legal assistance to victims, court improvement, and training for law enforcement and courts.
Applicants directing services for racial and ethnic minority groups are encouraged to apply before he deadline on Tuesday, July 12, at 5 p.m. EST.
An organization is eligible to receive the culturally-specific set aside if the organization is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that serves a specific geographic community that:
- focuses primarily on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
- has established a specialized culturally specific program primarily directed toward racial and ethnic minority groups that addresses domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
- has a primary focus on underserved populations (and includes representatives of the populations) and domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or
- obtains expertise, or shows demonstrated capacity to work effectively, on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through collaboration;
- is primarily directed toward racial and ethnic minority groups; and
- is providing services tailored to the unique needs of that population.
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 defines “culturally specific” as “primarily directed toward racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)).” 42 U.S.C. 13925(a)(6). Under this section of the Public Health Service Act, “racial and ethnic minority groups” are defined as “American Indians (including Alaska Natives, Eskimos, and Aleuts); Asian Americans; Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders; Blacks; and Hispanics.
For more details, visit the OCJS website at: http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov/