VAWA Program Purposes

Program Purposes

Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 10441(b), funds under this program must be used for one or more of the following purposes:  

1. Training law enforcement officers, judges, other court personnel, and prosecutors to more effectively identify and respond to violent crimes against women, (including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including the appropriate use of nonimmigrant status under subparagraphs (T) and (U) of section 101 (a) (15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a) (15)).  
2. Developing, training, or expanding units of law enforcement officers, judges, other court personnel, and prosecutors specifically targeting violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  
3. Developing and implementing more effective police, court, and prosecution policies, protocols, orders, and services specifically devoted to preventing, identifying, and responding to violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the appropriate treatment of victims including implementation of the grant conditions in section 40002(b) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(b));  

4. Developing, installing, or expanding data collection and communication systems, including computerized systems, linking police, prosecutors, and courts or for the purpose of identifying, classifying, and tracking arrests, protection orders, violations of protection orders, prosecutions, and convictions for violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

5. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening victim services and legal assistance programs,  including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking programs,  developing or improving delivery of victim services and legal assistance to underserved  populations, providing specialized domestic violence court advocates in courts where a  significant number of protection orders are granted, and increasing reporting and  reducing attrition rates for cases involving violent crimes against women, including  crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  

6. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing the needs and circumstances of Indian tribes in dealing with violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  

7. Supporting formal and informal statewide, multidisciplinary efforts, to the extent not supported by state funds, to coordinate the response of state law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, victim services agencies, and other state agencies and departments, to violent crimes against women, including the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  

8. Training of sexual assault forensic medical personnel examiners in the collection and preservation of evidence, analysis, prevention, and providing expert testimony and treatment of trauma related to sexual assault.  

9. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs to assist law enforcement,  prosecutors, courts, and others to address the needs and circumstances of individuals 50  years of age and over, individuals with disabilities, and Deaf individuals who are victims  of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including recognizing,  investigating, and prosecuting instances of such violence or assault and targeting  outreach and support, counseling, legal assistance and other victim services to  such individuals.  

10. Providing assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in immigration matters.  

11. Maintaining core victim services and criminal justice initiatives, while supporting complementary new initiatives and emergency services for victims and their families, including rehabilitative work with offenders.  

12. Supporting the placement of special victim assistants (to be known as “Jessica Gonzales Victim Assistants”) in local law enforcement agencies to serve as liaisons between victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and personnel in local law enforcement agencies in order to improve the enforcement of protection orders. Jessica Gonzales Victim Assistants shall have expertise in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and may undertake the following  activities:  a. developing, in collaboration with prosecutors, courts, and victim service providers, standardized response policies for local law enforcement agencies, including the use of  evidence-based indicators to assess the risk of domestic and dating violence homicide  and prioritize dangerous or potentially lethal cases;  b. notifying persons seeking enforcement of protection orders as to what responses will  be provided by the relevant law enforcement agency; c. referring persons seeking enforcement of protection orders to supplementary services  (such as emergency shelter programs, hotlines, or legal assistance services); and  d. taking other appropriate action to assist or secure the safety of the person seeking  enforcement of a protection order.  

13. Providing funding to law enforcement agencies, victim services providers, and state, tribal, territorial, and local governments (which funding stream shall be known as the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program) to promote: a. the development and implementation of training for local victim domestic violence service providers, and to fund victim services personnel, to be known as “Crystal Judson Victim Advocates,” to provide supportive services and advocacy for victims of domestic violence committed by law enforcement personnel; b. the implementation of protocols within law enforcement agencies to ensure consistent  and effective responses to the commission of domestic violence by personnel within such  agencies such as the model policy promulgated by the International Association of Chiefs  of Police (“Domestic Violence by Police Officers: A Policy of the IACP, Police Response  to Violence Against Women Project” July 2003)); and c. the development of such protocols in collaboration with state, tribal, territorial and local  victim services providers and domestic violence coalitions. Note: Any law enforcement,  state, tribal, territorial, or local government agency receiving funding under the Crystal  Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program, and any subgrantee of such an agency,  shall (1) receive specialized training, on an annual basis, from domestic violence and  sexual assault nonprofit organizations on the topic of incidents of domestic violence  committed by law enforcement personnel and (2) provide a report to the Department of  the protocol(s) adopted in connection with the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence  Protocol Program, including a summary of progress in implementing such protocol(s),  once every two years. States and territories must notify and provide OVW with a list of subgrantee recipients awarded STOP funds under the Crystal Judson Domestic Violence Protocol Program, and ensure that all subgrantees satisfy the requirements of this paragraph.  

14. Developing and promoting state, local, or tribal legislation and policies that enhance best practices for responding to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  

15. Developing, implementing, or enhancing Sexual Assault Response Teams, or other similar coordinated community responses to sexual assault.  

16. Developing and strengthening policies, protocols, best practices, and training for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors relating to the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases and the appropriate treatment of victims.  

17. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault against men, women, and youth in correctional and detention settings.  

18. Identifying and conducting inventories of backlogs of sexual assault evidence collection kits and developing protocols and policies for responding to and addressing such backlogs, including protocols and policies for notifying and involving victims.  

19. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs and projects to provide services and responses targeting male and female victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, whose ability to access traditional services and responses is affected by their sexual orientation or gender identity, as defined in section 249(c) of title 18 of the United States Code.  

20. Developing, enhancing, or strengthening prevention and educational programming to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or female genital mutilation or cutting, with not more than 5 percent of the amount allocated to a state to be used for this purpose.  

21. Developing, enhancing, or strengthening programs and projects to improve evidence collection methods for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including through funding for technology that better detects bruising and injuries across skin tones and related training.  

22. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening culturally specific victim services programs to provide culturally specific victim services and responses to female genital mutilation or cutting.  

23. Providing victim advocates in State or local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, and courts to provide supportive services and advocacy to Indian victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  

1. 24. Paying any fees charged by any governmental authority for furnishing a victim or the child of a victim with any of the following documents: (A) A birth certificate or passport of the individual as required by law. (B) An identification card issued to the individual by a State or Tribe, that shows that the individual is a resident of the State or a member of the Tribe.