STOP VAWA

Grants Programs Overview

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About STOP VAWA Funding

STOP VAWA Priorities

Learn More About STOP VAWA

Supported Programs

Eligibility Requirements

How VAWA Supports

How Funds May be Used

Utah's Plan for STOP VAWA

About STOP VAWA Funding

The STOP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Grant Program provides funding to help communities respond more effectively to violence against women. This includes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and female genital mutilation.

STOP VAWA Priorities

The program supports efforts that:

Increase safety for victims and survivors
Strengthen services and support
Hold offenders accountable

STOP VAWA funding encourages collaboration between law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and victim service organizations so communities can respond to these crimes in a coordinated and victim-centered way.

The program is authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and administered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.

The name STOP stands for Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors, reflecting the program’s focus on improving both victim services and the criminal justice response to violence against women.

Learn more about STOP VAWA

To learn more about STOP regulations under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), please visit: https://www.justice.gov/ovw

Programs Supported by STOP VAWA Funding

STOP VAWA funding supports programs in the following categories. The definitions below describe the types of organizations and agencies that may receive funding.

Law Enforcement: A government agency whose job is to enforce laws and keep people safe, such as police departments or sheriff’s offices. This includes all the different divisions within those agencies.

Prosecution: A government office responsible for charging and prosecuting people accused of crimes, such as a district attorney’s or prosecutor’s office. This also includes the different units within those offices.

Victim Services: A nonprofit organization that helps victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This can include places like rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, faith-based groups, or other organizations that have a proven history of helping victims.

Courts: Any type of court that can handle cases related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This includes tribal, federal, state, local, or territorial courts (such as immigration, family, or juvenile courts) and the officials who make legal decisions there, like judges, magistrates, commissioners, or justices of the peace.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizations may apply if they provide services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, or female genital mutilation.

Provide direct services to victims of VAWA-eligible crimes, or show they have the ability to begin providing these services.
Demonstrate community support and experience delivering effective victim services.
Provide services to victims at no cost.
Support at least one STOP VAWA program purpose area.
Meet federal grant requirements, including protecting victim confidentiality, submitting required reports, and maintaining an active SAM registration.
Provide a 25% match (cash or in-kind) unless the applicant is a tribe or nonprofit victim service organization, which are exempt from the match requirement.

How STOP VAWA Supports Victims and Victim Service Programs

The STOP VAWA Grant Program supports strategies that address domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence while promoting victim safety and offender accountability. VAWA has defined 24 purpose areas, shown below. Eligible projects must address at least one of these areas to qualify for STOP VAWA funding.

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)).

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)).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How STOP VAWA Funds May be Used by Victim Service Programs

Funds may support staff positions, training, and technical assistance for law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and victim service organizations. This can include personnel who provide direct services, specialized training for responders, and resources to strengthen the apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of offenders. Funding may also support evaluation and data collection to improve program effectiveness.

STOP VAWA funds primarily support services for individuals age 11 and older who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or female genital mutilation. In limited situations, programs may include supportive services for children when those services are directly connected to assisting the victim. For example, programs that provide shelter or advocacy services to victims may include support for their children as part of the broader service provided to the victim.

Funding may cover transportation costs when reasonable and necessary to enhance a victim’s safety, including limited out-of-state travel. Funds may also be used for emergency needs such as first month’s rent, security deposits, and pro-rated shelter operations, including utilities and security. Food and other basic needs for clients may also be supported on a prorated basis. Gift cards are allowable only for specific, documented emergency costs related to victim services.

Funds may support outreach efforts that inform victims about available services, such as distributing brochures or conducting targeted community engagement. Applicants are encouraged to allocate funds to ensure meaningful access for individuals with disabilities, limited English proficiency, or deaf individuals, including interpretation, translation, or adaptive equipment. Materials and resources developed with grant funds must be accessible to all victims.

Utah’s Plan for STOP VAWA Funding

The STOP VAWA Implementation Plan is a four-year plan that states and territories must submit to the Department of Justice to receive STOP funding. The plan is developed with partners across the state to identify needs in victim services.

It outlines how STOP funding will be used to improve the criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and how victims will be supported. Programs receiving STOP VAWA funding must support at least one goal in the plan.

The current STOP VAWA Implementation Plan for Utah.