The office on violence against women's (OVW) training and technical assistance initiative provides OVW grantees and subgrantees with the expertise and support they need to develop and implement…

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded a $615,000 cooperative agreement to the Tribal Law and Policy Institute under the OVW Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526) federal grant program. The award will support training and technical assistance for current and potential grantees of OVW's Tribal Jurisdiction Program as they plan for, implement, and exercise Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over non-Native individuals. Specifically, the Institute will provide learning opportunities and tailored assistance to tribal leadership, legal system professionals, victim advocates, and other partners to effectively develop and exercise criminal jurisdiction in accordance with the Violence Against Women Act. Key activities include continued support for an inter-tribal technical assistance working group, discipline-specific training calls and webinars, individualized guidance on legal code development, and a public-facing website. The period of performance is 24 months from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2024.

The office on violence against women's (OVW) training and technical assistance initiative provides OVW grantees and subgrantees with the expertise and support they need to develop and implement successful projects; increase victim safety; and bolster offender accountability. Through cooperative agreements, OVW supports educational initiatives, conferences, peer-to-peer consultations, and targeted assistance that allow current and potential grantees and subgrantees to learn from experts and one another about how to overcome obstacles and incorporate promising practices in their efforts to address violence against women. In addition, OVW is focused on building the capacity of the criminal and civil justice systems and victim services organizations to respond effectively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to foster partnerships between organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address violence against women. This award will support training and technical assistance (TTA) specific to grantees and potential grantees of the OVW tribal jurisdiction program to plan for, implement, and exercise special tribal criminal jurisdiction (STCJ). This project will provide learning opportunities and TTA for tribal leadership, judges, courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement, court services, victim advocates, child welfare staff, and other internal and external partners within the tribal justice system and community necessary for effective and successful planning, implementation, and exercise of STCJ. Specific project activities include, but are not limited to: continued support for the inter-tribal technical assistance working group (ITWG) including in-person and/or virtual meetings; regularly scheduled discipline-specific calls or webinars; regularly scheduled TA calls for tribes exercising criminal jurisdiction over non-indians; periodic listserv email updates; individualized TTA regarding tribal codes, rules, and policy and procedure development; discipline-specific and multi-disciplinary TTA; TTA regarding the STCJ covered crimes; and a website with on-demand STCJ information for the general public and resources for tribes that are planning for and exercising criminal jurisdiction over non-indians. The timing for performance of this award is 24 months.