The office on violence against women (OVW) emerging issues and training and technical assistance call for concept papers (call for concept papers) invited interested eligible entities to propose…

The Alaska Native Justice Center (ANJC) has been awarded a $600,000 Cooperative Agreement under the Office on Violence Against Women's (OVW) Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526) to provide training and technical assistance to Alaska tribes on implementing Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) over non-Indian offenders as authorized by the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Over the 24-month project period, ANJC and its partners, including the Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, Alaska Tribal Justice Resource Center/Rural CAP, the Tribal Governance Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, will support Alaska tribes in planning, preparing for, and exercising STCJ. Key activities include establishing an STCJ advisory group, conducting outreach, supporting the Department of Justice in setting up an Alaska-specific technical assistance working group, and providing trainings and ongoing assistance to tribes designated or pursuing designation as "participating tribes" under the Alaska pilot program.

The office on violence against women (OVW) emerging issues and training and technical assistance call for concept papers (call for concept papers) invited interested eligible entities to propose projects that explore new and emerging issues and training and technical assistance projects addressing the needs and challenges of OVW grantees, subgrantees, and the larger violence against women field. In particular, with the passage of the violence against women act reauthorization act of 2022 (vawa 2022), PUB. L. No. 117-103, DIV. W, 136 stat. 49, 840-962, OVW sought to identify innovative projects and technical assistance that address the new and revised programs and issues included in vawa 2022, as well as other emerging issues in the fields of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. See 34 U.S.C. 12291(B)(11) and (16). OVW reviewed the submitted concept papers, selected promising projects in each of the call for concept papers purpose areas, and contacted selected applicants to invite them to submit a full application for their concept paper through the call for concept papers invitation to apply solicitation. With funding through the OVW FY 2023 emerging issues and training and technical assistance call for concept papers, the alaska native justice center (ANJC) will implement the alaska special tribal criminal jurisdiction technical assistance (AK-STCJ-TA) project to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to alaska tribes to plan for, implement, or exercise special tribal criminal jurisdiction (STCJ) over non-indian offenders in alaska native villages pursuant to the alaska pilot program authorized by vawa 2022 and codified at 25 U.S.C. 1305(D). The goals of the project are to support alaska tribes considering, planning, and preparing to exercise STCJ and to deliver targeted TTA to alaska tribes interested in designation, or designated, by the attorney general as a "participating tribe" (as defined in section 812(3) of vawa 2022) to exercise STCJ through the alaska pilot program. Over the course of the project period, the ANJC and its project partners, the alaska native women's resource center, the alaska tribal justice resource center/rural cap, the tribal governance program at the university of alaska fairbanks, and the tanana chiefs conference, will (1) establish an STCJ advisory group, (2) review existing resources and gaps, (3) conduct outreach to alaska tribes and tribal communities, (4) support the U.S. Department of justice in establishing an alaska-specific intertribal technical assistance working group on STCJ (alaska itwg), (5) establish a coordinated cross-agency intake process for TTA for alaska tribes or intertribal partnerships interested in pursuing designation as participating tribes in the alaska pilot program, (6) and provide trainings and ongoing technical assistance for alaska itwg members and tribes designated or pursuing designation through the pilot program. This award supports purpose area 2: technical assistance for alaska tribes implementing special tribal criminal jurisdiction. The timing for performance of this award is 24 months for $600,000, all of which will be awarded through OVW technical assistance funding.