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

The Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MSCASA), a non-profit organization, received a $2,000,000 Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the OVW Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526). Through this grant, MSCASA will collaborate with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault to implement the Culturally Specific Campus Consortium (CSCC) project. The CSCC project aims to provide culturally relevant training and technical assistance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on their campuses. Key activities include conducting baseline campus assessments, developing customized resources, delivering webinars and virtual technical assistance, facilitating peer-to-peer connections, conducting site visits, and hosting skill-building meetings and a College Young Advocates Institute for student leaders. The project period is 36 months, running from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026.

The office on violence against women (OVW) emerging issues and training and technical assistance call for concept papers (call for concept papers) invitedinterested 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 mississippi coalition against sexual assault (MSCASA) will collaborate with the north carolina coalition against sexual assault to implement the culturally specific campus consortium (CSCC) project. This project will provide culturally relevant strategies in addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) on historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), hispanic service institutions (HSI), and tribal colleges and universities (TCU) campuses. The project will develop a consortium to provide customized, intensive training and technical assistance that is rooted in a culture-specific framework, reflects the campus community, and promotes best practices in addressing violence against women on campus. The project will assist culturally specific campuses in developing a comprehensive approach to addressing vawa crimes that includes establishing coordinated community response teams, effective response protocols, victim services, and multi-faceted prevention programming. Over the course of the project period, MSCASA and its partners will: 1) conduct a baseline analysis of hbcus, hsis and tcus current efforts in responding to DVSAS inclusive of available services, programming, protocol, stakeholders and needs; 2) develop culturally responsive resources; 3)conduct webinars and individualized virtual technical assistance; 4) assist with peer-to-peer connections and exchanges; 5) conducting site visits; 6) plan, organize, and host the college young advocates institute (C-YAI) for student leaders; and 7) host in-person and/or virtual culturally affirming and responsive skill building meetings for OVW campus grantees and potential campus grantees. This award supports purpose area 3: campus special initiative - culturally specific campuses. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months for $2,000,000, all of which will be awarded through OVW technical assistance funding.