The training and services to end violence and abuse against individuals with disabilities and deaf people grant program (disability program) is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20122

The goal of the disability program is to create sustainable change within and between organizations that improves the response to individuals with disabilities and deaf individuals who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to hold perpetrators of such crimes accountable. The disability program brings together disability organizations and victim service providers to work in a collaborative manner at the intersection of disability and domestic and sexual violence. Continuation grantees are required to implement activities that were identified during the previous award but were not able to be addressed during that initial project period. Continuation grantees may provide direct services if they have successfully implemented the initiatives that ensure that survivors with disabilities and deaf survivors will receive safe, confidential, and appropriate services. Victims information bureau of suffolk (ECLI-VIBES) will collaborate with independent group home living program and mill neck services to strengthen partnerships and maintain or enhance a multidisciplinary collaborative TEAM (TEAM); increase organizational capacity to provide accessible, safe, and effective services to individuals with disabilities and deaf individuals who are victims of violence and abuse; identify needs within the grantees organization and/or service area; and develop a plan that addresses those identified needs and builds a strong foundation for future work. The TEAM will begin implementing the barrier removal and safety enhancement plan and evaluate and update existing standard operating procedures. The TEAM will also collaborate to increase training for staff, specifically on best practices for serving survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking to ensure that staff have the knowledge of trauma-informed care (TIC) and are comfortable implementing TIC routinely. Additionally, the TEAM will establish a group of interpreters specialized in crisis DE-escalation, safety planning, and TIC and extend the staff trainings to all sexual assault forensic examiners and rape crisis counselors within the project safe staff.