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

This $600,000 Cooperative Agreement award, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the OVW Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526), will support the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV) to implement the Interpretation Technical Assistance Resource Center (ITARC). Over the 24-month project period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026, ITARC will provide training and technical assistance to OVW grantees and subgrantees to increase and strengthen meaningful language access for persons with limited English proficiency experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Key activities will include monthly office hours, an annual virtual institute on language access, development of language access resources, trauma-informed interpreting skills training, and coordination of an annual language access institute for OVW technical assistance providers.

The office on violence against women (OVW) training and technical assistance (TA) initiative provides OVW grantees and subgrantees with the expertise and support they need to develop and implement successful state, local, tribal, and campus 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 service providers 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. With FY 2024 OVW TA initiative funding, the asian pacific institute on gender-based violence will continue to implement the interpretation technical assistance center (ITARC). ITARC will provide training and technical assistance to OVW grantees, subgrantees, and potential grantees and subgrantees on increasing and strengthening meaningful language access to persons with limited english proficiency experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Over the course of the project period ITARC will conduct monthly office hours, host an annual virtual institute on language access for domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations, develop language access resources and tipsheets, present multi-day trauma-informed interpreting skills building trainings for bilingual officers and advocates, coordinate an annual language access institute for OVW TA providers, and provide training and technical assistance on the development and implementation of language access plans. This project supports FY 2024 TA initiative purpose area 39: comprehensive on language access. The timing for performance of this award is 24 months. This award is a continuation of 15JOVW-21-GK-02218-mumu. This award is for years one and two of a five-year comprehensive TA project awarded competitively under the FY 2024 TA initiative solicitation.