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 $250,000 Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526) will enable the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Inc. (MSCASA) to provide training and technical assistance to institutions of higher education, including those in the Gulf region, that are funded under the FY 2024 OVW Expanding Sexual Assault Victim Services on Campus Pilot Program. Over the 36-month project period, MSCASA will conduct check-in calls, webinars, and assessments with the pilot grantees, develop peer exchange opportunities, and engage campus Coordinated Community Response Teams to enhance victim-centered and trauma-informed responses to sexual assault on college campuses. The project aims to document the grantees' work and develop a promising practices guide that can serve as a model for higher education institutions to implement and expand sexual assault victim services.

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 TA initiative funding, the mississippi coalition against sexual assault (MSCASA) will provide technical assistance to institutions of higher education, including institutions in the gulf region, that are funded under the FY 2024 OVW expanding sexual assault victim services on campus pilot program. This project will provide technical assistance to funded institutions to document their work and develop a promising practices guide that can serve as a model for higher education institutions to implement and expand victim services offered to sexual assault survivors. Over the course of the project period, MSCASA will conduct check-in calls and webinars with pilot grantees, assess the grantees victim service provision on campus, develop peer exchange opportunities, and engage the coordinated community response team (CCRT) on grantees campuses to enhance victim-centered and trauma-informed response to sexual assault on campus. This project supports FY 2024 TA initiative purpose area 2: sexual assault victim services on college campuses. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months. This is a new award.