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

The Office on Violence Against Women awarded Aequitas a $300,000 cooperative agreement on August 1, 2026, under the OVW Technical Assistance Initiative (CFDA 16.526) to implement the Mentor Court Enhancement Project through July 31, 2028.

Aequitas will build the capacity of OVW-funded mentor courts to function as promising practice domestic violence court models for other jurisdictions, foster peer mentorship for specialized domestic violence courts, develop the national network of mentor courts, and select and pair mentees with mentor courts. The work is performed in Washington, DC. This is a new award with $300,000 obligated.

The office on violence against women (OVW) training and technical assistance (TA) initiative provides OVW grantees, subgrantees, and potential grantees 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 programming and resources, conferences, peer-to-peer learning, and targeted assistance that allows 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 2025 TA initiative funding, aequitas will implement the mentor court enhancement project. Aequitas will build the capacity of OVW-funded mentor courts to serve as promising practice domestic violence court models for other jurisdictions, as well as foster peer mentorship for specialized domestic violence courts, build the national network of mentor courts, and select and pair mentees with mentor courts. This project supports FY 2025 TA initiative purpose area 11: mentor court enhancement project. This is a new award.