The grants to enhance culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. § 20124

This $300,000 Project Grant from the Department of Justice Offices Boards and Divisions Office on Violence Against Women will support culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through September 2024. Awarded under the Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services Program (CFDA 16.016), the funding will allow Boat People S.o.s., Inc. to enhance and maintain its existing successful community-based programs. Specifically, the organization will work to develop and strengthen effective culturally relevant strategies, increase community capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support, and examine the impact of culture on victimization and healing. The award also aims to strengthen criminal justice interventions and enhance traditional victim services through culturally specific leadership. Overall, the funding will help provide an array of culturally specific programs, resources, and assistance to safely address the needs of underserved victims from American Indian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Black, and Hispanic communities.

This program supports the maintenance and replication of existing successful community-based programs providing culturally specific services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as the development of innovative culturally specific strategies to enhance access to services and resources for victims who face obstacles to using more traditional programs. Culturally specific services means community-based services that include culturally relevant and linguistically specific services and resources to culturally specific communities which are statutorily defined as "american indians (including alaska natives, eskimos, and aleuts); asian americans; native hawaiians and other pacific islanders; blacks; and hispanics." projects must: 1) work with state and local governments and social service agencies to develop and enhance effective strategies to provide culturally specific victim services ; 2) increase communities' capacity to provide culturally specific resources and support for victims and their families; 3) strengthen criminal justice interventions by providing training for law enforcement, prosecution, courts, probation, and correctional facilities on culturally specific responses; 4) enhance traditional services to victims through the leadership of culturally specific victim services programs ; 5) work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies highlighting culturally specific issues and resources; 6) provide culturally specific programs for children exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 7) provide culturally specific resources and services that address the safety, economic, housing, and workplace needs of victims, including emergency assistance; and/or 8) examine the dynamics of culture and its impact on victimization and healing.