The improving criminal justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking grant program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10461-10465 and implemented through regulations at…

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women has awarded a $550,000 Project Grant to Lancaster County, Nebraska under the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (CFDA 16.590). The grant will be used to improve Lancaster County's criminal justice system response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Specifically, the funding will support: 1) Enhancing the county's coordinated community response to increase active partnership engagement and cohesion; 2) Providing training for Lincoln Police Department officers on trauma-informed responses and community resources in partnership with culturally and population-specific organizations; 3) Delivering court-based legal advocacy services; 4) Contracting with culturally and population-specific organizations to provide supportive victim services; and 5) Developing a culturally-specific risk assessment tool. This project aims to foster victim safety and offender accountability through a collaborative approach involving criminal justice agencies, victim service providers, and community-based organizations.

The improving criminal justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking grant program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10461-10465 and implemented through regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 90, subpart D. The program fosters victim safety and offender accountability in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by encouraging state, local, and tribal governments and courts to work collaboratively with community partners to identify problems and share ideas that will result in effectively responding to these crimes. An integral component of this program is the development, revitalization, or enhancement of a coordinated community response that brings together criminal justice agencies, victim services providers, and community-based organizations that respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The grantee, in collaboration with its project partners, will use this icjr award to improve their jurisdictions criminal justice system response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by implementing activities that focus on victim safety and offender accountability and create sustainable project activities. The project will: 1) identify a project coordinator to lead the project and any additional members of the coordinated community response team; 2) complete community assessments to inform the development of a strategic plan; 3) identify evidence-informed practices or tools that may be implemented at the agency and community level; 4) participate in mandated OVW training and technical assistance, including utilizing OVW culturally specific and underserved TTA providers. Through this new grants to improve the criminal justice response project, lancaster county in nebraska, in partnership with the lincoln police department, voices of hope and friendship home, lancaster county human services, lancaster county attorneys office, outnebraska, asian community and cultural center, and EL centro DE LAS americas, will implement a project addressing the following purpose areas: 2 and 11. The project will address OVW priority area 4. Specific activities will include: 1) enhancing lincoln countys coordinated community response to increase active partnership engagement and cohesion;2) training lincoln police department officers on trauma-informed responses, community resources, and in partnership with culturally and population specific organizations;3) providing court-based legal advocacy services;4) contracting with culturally and population specific organizations to provide supportive victim services; and 5) development of a culturally-specific risk assessment tool.