The rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program (rural program) is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12341

Rural program funds are used to support programs that: 1) identify, assess, and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities; 2) establish and expand victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; 3) increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities, by (a) dealing directly and immediately with domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; and (B) creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent these crimes; and 4) develop, expand, implement, and improve the quality of sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must use at least one of the following strategies in implementing their projects: 1) implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 2) provide treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities; 3) work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues; 4) develop, enlarge, or strengthen programs addressing sexual assault; and 5) develop programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas. With this continuation rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking project, women in safe homes, in partnership with the ketchikan police department and working against violence for everyone, will implement a sexual assault victim services projectfor the rural alaska communities of ketchikan, metlakatla, wrangell, petersburg, and prince of wales island. Specific activities will include: 1) hiring two sexual assault advocates in ketchikan and petersburg to provide direct services and lead sexual assault response team (SART) activities; 2) coordinatingand providingforensic experiential trauma interview training for law enforcement throughout program service area; 3) providingsane and sane-P training for medical professionals in service area; 4) providinga region wide SART training in ketchikan; 5) establishingadvocate initiated response (air) teams in ketchikan and petersburg; 6) funding a.4 FTE licensed mental health counselor dedicated to working with sexual assault victims; and 7) supporting a.5 FTE coordinator for child advocacy center. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.