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

This $700,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (CFDA 16.589 - Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program) will enable Satilla Health Foundation, Inc. (dba Satilla Advocacy Services) to enhance victim safety and support services in the rural counties of Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce, and Ware in Georgia, with a proposed expansion into Atkinson and Clinch counties. Key activities include:

1. Expanding organizational capacity by hiring a Program Manager and Project Manager to improve outreach, awareness, and provide victim services and crisis intervention, with a focus on the expansion counties.

2. Establishing a satellite office in Atkinson or Clinch counties to offer sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) exams, forensic interviews, and supportive services.

3. Contracting a SANE nurse to provide on-call coverage, especially in the expansion communities, and expanding the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) to cover Clinch and Atkinson counties.

4. Partnering with the Satilla Advocacy Services' Latino Outreach Program to improve Hispanic/Latino community outreach and services, including hiring a bilingual Community Awareness and Prevention Coordinator.

5. Providing community training and outreach materials in Spanish to serve the Hispanic/Latino population.

The 36-month project period runs from Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2027.

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 by encouraging collaboration among victim service providers, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, other criminal justice service providers, human and community service providers, educational institutions, and health care providers; 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. Through this new OVW rural program project, satilla health foundation, INC, in partnership with ruths cottage and the patticake house latino outreach program, will implement ruths cottage and the patticake house latino outreach program. This project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3IN the rural counties of bacon brantley, charlton, coffee, pierce, and ware, with a proposed expansion of services in atkinson and clinch counties. Specific activities will include: 1) expanding organizational capacity by hiring a program manager and a project manager to enhance outreach and awareness activities and provide supportive victim services and crisis intervention, with a focus on the expansion and target populations; 2) establishing a satellite office in atkinson or clinch counties to provide sane exams, forensic interviews, and supportive services; 3) adding a contracted sane nurse to provide on-call coverage, especially within expansion communities; expand sart team to cover services in clinch and atkinson counties; 4) partnering with ruths cottage latino outreach program to improve skills and capacity for hispanic outreach and services, contract with a prevention education consultant to expand outreach and services, bilingual community awareness and prevention coordinator to facilitate latino outreach program in hispanic community; 5) providing community training in spanish; and 6) providing outreach and promotional materials in spanish. The project will address priority area 2: prevent and end sexual assault. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.