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

This $590,986 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) supports the Southeastern Idaho Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Service Providers Collaborative. The 36-month project, led by Oneida Crisis Center, Inc. in partnership with Family Service Alliance and Bingham Crisis Center, provides comprehensive victim services to individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in the rural communities of Power, Caribou, Bannock, Bingham, Oneida, and Franklin Counties. Key activities include 24/7 crisis hotlines, crisis intervention, medical/legal advocacy, civil protection order assistance, case management, counseling referrals, emergency shelter, and financial education. The project also focuses on sexual assault awareness, prevention outreach, and enhancing advocate response through training.

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 continuation OVW rural program project, oneida crisis center, INC., in partnership with family service alliance and bingham crisis center, will implement the southeasternidaho sexual assault/domestic violenceservice providers collaborative. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1 and 3 for power, caribou, bannock, bingham, oneida, and franklin counties within rural southeastern idaho. Specific activities will include: 1) continuation of victim services within rural southeastern idaho through providing english and spanish 24/7 crisis hotlines, crisis intervention, medical and legal advocacy, assistance with civil protection orders, case management, holistic healing modalities, support groups, safety planning, mental health counseling/referrals, emergency shelter, and financial education along with limited emergency financial assistance; 2) sexual assault awareness & prevention outreach activities by providing outreach focused on awareness, prevention, and service availability for individuals impacted by non-intimate partner sexual assault, including sexual assault across the lifespan; and 3) enhanced advocate response to sexual assault victims by utilizing training funds for the sexual assault advocate to attend sexual assault nurse examiner (sane) training and also to become a certified forensic interview structure. The project will address priority area 2: prevent and end sexual assault. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.