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

This Project Grant award of $750,000 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) will enable Caring Unlimited Corporation, a non-profit organization in Sanford, Maine, to implement the Rural Domestic Violence Response Team Project over a 36-month period. Key activities under this grant include: 1) providing advocacy, safety planning, and support group services to 150 rural victims per year; 2) offering civil legal advocacy to 100 survivors; 3) conducting support groups, including at the York County Jail; 4) distributing personal safety alarms to high-risk victims; 5) leading coordinated community response and high-risk response team meetings; 6) maintaining a domestic violence investigator in the York County Sheriff's Office; and 7) providing training to rural law enforcement and partners on domestic violence case procedures. The project aims to enhance the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities through collaborative efforts among victim service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and other key stakeholders.

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, caring unlimited, in partnership with the york county sheriffs office and york countys district attorneys office, will implement the rural domestic violence response team project. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for 27 eligible census tracts in york county, maine. Specific activities will include: 1) providing advocacy, safety planning, and support group services to 150 rural victims per year; 2) providing civil legal advocacy to 100 survivors; 3) conducting a general support group and a support group for incarcerated women at the york county jail; 4) providing libris personal safety alarms to high risk victims; 5) leading quarterly coordinated community response meetings and high-risk response team meetings; 6) maintaining a domestic violence investigator in the york county sherriff office to conduct 48-hour follow-UPS on approximately 50 cases annually, identify high risk cases, monitor defendants bail conditions, jail calls, protection orders, and refer cases; and 7) providing training to rural law enforcement and other partners from the york county district attorneys office on domestic violence case procedures. Caring unlimited will work with law enforcement and with feedback from survivors to develop wallet cards or similar resources law enforcement can give to victims about victim services, non-fatal strangulation, and the protection from abuse order process. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.