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

This $700,000 Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (CFDA 16.589) will enable the Family Violence Project, in partnership with the Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center, to implement the Strength in Unity program. Key project activities include: serving 35 child victims of sexual abuse, providing 12 educational classes for parents who have experienced abuse/assault, attending 24 child abuse and neglect prevention council meetings, developing multilingual marketing materials, conducting 30 forensic interviews with sexual assault victims, delivering 30 domestic violence prevention presentations, accompanying 30 individuals to outside support organizations, and providing two annual support groups for sexual assault survivors. The 36-month project aims to enhance safety and support for victims in the rural Kennebec and Somerset counties of Maine.

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, family violence project, in partnership with sexual assault crisis & support center (sacsc), will implement the strength in unity program. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1 and 3 for kennebec and somerset counties in maine. Specific activities will include: 1) serving 35 child of victims of child sexual abuse; 2) providing 12 educational classes to parents who have experienced abuse and/or assault on the impact for children; 3) attending 24 county child abuse and neglect (can) prevention council meetings; 4) developing general brochures and marketing materials translated into applicable languages; 5) entering a 12-month planning period with sacsc to create policy and procedures for implementing the new collaboration; 6) attending 30 forensic interviews with sexual assault victims; 7) providing 30 domestic violence prevention education presentations to the community and 10 CO-facilitated educational presentations on domestic violence and sexual assault annually; 8) accompanying 30 individuals to outside organizations for support; 9) providing two support groups annually to those who have experienced sexual assault; and 10) conducting up to 50 forensic interviews for those who have experienced assault. The project will address the following priority areas priority area 2: prevent and end sexual assault. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.