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

This $500,000 Project Grant award under the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) will fund the Montana Community Justice Worker Project. The project, implemented by the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) in partnership with the YWCA of Missoula, Safe Harbor of Lake County, and the Fort Peck Tribes Red Bird Woman Center, aims to enhance services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in two rural Montana counties and seven rural reservations. Key activities include building a network of justice stakeholders, creating a training course for shelter and tribal lay advocates on representing survivors in orders of protection proceedings, providing legal advice and representation to survivors, and conducting outreach to raise victim awareness of available services. The 36-month project period runs from October 1, 2024 to September 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, montana legal services association, in partnership with the YWCA of missoula (YWCA), safe harbor of lake county, and fort peck tribes red bird woman center, will implement the montana community justice worker project. This legal services project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for two rural montana counties (lake and mineral) and seven rural reservations (blackfeet, fort belknap, rocky boys, fort peck, northern cheyenne, crow, and flathead reservations). Specific activities will include: 1) building a network of justice stakeholders to secure approval for community justice workers to represent survivors in orders of protection proceedings; 2) creating a training course for shelter and tribal lay advocates to provide skilled representation to survivors seeking orders of protection in state and tribal courts; 3) ensuring at least one victim advocate from each partner agency completes the orders of protection training framework; 4) representing survivors in orders of protection proceedings; 5) providing attorney shadowing and mentoring opportunities to trained advocates; 6) providing legal advice, brief services, limited scope legal services, and full representation to service area survivors; 7) supervising and mentoring the project staff, holding regular meetings to determine the level of services for each survivor; and 8) conducting outreach to ensure victim awareness of services. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.