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

This $750,000 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 a 36-month initiative by Catholic Charities of Oregon to enhance services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural Oregon communities. The project will establish a consistent rural presence, deliver training to increase awareness and knowledge of available services, provide direct immigration assistance to Latinx immigrant survivors, conduct pro bono attorney training, update U Visa protocols, and deliver direct victim services through collaborative partnerships with local organizations. The project specifically targets underserved Latinx immigrant survivors in rural and isolated areas of 27 Oregon counties.

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, catholic charities, in partnership with the harbor, helping hands against violence, my sisters place, and tides of change, will implement the catholic charities rural program. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: purpose areas 1, 2, and 3 for all of baker, clatsop, coos, crook, curry, douglas, gilliam, grant, harney, hood river, jefferson, klamath, lake, lincoln, malheur, morrow, sherman, tillamook, umatilla, union, wallowa, wasco, wheeler, and yamhill counties and parts of benton, clackamas, columbia, deschutes, jackson, josephine, linn, marion, multnomah, polk, and washington counties. Specific activities will include: 1) establishing a consistent, ongoing presence in rural communities through regular in-person, video conferencing and telephone consultations by CC, and annual meetings with the MOU partners, and other key local agencies to foster greater collaboration; 2) CO-hosting at least one training session per year with each MOU partner in their county to increase awareness and local level knowledge for law enforcement and community organizations of DV/SA, and available immigration remedies for victims/survivors; 3 ) providing direct immigration assistance to immigrant survivors of DV/SA who are members of linguistic and cultural minorities living in isolated rural communities (immigration assistance will be provided by CCS in-house staff and a statewide network of trained pro bono attorneys); 4) conducting training for pro bono attorneys; 5) updating existing U visa protocols and facilitating development and adoption of new protocols in rural oregon counties; AND6) providing DV/SA services through the MOU partners. This project targets the following underserved populations: latinx DV/SA survivor immigrants throughout oregon in counties and census tracts that are rural. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.