The grants to improve the criminal justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking grant program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10461-10465 and implemented through…

The City of Duluth, Minnesota was awarded a $500,000 Project Grant under the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women's Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (CFDA 16.590). The grant will fund a collaborative effort between the City of Duluth and the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA) to enhance the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the Duluth area. Key project activities include: 1) trauma-informed response and investigation of reported sexual assaults with referrals to PAVSA, 2) advocacy accompaniment for victim interviews, 3) use of soft interview rooms at preferred locations, 4) short-term individual and group support services for participants in substance use and community corrections programs, and 5) development of revised guidelines for the coordinated community response to sexual assault. PAVSA will serve as a sub-grantee to provide site coordinator services under this 3-year grant, which was awarded on October 1, 2024.

The grants to improve the criminal justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking grant program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 10461-10465 and implemented through regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 90, subpart d. The program fosters victim safety and offender accountability in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by encouraging state, local, and tribal governments and courts to work collaboratively with community partners to identify problems and share ideas that will result in effectively responding to these crimes. An integral component of this program is the development, revitalization, or enhancement of a coordinated community response that brings together criminal justice agencies, victim services providers, and community-based organizations that respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Grants to improve the criminal justice response (icjr) project by city of duluth, in partnership with program for aid to victims of sexual assault (pavsa), implemented in duluth minnesota addresses icjr purpose areas 18 and 19. Additionally, this project addresses OVW priority area 3: services to sexual assault survivors. Specific activities include: 1) trauma-informed response and investigation of reported sexual assault including referrals to pavsa; 2) advocacy accompaniment for victim-survivor interviews; 3) use of soft interview room in location of victim-survivors preference at the police station and pavsas downtown location; 4) short-term individual and group support services to participants in a substance use and community corrections program; 5) develop revised guidelines for the coordinated community response to sexual assault. .