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…

This Project Grant award of $1,000,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), under the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (CFDA 16.590), supports the Unified Court System of New York State's efforts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Erie County, New York.

Key project activities include: 1) Assigning a Project Director to the Erie County Integrated Domestic Violence (IDV) Court to analyze firearm issues in criminal and family court cases; 2) Hiring a new Victim Advocate with a focus on firearm possession by abusers; 3) Establishing a Firearms Stakeholder Team to develop protocols for firearm surrender, transmission, and communication between law enforcement, the community, and the courts; 4) Enhancing offender firearm surrender accountability through judicial compliance and monitoring; and 5) Providing culturally informed and trauma-sensitive training for judicial and non-judicial court staff, law enforcement, and other stakeholders on best practices for firearm investigation, response, and surrender in cases involving intimate partner violence.

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 unified court system of new york state, in partnership with children and family services of erie, implemented in erie county new york addresses icjr purpose areas 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12. Additionally, this project addresses OVW priority area 1: advance racial equity and/or tribal sovereignty. Specific activities include: 1) assignment of a project director to erie county IDV court to analyze the firearm issues that present in each criminal and family court case assigned to that court; 2) strengthening services for victims of IPV seeking orders of protection with the hiring of a new victim advocate with special focus on firearm possession by abuser; 3) establishment of a firearms stakeholder team to develop protocols for firearm surrender transmission and communication between law enforcement, the community, and the courts; 4) enhancement of offender firearm surrender accountability through judicial compliance and monitoring; 5) culturally informed and trauma sensitive training for judicial and non-judicial court staff as well as law enforcement and a broad range of stakeholders on best practices for firearm investigation, response and surrender in cases involving IPV; and 6) reviewing existing UCS technology to streamline transmission of protocols.