The OVW violence against women tribal special assistant united states attorney (tribal sausa) initiative supports tribes and united states attorneys offices (usaos) in their investigation and…

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (CFDA 16.055 - Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorneys) provides $1,250,000 in funding to the Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation located in Cusick, Washington. The purpose of the grant is to support a partnership between the tribe and the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington to investigate and prosecute crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, sex trafficking, and stalking in Indian country. Specifically, the grant will fund the cross-designation of a tribal prosecutor as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) who will maintain active caseloads in both the tribal and federal justice systems. The award will cover the SAUSA's salary, fringe benefits, training, travel, and other operational resources needed to enhance coordination and improve the quality of cases between the tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies. The project period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2029.

The OVW violence against women tribal special assistant united states attorney (tribal sausa) initiative supports tribes and united states attorneys offices (usaos) in their investigation and prosecution of indian country domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, SEX trafficking, and stalking cases. Grant funds support dedicated tribal prosecutors who are cross-designated as tribal sausas to work directly with their usaos. The goals of the program are to fill gaps in jurisdictional coverage; increase communication and coordination with tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies; establish consistent relationships between federal prosecutors and the tribal community(IES); and improve the quality of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, SEX trafficking, and stalking cases through training and best practices. The kalispel indian community of the kalispel reservation is a federally-recognized indian tribe located in washington. For this project, the tribe is partnering with the united states attorneys office for the eastern district of washington (usao).the tribe and usao have demonstrated a strong mutual interest in filling gaps in jurisdictional coverage; increasing communication and coordination between the tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies; establishing consistent relationships between federal prosecutors and the tribal community, and improving the quality of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking cases through training and best practices. Through this project, the partners will: 1) enter into a formal memorandum of understanding detailing the terms of their partnership; 2) mutually select or retain an agreed upon attorney to be cross-designated as both a sausa and a tribal prosecutor who will maintain an active tribal and/or federal caseload; and 3) participate in required training and technical assistance. Funds through this award will support salary and fringe benefits for the sausa position, training, travel, and other resources needed to support the work of the sausa.