The tribal sexual assault services program (TSASP), which is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12511(E), is one of five grant programs funded within the sexual assault services program (SASP)

This Project Grant award of $675,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women under the Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program (CFDA 16.024) will support the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services within their 14-county tribal jurisdiction. The funding will be used to provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment, support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, as well as non-offending family and household members and those collaterally affected. The project will focus on serving a significant number of tribal members who are elders with disabilities, limited English proficient, deaf or hard of hearing, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This three-year project aims to enhance comprehensive sexual assault services for the United Keetoowah Band's 14,404 enrolled tribal members.

SASP was created by the violence against women and department of justice reauthorization act of 2005 (vawa 2005) and is the first federal funding stream dedicated solely to the provision of direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault. Overall, the purpose of SASP is to provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment (e.g., accompanying victims to court, medical facilities, police departments), support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, non-offending family and household members of victims, and those collaterally affected by the sexual assault. TSASP supports projects to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofit tribal organizations within indian country and alaska native villages. With this funding, communities served by the united keetoowah band (UKB) and lighthorse police include the entire 14-county geographic tribal jurisdiction in northeastern OK. KB serves a total of 14,404 enrolled tribal members. This service area includes significant number of tribal members (MINORITIES) who are elders with disabilities, people who are limited english proficient and/or deaf or hard of hearing, as well as members of the lgbtq+ community. Through TSASP funding, new programming will focus upon those tribal members who have encountered sexual assault as a direct victim and/or as a family member affected by sexual assault. This awardwill be a three-year project.