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

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded the Alaska Institute for Justice $750,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589). The funding supports victim services, legal assistance, and case management across rural Alaska through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in Anchorage, Alaska.

AIJ implements this continuation project in partnership with the Kodiak Women's Resource and Crisis Center, which provides core victim services including systems outreach advocacy and case management. The Kodiak sub-recipient makes referrals to AIJ and Kodiak Police Department for survivors requiring legal and language access services, participates in monthly collaborative case review meetings, and engages in Sexual Assault Response Team activities. The sub-award was effective January 1, 2026.

The program addresses identification, assessment, and response to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities through victim services, treatment, counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance strategies. AIJ's portfolio under this and related OVW funding also includes civil legal services in family law, immigration, employment, housing, protection orders, and criminal justice matters for survivors in Anchorage and statewide. The obligated amount is $750,000.

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; 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, the alaska institute for justice (AIJ), in partnership with kodiak womens resource and crisis center (KWRCC) and kodiak police department (KPD), will implement the legal services and advocacy for rural and remote survivors in alaska to improve law enforcement response and coordination between agencies project. This victim services and law enforcement project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for all rural areas of alaska. Specific activities will include: 1) hiring a rural staff attorney and funding a systems outreach advocate and a case management positions to provide core services for rural survivors; 2) hiring a systems outreach advocate and case management participating in coordinated community response and sexual assault response team to improve coordination between agencies and to ensure survivor safety and support throughout the criminal justice process; 3) creating awareness opportunities in partnership with KWRCC through legal clinics; 4) providing legal services statewide to 100 survivors in rural alaska annually; and 5) supporting language interpreter center for access to trained interpreters and translators in over 100 languages.