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 Mountain Comprehensive Care Center, Inc. $950,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) for a continuation project addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities.

Mountain Comprehensive Care Center delivers victim services and programs in partnership with Turning Point Domestic Violence Services. The project operates in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, through September 30, 2028. The Rural Program funds services that identify, assess, and respond to child, youth, and adult victims in rural communities; establish and expand victim services; increase safety and well-being through direct response and prevention strategies; and develop or improve sexual assault forensic medical examination and sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Recipients must employ at least one of five specified strategies: cooperative efforts among law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers; treatment, counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance for victims; community-based education and prevention; programs addressing sexual assault; or strategies targeting geographically isolated and remote rural areas.

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, mountain comprehensive care center, in partnership with turning point domestic violence services, appalachian research & defense fund of KY, floyd county sheriffs office, johnson county sheriffs office, pike county sheriffs office, magoffin county sheriffs office, and big sandy area community action program, will continue to implement the big sandy sexual assault assistance program. This victim service and sane/sart project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for floyd, johnson, magoffin, martin and pike counties which comprise the big sandy region located in eastern kentucky and within rural appalachia. Specific activities will include: 1) increasing the safety and well-being of rural child, youth, and adult victims of sexual assault and other forms of IPV, including underserved populations, through provision of the healing place sexual assault crisis center and immediate, short and long-term services; 2) improving the community response to rural child, youth, and adult victims of sexual assault and other forms of IPV through expansion of a regional sart, saic, CCR; and 3) increasing access to services for rural child, youth, and adult victims of sexual assault and other forms of IPV, including underserved populations, through enhanced training for community partners and appropriate outreach strategies.