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 Safe Voices $750,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589), a continuation grant extending through September 30, 2028.

Safe Voices, a Maine-based nonprofit, will deliver victim services and prevention work across Franklin, Oxford, and Androscoggin Counties. Work is performed in Lewiston, Maine. The program funds 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 including treatment, counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance, as well as education and prevention strategies developed in cooperation with the community.

Safe Voices delivers this work in partnership with Maine Prosecutorial District III and Oxford County Sheriff's Office, implementing cooperative efforts among law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The award supports expansion of victim services in rural communities and increased safety and well-being of women and children through immediate response and awareness-raising strategies addressing these crimes.

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, safe voices, in partnership with maine prosecutorial district III and oxford county sheriffs office, will implement oxford county rural grant project. This victim service, prosecution, and law enforcement project addresses the following purpose areas: 1 and 2 for oxford county, maine. Specific activities will include: 1) offering court advocacy andsupport for victims interacting with the legal system; 2) offering individualized safety planning and ongoing victim services andsupport; 3) outreaching to victims who file protection orders; 4) outreaching to victims who are referred from oxford county sheriffs office; 5) coordinating services for victims to increase access to supports andresources; 6) providing reasonable modifications and accommodations of services to meet the needs of traditionally underserved, vulnerable, LEP, anddisabled populations; 7) facilitating coordinated community response by regularly convening team meetings to participate in case reviews and ongoing assessment of efficacy to identify, assess, andappropriately respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, andsex trafficking; 8) facilitating high-risk response team meetings for cases in which there are indicators of high lethality risk, to coordinate efforts to support victims, raise accountability, and ultimately work to prevent homicide; and 9) coordinating services, supports among law enforcement, prosecution, victim service providers andother parties to investigate, andprosecute incidents while providing support for victims in the criminal justicesystem.