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 Mississippi Public Health Institute $493,531 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589). The award funds victim services and prevention strategies addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural Mississippi communities through September 30, 2028. Work is performed in Madison, Mississippi. The recipient is implementing the project in partnership with Haven House Domestic Violence Shelter. The program authorizes grantees to identify, assess, and respond to child, youth, and adult victims; establish and expand victim services; increase safety and well-being through immediate crisis response and prevention awareness; and develop or improve sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must deploy at least one of five strategies, including cooperative law enforcement and prosecution efforts, direct treatment and advocacy services, community education and prevention initiatives, sexual assault program expansion, or interventions targeting victims in remote and geographically isolated 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 new OVW rural program project, the mississippi public health institute (MSPHI), in partnership with haven house domestic violence shelter, the prosecuting attorney of warren county, and the warren county sheriffs office, will implement the mississippi domestic violence rural partnership project. This victim services, law enforcement, and prosecution project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for warren, sharkey, issaquena, and yazoo countiesfour rural, underserved counties in mississippis delta region. Specific activities will include: 1) establishing a coordinated, multidisciplinary domestic violence high risk team to identify and respond to high-risk cases using evidence-based practices, including the lethality assessment protocol; 2) supporting trauma-informed services such as advocacy, emergency shelter, telehealth-based counseling, peer support, and housing assistance; and 3) training for local shelter staff to increase knowledge on the signs of mental health and substance use disorders.