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

The Office on Violence Against Women awarded Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners - Forensic Center of Excellence $499,689 under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) on October 1, 2025. The award funds a comprehensive, survivor-centered project delivering sexual assault forensic medical examination and sexual assault nurse examiner services in rural communities across Texas, with performance through September 30, 2028. Work is performed in Houston, Texas. The Rural Program authorizes funding to identify, assess, and respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities; establish and expand victim services; increase safety and well-being of women and children by addressing these crimes and creating prevention strategies; and develop, expand, and improve sexual assault forensic medical examination and nurse examiner programs. Grantees must implement at least one of five prescribed strategies, including cooperative efforts among law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers; treatment, counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance to victims; community education and prevention; sexual assault program development; or specialized programming for victims in remote or 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, texas forensic nurse examiners: forensic center of excellence (FCE) will implement a comprehensive, survivor-centered sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) services project. This SANE initiative project addresses the following purpose areas; 1, 2, and 4 for dimmit, edwards, frio, kerr, kinney, LA salle, maverick, real, uvalde, VAL verde, and zavala counties in southwest texas. Specific activities will include: 1) establishing SANE services by increasing the number and availability of nurses who are trained and certified to perform medical forensic examinations by recruiting, hiring, training and expanding access to training and clinical education, including peer support and mentoring; 2) improving access to comprehensive post-assault care and other support services the promote healing and address the emerging needs of victims and survivors by connecting victims to advocacy services in rural southwest texas; and 3) supporting activities that facilitate and strengthen coordinated community responses through participation in sexual assault response teams and seeking out partnerships with culturally specific organizations that serve special or underserved populations. This application proposes to address the rural SANE initiative.