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 Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska $500,000 under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) on October 1, 2025. The award funds victim services and prevention strategies in rural Alaska communities, with performance running through September 30, 2028, and administrative placement in Juneau. The Rural Program supports identification, assessment, and response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking affecting children, youth, and adults in rural areas, including victim services, law enforcement and prosecution coordination, counseling and advocacy, education and prevention initiatives, sexual assault forensic medical examination or nurse examiner programs, and strategies addressing the needs of victims in remote and geographically isolated communities. Recipients must employ at least one of five specified implementation strategies. This is a Project Grant. The tribe represents approximately 34,000 tribal citizens across Southeast Alaska and delivers comprehensive federal grant programming spanning cultural preservation, environmental management, healthcare, education, transportation, and community development through partnerships with entities including the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Washington State University.

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 central council of the tlingit & haida indian tribes of alaska (tlingit & haida), in partnership with the village public safety officer (vpso) program, tlingit & haida tribal court, local school districts, regional elders committee, and HAA toch lichesh coalition, will implement the southeast alaska safe futures initiative. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1 and 3 for the over 20 rural and remote tribal communities across southeast alaska. Specic activities will include: 1) launching youth prevention education sessions in 10+ villages using culturally rooted curricula and hosting a regional youth summit; 2) hosting trauma-informed training for public safety officers and developing a regional response guide; 3) providing direct outreach and safety planning services for survivors, with virtual and in-person options; 4) creating and implementing a regional missing and murdered indigenous persons (mmip) community response plan; 5) convening regular multidisciplinary team (MDT) and coordinated community response (CCR) meetings; and 6) distributing culturally appropriate outreach and education materials (e.g., brochures, safety toolkits, curricula). During the project, the recipient will develop the following products: youth education toolkit (print and digital), curriculum packets, promotional materials, response guide, training materials, safety brochures, resource directories, outreach kits, final mmip community response plan (tcrp), protocols, and mmip evaluation report.