The grants to improve the criminal justice response program (icjr program) assists state, local, and tribal governments, and courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence,…

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded Hope House, Inc. $736,112 under the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (CFDA 16.590) on April 1, 2026.

Hope House will deploy a Justice Systems Coordinator and victim advocates to manage the project and provide direct victim support. The recipient will establish workgroups to identify and address domestic violence issues in its service area, deliver training to criminal justice professionals and first responders, and continue operating a Lethality Assessment Program. The award period runs through March 31, 2029, with performance at Hope House's location in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Hope House, a tax-exempt nonprofit headquartered in Lee's Summit with four decades of experience serving survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, operates as a prime grantee focused on victim-centered transitional housing and supportive services throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and surrounding Missouri counties. The organization has received prior OVW funding under the Transitional Housing Assistance Grants and Justice for Families programs, and holds additional federal awards from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Continuum of Care Program and the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime.

The grants to improve the criminal justice response program (icjr program) assists state, local, and tribal governments, and courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law, and to seek safety and autonomy for victims. The project would support the following activities: 1) a justice systems coordinator and victim advocates to coordinate the project and help victims; 2) workgroups to identify and address current domestic violence issues; 3) training for criminal justice professionals and first responders; and 4) continuation of the lethality assessment program.