Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, Inc.

Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, Inc. (TAASA), a tax-exempt nonprofit organization headquartered in Austin, Texas, serves as the designated state-level sexual assault coalition in Texas and receives federal grant funding to coordinate comprehensive victim services and implement violence prevention initiatives across the state. Operating as a critical intermediary organization, TAASA leverages federal grants from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to develop statewide strategies addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The organization functions as both a direct service provider and a capacity-building entity, supporting local sexual assault programs, law enforcement agencies, courts, and other stakeholders through training, technical assistance, and coordinated multi-sector partnerships designed to enhance systemic responses to sexual violence.

TAASA's federal grant portfolio demonstrates substantial engagement in three primary categories of work. First, the organization has received recurring Formula Grants under the OVW State and Territory Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program (CFDA 16.556), with recent awards of $252,846 (October 2024–September 2025) and $243,213 (October 2025–September 2026), enabling coordination of statewide victim services activities and collaboration with federal, state, and local entities. Second, TAASA has executed Project Grants from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control focused on sexual violence primary prevention and health equity advancement, including a capacity assessment project (June 2023–June 2024) and an ongoing partnerships implementation initiative (June 2024–June 2028) targeting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and youth. Third, TAASA administers multiple sub-grant programs through the Governor's Office of Texas and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which direct funding to crisis centers statewide through the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) passthrough project, while simultaneously operating specialized initiatives including the Law Enforcement Sexual Assault Training (LESAT) Conference, the Community Multicultural Victim Education Project providing culturally sensitive training to law enforcement and Sexual Assault Response Teams in rural and border areas, the Systems Advocacy Project delivering training on sexual assault legislation and policies to government officials and stakeholders, the Victimization Intervention Evaluation Project utilizing participatory approaches with rape crisis centers, and programs in partnership with Texas A&M University System Health Science Center related to maternal and child health services. These coordinated efforts reflect TAASA's role in building organizational and community capacity while ensuring equitable, trauma-informed responses to sexual assault across Texas.