FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | VAWO | WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1998 at 6:30 p.m. EDT | 202/307-0703 |
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASSISTANCE TO
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS IN RURAL AREAS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Vice President Gore today announced $19.4 million for 62 jurisdictions to help women and children in rural areas affected by domestic violence. The funds from the Justice Department's Violence Against Women Grants Office (VAWGO) will improve services for these women and children, as well as enhance community involvement in developing a response to domestic violence and child victimization.
"Put simply, no child or woman in America who becomes a victim of domestic abuse should be denied help because of where they live," Vice President Gore said while announcing the grants in New Hampshire. "And that is why I am pleased to announce these funds, which will help rural communities provide better services and support to those who have suffered the devastating physical and emotional effects of domestic violence."
"Domestic violence is a problem that affects every community, but victims in rural areas face special obstacles," added Attorney General Janet Reno. "The money we're giving these rural communities will help victims get the support they often find difficult to access."
This year, VAWGO is awarding more than three times the money and more than twice the number of grants awarded last year under the Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grant Program. Thirty-two new grantees will receive funding in addition to the 30 jurisdictions that will continue projects begun with FY 1996 and FY 1997 grant funds.
"As public awareness about the problem of domestic violence has increased, the focus has been largely on urban areas," said Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "Yet as I travel throughout the country, I've been particularly struck by how different our focus on public safety in rural America must be. This is so true regarding domestic violence. This program is making a difference."
"These grants are bringing rural communities together in new ways to confront domestic violence and child victimization," added Bonnie Campbell, Violence Against Women Office Director. "For the first time in many jurisdictions from Vermont to my native Iowa to Josephine County, Oregon, teams made up of police officers, prosecutors and victim advocates are collaborating to ensure that domestic violence and child abuse cases receive the highest priority and move through the criminal justice system expeditiously, and that victims have access to a full array of services and support."
Josephine County, Oregon, has established a multi-disciplinary Domestic Violence Intervention team to follow cases from the initial call through disposition, providing follow-up services to victims when necessary. Similarly, Ohio's 29 Appalachian counties will establish crisis response teams to conduct training for law enforcement, prosecution and victim service providers, as well as implement public awareness campaigns and provide critical services to isolated victims of domestic violence.
Rural program funds also will be used by Vermont to continue to cross-train domestic violence and child victim advocates and maintain three supervised visitation centers. The Pueblo of Zuni Indians in New Mexico can now expand the domestic violence shelter on their reservation to include a special children's program. Domestic violence victims in the Seeley Lake community, an extremely isolated area of Missoula County, Montana, can continue to receive legal advocacy, crisis counseling and transportation.
Congress appropriated $25 million for this year's rural program. Local jurisdictions within rural states (as defined in the law) are eligible to apply directly for funding. If a state is classified as non-rural, only the state is eligible to apply on behalf of its rural jurisdictions.
Attached is a list of the specific grant awards, identified as implementation or enhancement grants. To learn more about the rural program and other violence against women efforts, visit the Violence Against Women Grants Office web site at
https://ojp.gov/VAWO or OJP's web site at https://ojp.gov, or call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free on 1/800-851-3420.
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VAW98182
After hours contact: Linda Mansour on 202/616-3534 or page on 888/582-6750
FY 1998 RURAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD VICTIMIZATION
ENFORCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS
STATE |
GRANTEE |
AMOUNT |
ALASKA | North Slope Borough |
$692,797 |
ARIZONA | DNA People's Legal Services, Inc. |
$353,718 |
ARKANSAS | Project for Victims of Family Violence |
$135,661 |
CALIFORNIA | Yurok Tribe |
$208,797 |
IDAHO | Family Crisis Center, Inc. |
$187,827 |
IOWA | Iowa Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse |
$392,532 |
MINNESOTA | Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians |
$214,392 |
MONTANA | Sanders County Coalition for Families |
$53,466 |
NEBRASKA | Voices of Children in Nebraska |
$108,562 |
NEVADA | Nevada Office of the Attorney General |
$158,622 |
NEW MEXICO | American Indian Law Center |
$146,054 |
Morning Star House, Inc. |
$558,217 | |
Pueblo of Jemez |
$70,211 | |
San Juan Pueblo | $259,049 | |
Third Judicial District Attorney's Office | $366,181 | |
NEW YORK | New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services |
$429,090 |
NORTH CAROLINA | North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety | $196,940 |
NORTH DAKOTA | North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services |
$265,088 |
Tender Hearts Against Family Violence, Inc. |
$316,807 | |
OHIO | Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services |
$641,282 |
OKLAHOMA | Community Crisis Center, Inc. |
$251,794 |
OREGON | Jefferson County |
$348,179 |
Malheur County District Attorney's Office |
$210,811 | |
State Office for Services to Children and Families |
$158,061 | |
RHODE ISLAND | Rhode Island Governor's Justice Commission |
$365,500 |
SOUTH DAKOTA | Cangleska, Inc. |
$538,230 |
South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault | $685,000 | |
White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc. |
$213,542 | |
TENNESSEE | Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration |
$500,000 |
UTAH | City of Orem |
$100,488 |
VERMONT | Windsor County State's Attorney's Office | $279,562 |
WYOMING | Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault |
$518,653 |
FY 1998 RURAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD VICTIMIZATION
ENFORCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
STATE |
GRANTEE |
AMOUNT |
ARIZONA | Governor's Office for Domestic Violence Prevention |
$668,045 |
CALIFORNIA | California Office of Criminal Justice Planning |
$15,000 |
Inter-Tribal Council of California |
$261,361 | |
COLORADO | City of Woodland Park |
$490,616 |
DELAWARE | Delaware Criminal Justice Council |
$424,975 |
FLORIDA | Florida Department of Community Affairs |
$220,000 |
HAWAII | Hawaii Department of the Attorney General |
$385,836 |
IDAHO | Bonner County Homeless Task Force, Inc. |
$561,589 |
Twin Falls County |
$162,025 | |
IOWA | Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Inc. |
$187,687 |
KANSAS | Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence |
$250,000 |
KENTUCKY | Kentucky Justice Cabinet |
$153,480 |
MAINE | Maine Department of Human Services |
$15,000 |
MASSACHUSETTS | Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Family and Community Health |
$499,833 |
MICHIGAN | Michigan Office of Contract Management |
$15,000 |
MISSISSIPPI | Mississippi Department of Public Safety |
$15,000 |
MONTANA | City of Bozeman |
$164,084 |
Missoula County Office of Planning and Grants |
$252,872 | |
NEW HAMPSHIRE | New Hampshire Department of Justice |
$389,637 |
NEW MEXICO | Pueblo of Zuni |
$317,160 |
NORTH CAROLINA | Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians |
$126,125 |
OREGON | Josephine County District Attorney's Office | $430,000 |
Lower Umpqua Victims' Services |
$367,780 | |
TEXAS | Texas Office of the Governor |
$576,020 |
UTAH | City of Provo | $200,000 |
VERMONT | Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services |
$650,000 |
Women Helping Battered Women |
$237,742 | |
WASHINGTON | Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development |
$691,420 |
WEST VIRGINIA | West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services |
$140,177 |
WISCONSIN | Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance |
$582,701 |