U.S. Department of Justice: Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims

The Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims program aims to address the urgent gap related to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis. The program will support the expansion of crime victim services and community partnerships to ensure these young crime victims are supported—no matter when or where they may access services. Examples of programs that may already be assisting young victims include, but are not limited to: school-based programs, foster care or child welfare programs, counseling and assistance programs, child advocacy programs, court-appointed special advocates, mentoring and tutoring programs, hospital- and medical-based programs, and faith-based programs.

The overarching goal is to support children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis. Awards will be made through two purpose areas. Purpose area 1 (direct services) applicants will achieve this goal by providing direct services and support to these young victims at a community or jurisdictional level. Purpose area 2 (Training and Technical Assistance (TTA)) applicants will achieve this goal by supporting Purpose Area 1 grantees as they develop new initiatives and enhance existing efforts. Purpose areas are described below.

Purpose area 1 (direct services) applicants will develop and execute plans to support children and youth directly, at the community or jurisdictional level. Applicants are expected to work with an Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)-designated national training and technical assistance (TTA) provider to further enhance these efforts and contribute to the growing body of knowledge about these issues and underscore successful practices. Objectives are:

• Objective 1: Deliver information, services, and support to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.
• Objective 2: Build and implement a feedback system to further identify and define the scope of the community- or jurisdiction-specific problem (related to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis), the associated victim needs, the resources and services available, and remaining gaps to be addressed.
• Objective 3: Establish or enhance a seamless, comprehensive, community-driven, and multidisciplinary response to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.

Purpose area 2 (TTA) applicants will develop and activate plans to support the direct services applicants on a national scale, to equip and support the community-based programs as they develop new initiatives or enhance existing efforts. Applicants must determine how to fully support a wide variety of direct services program sites (possibly more than 30) in successfully carrying out their own objectives and activities, and to share key information, lessons learned, and promising practices on a national scale (in close consultation with OVC). Objectives are:

• Objective 1: Actively provide tools and support to the direct services program sites to enhance their delivery of information, services, and support to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.
• Objective 2: Support direct services program sites to establish and apply appropriate feedback systems to further identify and define the scope of the community or jurisdiction-specific problem (related to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis), the associated victim needs, the resources and services available, and remaining gaps to be addressed.
• Objective 3: Where possible, support a comprehensive, community-driven, multidisciplinary response to children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.

Amount: A total of $26,000,000 is available to make awards as follows:

• Purpose Area 1 (Direct Services): Approximately 32 awards will be made, ranging from $300,000-$750,000. The period of performance is 36 months.
• Purpose Area 2 (TTA Provider): One award of up to $2.5 million will be made. The period of performance is 36 months.

Eligibility: Nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizations), faith- and community-based organizations, colleges and universities (including tribal institutions of higher education), public agencies, state agencies, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. Applicants must be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the affects on children and youth who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis.

• Purpose area 1 (Direct Services): Applicants should have proven experience in serving this unique niche of crime victims; and knowledge and understanding of the best practices to support these crime victims. Applicants must have the staff, resources, and capacity to develop new initiatives or enhance existing programs proposed to address the areas of victimization described in the solicitation (see pages 5–9 of the solicitation for additional details).
• Purpose area 2 (Training and Technical Assistance): Applicants must have: (1) the demonstrated ability to provide in-depth and targeted TTA on a national scale; (2) demonstrated experience and expertise providing TTA in the areas of crime victimization, particularly with children and youth, and the types of services described in this solicitation; (3) experience developing high-quality online publications and TTA resources for broad dissemination to the victim services field; and (4) the demonstrated ability to forge partnerships with other groups and organizations to fulfill specialized TTA needs such as sharing best practices in providing services to children and youth, and to understand the complexities of addiction.

Both purpose area 1 and 2: A nonprofit organization does not have to have 501(c)(3) status to apply for grant funding under this solicitation.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=305777

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