U.S. Department of Justice: Justice for Families Program

The Justice for Families Program to improve the response of the civil and criminal justice system to families with a history of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The program supports the following activities for improving the capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court-based and court-related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters.

There are eight distinct purpose areas for the Justice for Families Program. In FY 2021, however, applications are limited to purpose areas 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, listed below (see solicitation for more details per purpose area).

• (Purpose Area 1) Supervised visitation and safe exchange. For a standard project, applicants proposing activities under this purpose area must propose activities under at least one additional purpose area. For a comprehensive project, this purpose area must be included.
• (Purpose Area 3) Training for court-based and court-related personnel. Applicants proposing activities under this purpose area must also propose activities under purpose area 1 and/or 5.
• (Purpose Area 4) Juvenile court resources. Applicants proposing activities under this purpose area must also propose activities under purpose area 1 and/or 5.
• (Purpose Area 5) Court and court-based programs and services. For a standard project, applicants proposing activities under purpose area 5 are not required to propose activities under any other purpose area. (However, OVW will not consider applications that only propose pro se victim assistance programs (purpose area 5(b)) or only propose education and outreach programs (purpose area 5(e)). Applicants may apply to implement additional purpose areas if they choose. For a comprehensive project, purpose area 5 must be included.
• Purpose Area 6) Civil legal assistance. Applicants proposing activities under this purpose area must also propose activities under purpose area 1 and/or 5 for a standard project. This purpose area must be included in a comprehensive project.
• Purpose Area 8) Training within the civil justice system. Applicants proposing activities under this purpose area must also propose activities under purpose area 1 and/or 5.

The Justice for Families Program will support projects that take a coordinated approach to helping families victimized by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as they navigate the justice system. To help achieve this coordinated approach, applicants may propose either a standard project or a comprehensive project.

• Standard Project: Applicants must propose activities either under purpose area 1 (supervised visitation) or 5 (courts). If an applicant is proposing to provide supervised visitation/safe exchange services (purpose area 1), the applicant must propose activities under at least one additional purpose area. The courts purpose area (purpose area 5) can be addressed in combination with another purpose area or on its own under any one or more of the purpose area 5 sub-categories. However, applications that address pro se victim assistance programs (purpose area 5(b)) or propose education and outreach programs (purpose area 5(e)) also must propose activities under at least one more purpose area 5 subcategory or other purpose area(s).
• Comprehensive Project: Applicants must propose activities under purpose areas 1 (supervised visitation), 5 (courts), and 6 (civil legal services). Applicants may include additional purpose areas in a comprehensive project application but are required to include purpose areas 1, 5, and 6.

Priority areas are:

• Reduce violent crime against women and promote victim safety through investing in law enforcement, increasing prosecution, and promoting effective prevention.
• Increase resources for courts and tribes to register protection orders in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and give access to tribes to crime information systems.
  Increase efforts to combat stalking.

Amount: The program typically makes awards in the range of $550,000 for standard projects and $650,000 for comprehensive projects. OVW estimates that it will make up to 19 standard awards and three to five comprehensive awards for an estimated $13,000,000.

Eligibility: States, units of local government, courts (including juvenile courts), tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, legal services providers, and victim service providers.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=330002

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