OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction Solicitation | O OVW 2021 38008

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2021 38008

The OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ) Solicitation is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), designed to help federally recognized Indian tribes strengthen their ability to hold offenders accountable for certain violent crimes committed in Indian country. The program is rooted in federal law under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended (25 U.S.C. 1304(f)), which provides the legal framework for tribes to exercise SDVCJ in qualifying cases. In practical terms, the grant is meant to support tribes in building or upgrading the systems they need to investigate, prosecute, defend, adjudicate, and supervise SDVCJ cases in a way that protects victims and meets jurisdictional and procedural requirements.

The focus of the funding is on planning and implementing the significant criminal justice system changes required to exercise SDVCJ. This can include developing or substantially revising tribal codes, improving court rules and courtroom procedures, strengthening law enforcement and prosecution capacity, ensuring access to qualified defense counsel, and building coordinated approaches across agencies so cases can move safely and effectively through the system. OVW emphasizes collaboration as a core expectation of the program, encouraging tribes to bring together tribal leadership, courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, probation, victim service providers, and other community partners. The underlying goal is twofold: increase safety and access to justice for victims of domestic violence and dating violence, and ensure that non-Indian offenders who commit domestic violence, dating violence, or violate protection orders within the participating tribe’s Indian country can be held accountable through the tribal justice system.

This specific FY 2021 solicitation is targeted toward two main groups: (1) tribes that have not yet begun exercising SDVCJ and need support to prepare for implementation, and (2) tribes that are already exercising SDVCJ but need funding for broad, system-wide improvements to strengthen and sustain their SDVCJ work. OVW gives examples of these broad-scale improvements such as substantial code development or revisions, major updates to court procedures, and capacity building to improve overall handling of SDVCJ cases. At the same time, the solicitation draws a clear boundary around what it is not primarily intended to fund: tribes that are already exercising SDVCJ and only need help covering discrete, ongoing operational costs tied to SDVCJ cases are directed to apply under a different OVW solicitation specifically labeled as targeted support for exercising tribes. Examples of those more limited, discrete costs include incarceration expenses (including medical care) for non-Indian SDVCJ defendants, defense counsel costs for non-Indian defendants, jury-related costs for SDVCJ trials, and batterers intervention or other post-conviction programming costs.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under CFDA 16.025 (law, justice, and legal services). The funding opportunity number is O-OVW-2021-38008. OVW anticipated making about 10 awards, with an award ceiling of $450,000 per award. Eligible applicants include federally recognized Native American tribal governments, with the listing also noting that other entities may be eligible depending on the additional eligibility guidance in the full solicitation. The solicitation was created on January 12, 2021, and the original closing date was March 26, 2021. OVW also references that awards and program success are tied to OVW performance measures under the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative, and it points applicants to OVW program webpages and prior reports to Congress for context on how projects align with OVW goals. For applicants unsure which solicitation best fits their situation, OVW provided a contact email for guidance: OVW.TribalAffairs@usdoj.gov.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2021 Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.025.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 12, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 26, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $450,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OVW 2021 38008

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