The Department of Justice (DOJ) / Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is offering this grant to establish a National Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services.

To advance Executive Order 13929 Safe Policing for Safe Communities, as of October 28, 2020, the Attorney General determined that all state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process to be allocated FY 2021 DOJ discretionary grant funding, as either a recipient or a subrecipient. For detailed information on this new certification requirement, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/SafePolicingEO.

All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

The program provides for the development, operation, and management of the Office for Victims of Crime’s National Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services (the Center). The Center will facilitate the delivery of national-scale, high-quality training and technical assistance to increase access to victim services and victim compensation for victims of crime in areas that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality, including communities of color. See Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government § 2(b) (January 20,2021) (defining “underserved communities”). The Center will increase the capacity of community-based organizations to address the critical need for culturally relevant, trauma-informed, victim-centered services. The Center’s efforts will also align with the Federal government’s goal in advancing equity for all, as outlined in Executive Order 13985.