The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is offering a grant to advance culturally responsive victim services for underserved communities.

To advance Executive Order 13929 Safe Policing for Safe Communities, 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 eligible for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To become certified, the law enforcement agency must meet two mandatory conditions: (1) the agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and (2) the agency’s use-of-force policies prohibit chokeholds except in situations where use of deadly force is allowed by law. The certification requirement also applies to law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ discretionary grant funding through a subaward. For detailed information on this certification requirement, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/SafePolicingEO to access the Standards for Certification on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, the Implementation Fact Sheet, and the List of Designated Independent Credentialing Bodies.

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

OVC will consider applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award; however, only one entity may be the applicant. Any others must be proposed as subrecipients (subgrantees). For additional information on subawards, see the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

OVC is committed to enhancing the Nation’s capacity to assist crime victims and provide leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. This solicitation supports the operation and management of OVC’s National Center for Culturally Responsive Victim Services (the Center). The Center provides 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 works to increase the capacity of community-based organizations to address the critical need for culturally relevant, trauma-informed, victim-centered services. The Center’s efforts also align with the Federal government’s goal in advancing equity for all, as outlined in Executive Order 13985.

Statutory Authority: 34 U.S.C. § 20103(c)(1)(A)