FY19 Appropriations Bill Becomes Law
Dear Administrators:
Thankfully, just ahead of a second government shutdown, the FY19 appropriations bill has been passed by both the House and Senate and subsequently signed by the President.
Of great interest to VAWA Administrators, $497,500,000 was transferred from the Crime Victims Fund to support STOP VAWA Formula and Discretionary grants.
Here’s a breakdown of how the $497.5 million will be allocated:
(1) $215,000,000 is for grants to combat violence against women (STOP Formula grants)
(2) $36,000,000 is for transitional housing assistance grants for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault
(3) $3,000,000 is for the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics for research, evaluation, and statistics of violence against women and related issues addressed by grant programs of the Office on Violence Against Women, which shall be transferred to “Research, Evaluation and Statistics” for administration by the Office of Justice Programs
(4) $11,000,000 is for a grant program to provide services to advocate for and respond to youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; assistance to children and youth exposed to such violence; programs to engage men and youth in preventing such violence; and assistance to middle and high school students through education and other services related to such violence
(5) $53,000,000 is for grants to encourage arrest policies as authorized by part U of the 1968 Act, of which $4,000,000 is for a homicide reduction initiative
(6) $37,500,000 is for sexual assault victims’ assistance
(7) $42,000,000 is for rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement assistance grants,
(8) $20,000,000 is for grants to reduce violent crimes against women on campus
(9) $45,000,000 is for legal assistance for victims
(10) $5,000,000 is for enhanced training and services to end violence against and abuse of women in later life
(11) $16,000,000 is for grants to support families in the justice system
(12) $6,000,000 is for education and training to end violence against and abuse of women with disabilities
(13) $1,000,000 is for the National Resource Center on Workplace Responses to assist victims of domestic violence
(14) $1,000,000 is for analysis and research on violence against Indian women
(15) $500,000 is for a national clearinghouse that provides training and technical assistance on issues relating to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native women
(16) $4,000,000 is for grants to assist tribal governments in exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction
(17) $1,500,000 is for the purposes authorized under the 2015 Act.
The full bill can be accessed at the following link:
https://docs.house.gov/
Should you choose to review the entire appropriations bill, there are 1169 pages. The section specific to OVW/VAWA can be found on pages 237-242.
Take care,
Barry