FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | VAWO | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1999 | 202/307-0703 |
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES OVER $161 MILLION
FOR COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Vice President Gore today announced that the Justice Department is awarding $138.4 million to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories to improve law enforcement, prosecution and victim service responses to domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Gore also announced another $22.9 million for 69 jurisdictions in 32 states and five territories to help investigate and prosecute domestic violence as a serious criminal offense.
"The Administration's Violence Against Women Act and the funding that it provides has led to a sea change in attitude and action, where victim advocates now work hand-in-hand with community police officers and others to prevent and respond to domestic violence," said Gore. "Their joint efforts ensure we hold offenders accountable, keep our communities safe, and help victims."
The awards mark the fifth year of the STOP (Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women formula grant program and the fourth year of the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies program, both authorized by the Violence Against Women Act, part of President Clinton's 1994 Crime Law. Since its enactment, the Justice Department has awarded over half a billion dollars under five Violence Against Women Act grant programs.
"We are also using our Grants to Encourage Arrest funding to train state and local police officers, prosecutors, judges and victim advocates so that victims know that protection orders from one state can be used in another," said Attorney General Reno. "In addition to raising awareness about full faith and credit, we're using the funds to improve and establish state-wide protection order registries."
Before enactment of the full faith and credit provision, victims with protection orders in one state could not use that order if the victim went to work in, traveled to, or moved to most other states. Now states must honor other states' protection orders.
The STOP grants are awarded by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) to designated state agencies, which must award 25 percent of the funds they receive to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution and 25 percent to victim services' programs. The remaining 25 percent of the funding may be allocated at the state's discretion for other STOP program purposes.
VAWO is awarding Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies to 46 communities to continue projects begun with FY 1996 or FY 1997 dollars. Twenty-three new grantees will also receive arrest program funds. In addition to enforcing protection orders, these funds can be used to combat stalking, provide for the education of judges and others about domestic violence, develop systems to track domestic violence cases and strengthen services for domestic violence victims.
Lists of the FY 1999 STOP grants and the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies are attached. For more information about the STOP and arrest programs or other violence against women efforts, visit the Violence Against Women Grants Office web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/VAWO or OJP's web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, or call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free on 1/800-851-3420.
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VAW99049
After hours, contact: Linda Mansour on 202/616-3534 or page on beeper number
STATE |
JURISDICTION |
AMOUNT |
ALABAMA | Birmingham |
$154,103 |
ALASKA | State of Alaska |
$487,697 |
ARIZONA | Coconino County |
$647,974 |
Salt River Pima-Maricopa |
$487,476 | |
White Mountain Apache Tribe |
$452,525 | |
ARKANSAS | Little Flock |
$360,583 |
CALIFORNIA | Antioch |
$634,870 |
Humboldt County |
$244,547 | |
Lake County |
$650,768 | |
Marin County |
$250,000 | |
Mariposa County |
$260,076 | |
Riverside County |
$100,000 | |
San Mateo County |
$781,356 | |
Tulare County |
$674,036 | |
COLORADO | Colorado Springs |
$700,000 |
State of Colorado |
$564,262 | |
CONNECTICUT | New Haven |
$975,000 |
FLORIDA | State of Florida |
$358,525 |
Glades County |
$91,844 | |
IDAHO | Bonneville County |
$100,000 |
MASSACHUSETTS | Boston |
$650,000 |
Brookline |
$203,539 | |
MASSACHUSETTS | Framingham |
$287,728 |
Williamsburg |
$140,335 | |
MICHIGAN | Marquette County |
$260,000 |
MINNESOTA | Hennepin County |
$765,898 |
MISSOURI | Lee's Summit |
$254,385 |
MONTANA | Chippewa Cree Tribe |
$145,847 |
Northern Cheyenne Tribe |
$142,584 | |
NEVADA | State of Nevada |
$50,000 |
NEW HAMPSHIRE | Manchester |
$340,412 |
NEW YORK | Cayuga County |
$363,001 |
Erie County |
$395,519 | |
Monroe County |
$161,937 | |
New York City |
$250,000 | |
State of New York |
$500,000 | |
State of New York
(Center for Court Innovation) |
$619,560 | |
OHIO | Cuyahoga County |
$185,000 |
OREGON | Gresham |
$347,319 |
Jackson County |
$472,236 | |
TEXAS | Austin |
$750,000 |
UTAH | Salt Lake City |
$337,291 |
VERMONT | St. Albans |
$255,534 |
St. Johnsbury |
$248,839 | |
VIRGINIA | Commonwealth of Virginia |
$282,457 |
WASHINGTON | State of Washington |
$200,000 |
TOTAL |
(46) |
$17,585,063 |
NOTE: These are tentative award amounts pending final budget review.
February 1999
STATE |
JURISDICTION |
AMOUNT |
AMERICAN SAMOA | American Samoa |
$25,000 |
ARIZONA | State of Arizona |
$100,000 |
GUAM | Guam |
$25,000 |
ILLINOIS | State of Illinois |
$234,027 |
IOWA | State of Iowa |
$380,357 |
KANSAS | State of Kansas |
$50,000 |
MASSACHUSETTS | Lowell |
$361,932 |
MINNESOTA | State of Minnesota |
$250,000 |
MISSOURI | State of Missouri |
$250,000 |
St. Louis |
$250,000 | |
NEW MEXICO | State of New Mexico |
$100,000 |
NORTH CAROLINA | State of North Carolina |
$378,041 |
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS | Northern Mariana Islands |
$25,000 |
OREGON | Portland |
$725,000 |
PENNSYLVANIA | Butler County |
$378,698 |
Philadelphia |
$250,000 | |
PUERTO RICO | Puerto Rico |
$25,000 |
SOUTH CAROLINA | Spartanburg |
$282,271 |
TEXAS | Bastrop County |
$422,309 |
VIRGINIA | Alexandria |
$500,000 |
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS | U.S. Virgin Islands |
$25,000 |
WASHINGTON | Mountlake Terrace |
$181,903 |
WYOMING | State of Wyoming |
$50,000 |
TOTAL |
(23) |
$5,269,538 |
NOTE: These are tentative award amounts pending final budget review.
February 1999