FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO
TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2001??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS MINNESOTA $1.9
MILLION
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $1,976,000 to Minnesota
to prevent and respond to violence against women, as part of this year?s
STOP? (Services, Training, Officers and
Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program.? This program is funded under the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA).
??No
American should feel outside the protection of the law, or beyond the reach of
the law.? The STOP program supports
communities that champion victims? rights and develops coordinated responses to
violence against women,? said Attorney General Ashcroft.? ?The funds will give law enforcement and
victim services the resources they need to do a better job of investigating,
prosecuting and preventing crimes against women.? We must continue to provide our communities with the resources to
hold offenders accountable and to meet the needs of victims.?
??????????? STOP funds are used to develop partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the courts and victim services? to ensure victim safety and accountability
for offenders.
The Justice Department has awarded Minnesota
over $16.9? million in STOP funds since
1995, for total funding exceeding $36.4
million under the VAWA grant programs since the enactment of the VAWA
legislation in 1994.? In the President?s
FY 2002 budget request, the Justice Department seeks $390 million in overall
VAWA funding, a $102.52 million increase over FY 2001.???????????
Through this funding, states and communities
are urged to restructure and strengthen the criminal justice system response to
domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, utilizing the expertise of all
participants working in the system, including victim advocates.?
The State of Minnesota is focusing efforts on making law enforcement
and prosecution services more accessible to victims of domestic violence and
sexual assault.? State plans also
include training for law enforcement and prosecution to enhance their
responsiveness? to domestic violence and
sexual assault. In particular, Minnesota will continue to concentrate on
serving the needs of women of color and American Indian women who are victims
of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.? Advocacy services will be strengthened and delivery of such
services to racial, cultural, and ethnic minorities will be improved.
?The
STOP Program is authorized under the Violence Against Women Acts of 1994 and
2000.? 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, 30 percent to victim
services,
5 percent to courts and 15 percent at the state?s discretion for STOP
program purposes.
??????????? For information about the Minnesota STOP grant contact
Rachel Bandy, in the Minnesota Center for Crime Victim Services, at
651/205-4826.? Information about the
STOP program and other initiatives involving violence against women issues is
available on VAWO?s Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo
or OJP?s Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/,
or by calling the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at
800/851-3420.
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VAW01132
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
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