FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? VAWO
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2001??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? ??????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS NEW JERSEY $2.9
MILLION
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $2.9 million to New
Jersey 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 promote partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the courts and victim advocates to ensure victim
safety and accountability for offenders.
The Justice Department has awarded New Jersey
over $18.4? million in STOP funds since
1995, for total funding exceeding $20.8 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 New Jersey has used its STOP
funds to support various projects that address the needs of women, who are
victims of violence.? Current project
priorities include:
?
Sponsoring a
two day Statewide Conference on the Dynamics of Domestic Violence;
?
Continuing
training programs for law enforcement;
?
Supporting
specialized domestic violence units in the prosecutors? offices of Atlantic,
Gloucester and Warren counties;
?
Continuing
support for the domestic violence fatality review board; and
?
Providing
outreach services for elder abuse.
?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,
??????????? For information about the New Jersey STOP grant contact
Gail Faille, with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, at (609)
588-3175.? Information about the STOP
program and other initiatives involving violence against women issues is
available on VAWO?s Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo or OJP?s Website 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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VAW01147
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
#888/763-8943