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, 5 percent to courts and 15 percent at the state?s discretion for other STOP program purposes.


??????????? 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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After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager #888/763-8943