FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO
FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2001???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS KENTUCKY $1.7
MILLION
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $1.7 million to
Kentucky 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 Kentucky
over $10.4 million in STOP funds since 1995, for total funding exceeding $17.4
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.
Kentucky continues to fund projects that
address identified needs and improve the criminal justice system?s response to
violent crimes against women. ?????????
Current project priorities emphasize:
?
Providing
services for adult female victims of violent crime, which include domestic
violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
?
Strengthening
the coordinated efforts of partner agencies in responding to domestic violence
and sexual assault;
?
Focusing on
special considerations to projects in rural communities, particularly the
Appalachian area of Eastern Kentucky; and
?
Developing and
implementing statewide training initiatives for law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, victims? advocates, judges and other victim service providers
regarding domestic violence.
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 Kentucky STOP grant, contact Donna Langley, Program
Coordinator, Kentucky Justice Cabinet, at 502/564-3251.? Information about the STOP program and other
initiatives involving violence against women issues is available on VAWO?s
Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo or OJP?s Website
at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, or by calling the National
Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at 800/851-3420.
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VAW01125
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
#888/763-8943