FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2001?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS KANSAS $1.3 MILLION
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft announced
today that the Justice Department is awarding $1.3 million to Kansas 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 Kansas over
$7.9? million in STOP funds since 1995,
for total funding exceeding $10.1 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 Kansas has used its STOP funds to develop
a coordinated approach to violence against women.? Current project priorities include:
?
Providing training to
law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and advocates on domestic
violence, sexual assault and stalking;
?
Developing, installing
and expanding data collection and communication systems to not only link law
enforcement agencies, prosecutors offices and courts but to also to identify
and track arrests, protection orders, violation of protection orders,
prosecutions and convictions for violent crimes against women; and
?
Maintaining a statewide
toll-free crisis line.
?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 Kansas STOP grant contact Juliene A. Maska, in the Office
of the State Attorney General, at 785/296-2215.? 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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VAW01142
After
hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager #888/763-8943