Contact: Violence Against Women Office, 202-307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS RHODE ISLAND
$888,000
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $888,000 to Rhode
Island 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 Rhode
Island over $4.8 million in STOP funds
since 1995, for total funding exceeding $7.9? 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 Rhode Island? has used STOP funds to develop a
comprehensive, statewide plan to reduce violent crimes against women and to
enhance victim services? response to sexual assault. The Rhode Island Governor?s
Justice Commission has fostered a multi-disciplinary approach to
addressing? violence against women by
bringing together victim advocates and representatives of law enforcement,
prosecution, and the courts.? STOP funds
are being used to establish or sustain the following initiatives:??????
?
A specialized
domestic violence and sexual assault unit in the Department of the Attorney
General;
?
A Restraining
Order/No Contact Orders Registry (RONCO), available to law enforcement and the
judiciary 24 hours-a-day;
?
A
train-the-trainer program for law enforcement professionals to improve law
enforcement response to domestic violence and sexual assault cases; and
?
The? Network to End Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault, a coordinated effort by several organizations to support training for
volunteer advocates to respond to domestic and sexual assault, and a statewide
help line for victims.
?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 Rhode Island? STOP grant, contact Kristin Martineau with
the Governor?s Justice Commission, at 401/ 222-5349.?? Information about the STOP program and other initiatives
involving violence against women 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 1-800/851-3420.
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?? After hours contact: Angela
Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager #888/763-8943