OVW FY 2016 Justice for Families Program | OVW 2016 9003

Opportunity Information: Apply for OVW 2016 9003

The OVW FY 2016 Justice for Families (JFF) Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), authorized under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013. The program is designed to strengthen how civil and criminal justice systems respond to families affected by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and it also covers situations involving allegations of child sexual abuse. In practical terms, the solicitation focuses on improving safety, accountability, and informed decision-making in courts and related justice settings where family matters and victim safety intersect.

OVW issued an important update to the FY 2016 JFF solicitation with two key changes that affect applicants. First, the application deadline was extended to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 21, 2016. This extension was specifically tied to a scheduled Grants.gov maintenance outage, during which the system was expected to be offline from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2016, until 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. OVW emphasized that the extended deadline helps applicants follow the recommended practice of starting the submission process at least 48 hours before the deadline, reducing the risk of last-minute submission problems. Second, OVW modified the scope guidance by removing "batterer intervention programs" from the list of out-of-scope activities. As a result, supporting batterer intervention programs is explicitly allowable under the FY 2016 JFF Program, expanding the types of projects applicants can propose when aligned with program goals.

The program supports a wide range of court-based and court-related strategies intended to improve capacity and coordination for cases involving the covered crimes. Allowable activities include developing or enhancing court-based and court-related programs, implementing or improving supervised visitation and safe exchange services for parents, and providing training and technical assistance to professionals who work with families in the court system. It also supports civil legal services for affected individuals and families, resources and responses tailored to juvenile court matters, and efforts to develop or promote legislation, model codes, policies, and best practices that improve systemic responses. Overall, the emphasis is on building more consistent, victim-centered, and safety-focused practices across the justice system, especially where family law, child-related proceedings, and violence-related risks overlap.

Eligibility is broad and geared toward entities that operate in or closely with the justice system. Eligible applicants include states, units of local government (including county governments and city or township governments), courts (including juvenile courts), Indian tribal governments, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), legal services providers, and victim service providers. The funding opportunity is listed under Assistance Listing/CFDA 16.021, and it falls within the Law, Justice and Legal Services category (with an additional "Other" activity category designation).

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number OVW-2016-9003 and a maximum award amount (award ceiling) of $600,000. OVW anticipated making approximately 25 awards under this solicitation. The opportunity was created on November 24, 2015, and the updated closing date reflected the extended deadline of January 21, 2016.

• The Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services, other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW FY 2016 Justice for Families Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.021.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-11-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-01-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for OVW 2016 9003

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