OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Grants to Tribal Governments Victim Service Providers for Financial Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Special Initiative

The Grants to Tribal Governments Victim Service Providers for Financial Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Special Initiative (Tribal Financial Assistance Initiative) (CFDA 16.029) supports flexible financial assistance to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking by established tribal victim service providers. This program is authorized by Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-103, § 505, 136 Stat. 49, 122, 144 (2022). At recent Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultations, OVW consulted with Indian Tribes on piloting a program to provide grants to existing victim service providers which would be used specifically to provide victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking with financial assistance. This type of assistance allows victims the flexibility to meet self-identified needs quickly, helps avert crises such as homelessness rather than responding after the fact, and may be more efficient and cost-effective than current service models. Several Tribes described the vast unmet needs of survivors in their communities and strongly supported developing funding opportunities that afforded the greatest degree of flexibility to meet those needs. Tribal testimony supported OVW developing and piloting such a program.