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2006 Biennial Report to Congress on the Effectiveness of Grant Programs Under the Violence Against Women Act December 18, 2007

Posted by dianedepanfilis in Reports on Grant Programs.
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Under this grant program, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) provides federal grants to help communities across America develop innovative strategies to address violence against women. These grant programs are used to forge focused and effective partnerships among federal, state, local, and tribal governments and between the criminal justice system and victim advocates, and to provide much-needed services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.Examples of programs include:

  • The Domestic Violence Transitional Housing Assistance Grants Program (Transitional Housing Program) focuses on a holistic, victim-centered approach to provide transitional housing services that move individuals into permanent housing.
  • The Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program (Supervised Visitation Program) helps create safe places for visitation with and exchange of children in cases of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.
  • The Training Grants to Stop Abuse and Sexual Assault Against Older Individuals or Individuals with Disabilities Program (Training Grants Program) provides funds to train law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and court personnel to recognize, address, investigate, and prosecute cases of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and violence against older individuals or those with disabilities, including domestic violence and sexual assault.
  • The Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus (Campus Program) support the efforts of institutions of higher education to adopt comprehensive, coordinated responses to violent crimes against women on campuses, including sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, and dating violence. In this new report, information is provided about who is served and the kinds of services provided. This report is also reported to describe the effectiveness of the OVW-funded programs based on performance measures established by OVW and the Muskie School. The report relies on data provided by a diverse array of grantees, from those who have been providing services for over 30 years to those who have just opened their doors.

While this report is a very helpful catalogue of programs funded under these mechanisms, my quick scan identified quantifiable measures of outputs, but not outcomes - - therefore, I’m not sure the use of the word “Effectiveness” is appropriate for most of the data you will find in this report.  Nevertheless, it is a great place to start to look at the kinds of services that may be available for victims affected by abuse. 

At the end of the July to December 2003 report period, 561 grantees from 6 discretionary grant programs (Arrest, LAV, Supervised Visitation, State Coalitions, Training Grants, and Campus) submitted data via GMS on the new progress report forms. 

To access the full report, go to: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/ovw-measuring-effectiveness-report.pdf