FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         VAW
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1996                             (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

            JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TAKES TWO MORE STEPS
                 TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
                                
    $77 Million in Grants for Police, Prosecutors and Victim
                      Service's Providers;
   New Violence Against Women Information Home Page Unveiled
                                

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department announced today
more than $77 million in grants to combat domestic violence and
sexual assault.  FY 96 Violence Against Women STOP (Services,
Training, Officers and Prosecution) grant awards were made to 30
states and five territories.  The grants will be used to train
police, hire new prosecutors, provide assistance to victims, and
other purposes.  Among the grants were just under $11.5 million for
California, just under $4.3 million for Ohio, and $3.8 million for
Michigan.  (A complete list of the grants announced today is
attached.) 

     The FY 96 STOP grant process was delayed because of the
government shut-downs.  The program was funded through the Omnibus
Appropriations Act, PL 104-134, signed the last week of April 1996.
The Violence Against Women Act was passed by a bipartisan
Congressional majority and signed into law as part of President
Clinton's 1994 Crime Act.     Also today, the Department
inaugurated a new resource to help fight domestic and sexual abuse
-- a home page on the World Wide Web that provides access to
numerous resources to help victims, communities, and concerned
friends and family.

Providing resources to strengthen state and local criminal justice
and victim service's efforts

     The STOP Violence Against Women formula grant program is in
its second year of funding.  In addition to the $77 million in
grants announced today, another 13 state grants will be made by
mid-August, and the balance of awards to states that requested an
extension in submitting their applications will go out by the end
of the fiscal year.  

     "We've expanded this year's program many-fold to reflect the
significant increase in funding for FY 96," said Laurie Robinson,
Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. 
"Last year's grants laid the foundation for services to victims of
domestic violence and sexual assault, while this year's allow
states to build and expand the efforts."

     "We've streamlined the application process to make it easier
on the states and to aid us in getting these important funds out,"
added Robinson.  "The STOP applications were due on July 1, so
we're excited to be making so many awards so quickly."

     Bonnie Campbell, Director of the Department's Violence Against
Women Office noted that the funding is an integral part of the
Violence Against Women Act.  "As states use these funds to meet
their unique needs, they should proceed with the confidence that
the entire Violence Against Women Act supports their efforts by
combining these resources with innovative approaches and new
penalties," Campbell said.

     In addition to federal resources for states and localities,
the Act authorizes federal prosecution of abusers who cross state
lines to violate a protection order or injure, harass, or
intimidate a spouse or intimate partner.  "The law also makes
protection orders issued in one state valid in all other states,
and makes it unlawful for the subject of a protection order to
possess a firearm or ammunition," Campbell added.


          New Violence Against Women Internet Home Page

     Campbell also announced the creation of a Violence Against
Women Office's home page on the internet, located at
http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo.  

     "We are using the unlimited potential of the computer age to
share information and resources with citizens through the
internet," Campbell said.  The Violence Against Women home page
will include information about:

     The Violence Against Women Act;
     The National Domestic Violence Hotline; (1-800-799-SAFE)
     The Activities of the Violence Against Women Office;
     National and local resources;
     Federal grant programs to combat domestic violence and sexual
     assault;
     The Jacob Wetterling Sex Offender Registration Act;
     Megan's Law;
     Speeches, documents and government statistics.

     Information contained on the home page will be updated
regularly and may be used and duplicated for publication and use by
others.  "Victims, activists and others looking for information and
resources now have a new place to turn," Campbell noted. 

     The Violence Against Women web site will be linked to home
pages established by other governmental entities, including other
federal agencies and local police departments. 
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