Join OVW’s Biennial Conferral

Courtesy of Laura L. Rogers, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women

OVW will host the 2019 conferral via a series of four webinars. The topics, times, and instructions for participation are described below. All are open to the public. We hope to hear from as many individuals and groups as we can in these one-hour online listening sessions.  

Give the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) your feedback in our third biennial conferral!

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 established a conferral process by which State and tribal coalitions, OVW technical assistance (TA) providers, and other key stakeholders in the field inform OVW policies and programs. The conferral process emphasizes feedback from state and tribal coalitions and TA providers, as well as crucial stakeholders such as STOP and SASP Administrators, Indian tribes, and grantees of other OVW programs.  In addition, Tribal governments have an annual consultation with OVW to provide input on OVW programs that will be included in OVW’s conferral report.

OVW will host the 2019 conferral via a series of four webinars. The topics, times, and instructions for participation are described below. All are open to the public. We hope to hear from as many individuals and groups as we can in these one-hour online listening sessions. 

Who Should Participate

• OVW grantees –current and former
• Victims and survivors
• STOP/SASP Administrators
• State, Territorial, and Tribal Coalition staff
• Faith and Community-based organizations
• Culturally-specific programs
• Technical Assistance providers –current and former
• Victim service providers, prevention educators, criminal and civil justice professionals (including law enforcement, prosecution, judges, court professionals, etc.), and others who respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking – no need to be an OVW grantee
• Anyone else who has a stake in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) implementation

Topics and Times

• Unmet needs: 3:00-4:00 pm EST on September 26^th, 2019
  Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6539313921227024397
  What are the key issues or gaps in your community that are not being fully addressed? Does law enforcement in your community have adequate resources? Is your community’s needs being fully served or met? What needs do you have that are not well addressed by existing OVW technical assistance? What technical assistance is working well?
• Emerging trends: 3:00-4:00 pm EST on October 17^th, 2019
  Register at http://peerreview.adobeconnect.com/emergingtrends/event/registration.html
  Have you seen any emerging trends arising from an OVW project? What else are you seeing arise – both the good and the bad – in the field? How are you responding to these trends? Is there a role for OVW in these issues? If so, what do you think OVW should do in response to these trends?
• Administration of grants: 3:00-4:00 pm EST on October 30^th, 2019
  Register at http://peerreview.adobeconnect.com/administrationofgrants/event/registration.html
  Have you ever applied unsuccessfully for OVW funding? What barriers might prevent potential applicants from applying for OVW funding? What are the most difficult or frustrating aspects of administering an OVW grant from your point of view? Have changes in grant administration over the last two years been helpful? What would you like to see improved? What is working well?
• Promising practices in the field: 3:00-4:00 pm EST on November 7th, 2019
  Register at http://peerreview.adobeconnect.com/promisingpracticesinfield/event/registration.html
  What strategies have you identified as particularly effective in addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking? Does your community have child first resources addressing the intersection of these crimes and substance abuse? Are you having success doing something new or different? Have you measured that success or documented your innovative promising practice?

Accessibility

All webinars will have live-stream closed captioning in English and Spanish.

If you would like to participate in any language other than English or Spanish, please contact us at OVW.Conferrals@usdoj.gov at least 14 days in advance of the webinar.

How to Participate

Participants will need to pre-register for the conferrals using the links above. We recommend joining the conferral 10 minutes before the session begins to account for the registration process.

During the webinar, you can participate via the webinar’s “chat” feature or over the phone.

Written Comments

If you are unable to join us during the live sessions, you can send comments to OVW at OVW.Conferrals@usdoj.gov. OVW will accept comments until October 31, 2019. Please indicate the webinar title your comment addresses.

A final Report to Congress will be available no later than 90 days after the conferral period ends.