U.S. Attorney Rose Announces More Than $2.1 Million In Federal Grants Were Awarded In September 2016 To Local Law Enforcement And Community Organizations In The Western District

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose announced today that $2,116,025 in federal grants were awarded in September 2016 to local law enforcement agencies and community organizations in the Western District of North Carolina.  The federal grants were awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

A total of $1,081,143 was administered to two grantees by OVW, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice that focuses on reducing violence against women and administering justice for and services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  The two grants awarded by OVW in the Western District are:

Justice for Families Program:  Under this program, a total of $600,000 has been awarded to the Mediation Center in Asheville, N.C., and its collaborative partners, Pisgah Legal Services, Safelight, and North Carolina’s Twenty Ninth Judicial District-29B, which includes Henderson, Polk and Transylvania Counties.  The award will be used to open a supervised visitation and exchange center in Henderson County to serve at least 50 families, and to train 400 court and court-related personnel on domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault.      

Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Assistance Program (Rural Program):  Under this program, a total of $481,143 was awarded to the Shelter Available for Family Emergency, Inc. of Transylvania County (SAFE).  SAFE is a non-profit organization that has responded to domestic and sexual violence in Transylvania County.  Through this program, SAFE will expand outreach and services to remote mountain communities, build new services for the growing Latino population and enhance the community’s response to sexual violence through the development of a Sexual Assault Response Team. 

Another $728,780 was awarded via BJA’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program to local police departments in six cities and sheriff’s offices in four counties throughout the Western District.  The JAG Program, allows states and units of local government, including tribes, to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime based on their own local needs and conditions. 

Under this program, the City of Charlotte ($493,021), Gaston County ($63,290), the City of Asheville ($55,150), the City of Hickory ($31,020), the City of Monroe ($18,651), the City of Statesville ($17,657), Iredell County ($15,029), the City of Shelby ($13,683), Wilkes County ($10,928), and Haywood County ($10,351) will use their share to address  the needs of local police departments and sheriffs’ offices, through the funding of local initiatives, technical assistance, training personnel, equipment, supplies, and information systems as needed.

Also, $306,102 was awarded by the Office of Justice Programs’ National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to the City of Charlotte, under the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Program (CEBR). The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will use the funding awarded via this program to reduce the backlog of forensic biology/DNA cases, meet Quality Assurance Standards, and maintain current laboratory capabilities.

“Each year, federal grants deliver much-needed resources and financial assistance to local police departments, sheriff’s offices and community organizations throughout the Western District.  The awards are used to address a broad range of needs, and to assist local efforts in reducing crime, improving public safety and increasing access to resources and services within communities,” said U.S. Attorney Rose.           

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) currently administers 24 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and subsequent legislation.  For a list of OVW grant programs and additional grant funding information please visit: http://www.justice.gov/ovw/grant-programs.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides innovative leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, by disseminating state-of-the art knowledge and practices across America, and providing grants for the implementation of these crime fighting strategies.  Current OJP funding opportunities can be found at: http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) provides leadership and assistance to local criminal justice programs that improve and reinforce the nation’s criminal justice system.  BJA’s goals are to reduce and prevent crime, violence, and drug abuse and to improve the way in which the criminal justice system functions. In order to achieve such goals, BJA programs illustrate the coordination and cooperation of local, state, and federal governments. BJA works closely with programs that bolster law enforcement operations, expand drug courts, and provide benefits to safety officers. BJA Funding announcements are posted at: https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and it is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to reduce crime and promote justice, particularly at the state and local levels. For additional information and to locate a funding opportunity please visit: http://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/welcome.aspx.