Davids Announces Funding for Local Law Enforcement and Community Organizations Tackling Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crimes

Statement

Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women awarded a total of $511,813 to six local organizations to strengthen both law enforcement and community-based responsiveness to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and stalking. In total, Kansas received more than $1.8 million through these awards.

Recipients of the 2022 S.T.O.P. VAWA Grant Award in the Kansas Third include:

$147,409 to the Unified Government District Attorney's Office in Wyandotte County.
$84,616 to the Unified Government Legal Department in Wyandotte County.
$61,060 to the Gardner Police Department in Johnson County.
$46,650 to Friends of Yates in Wyandotte County.
$41,621 to Safehome in Johnson County.

Recipients of the 2022 SASP Grant Award in the Kansas Third include:

$130,457 to the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault in Wyandotte County.

"Our local law enforcement officers and community-based support organizations do life-saving work to ensure all victims and survivors of domestic abuse receive the care, protection, and justice they deserve--and that offenders are brought to justice," said Davids. "I am proud to have voted twice to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and to bring this crucial funding to our community."

"We fund and focus on issues that we deem important. Governor Kelly and Representative Davids support of VAWA and related grant funds focused on stopping violence against women and children has allowed the Wyandotte County District Attorney's Office to support survivors of domestic violence in a transformational manner," said Mark A. Dupree, Sr., District Attorney of Wyandotte County. "These grant funds provide the necessary resources for our office to effectively prosecute and hold offenders accountable, while also allowing us the ability to support survivors of domestic violence, by pursuing protective and preventative efforts."

"In Wyandotte County and beyond, providers of domestic violence services, victims, and their dependent children are so grateful to Representative Davids for all she does--both through her votes and by using her voice--to advocate for domestic violence services and funding," said LaDora Lattimore, Executive Director/CEO-Emeritus of Friends of Yates. "We are grateful for this grant and look forward to continuing to serve our community."

Davids has voted twice to reauthorize the bipartisan, long-term Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and became the second Native woman to preside over the House floor during the VAWA reauthorization in 2019. Davids also secured strong measures in the bill to addresses the crisis of violence against Native women and girls. The reauthorization provides funding and access for tribes to federal criminal information databases and expands tribal jurisdiction to cover the crimes of domestic and sexual Violence, sex trafficking, and more.

Background:

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women awarded the funds to Kansas through two 2022 awards programs: the Federal Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors Violence Against Women Act Formula Grant Program (S.T.O.P. VAWA) and the Federal Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP). The Kansas state grants office then distributed the funds to 30 total recipients.

Funds for S.T.O.P. VAWA support the efforts of communities to strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women, provide victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women, and promote a coordinated community response to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault/rape, and stalking.

Funds from SASP assist programs in providing victims of sexual assault with crisis intervention and accompaniment and advocacy assistance through the medical and criminal justice processes. The funds also provide educational information to survivors of sexual assault.

In FY22, Davids submitted a Commerce-Justice-Science budget request which included $233 million for S.T.O.P. VAWA and $100 million for SASP.

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