OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Justice for Families Program | O OVW 2024 171902

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2024 171902

The OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Justice for Families Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), designed to strengthen how civil and criminal justice systems handle cases involving families impacted by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and allegations of child sexual abuse. Authorized under 34 U.S.C. 12464 and created through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2013, the program focuses on improving real-world court responses so that safety, accountability, and child well-being are better addressed when these crimes intersect with family court, custody, visitation, protection orders, and related proceedings. The program is listed under CFDA number 16.021 and is formally titled "Grants to Support Families in the Justice System," commonly referred to as the Justice for Families Program.

At its core, the grant supports practical, court-connected improvements that help courts and communities respond more effectively to families where violence or abuse is present. Funded projects can include court-based and court-related programs aimed at strengthening coordinated responses among judges, court staff, probation, child welfare partners, victim advocates, legal services, and other key stakeholders who interact with survivors and children. A major emphasis is placed on supervised visitation and safe exchange services, which are critical in situations where custody or visitation occurs alongside safety risks. These services are meant to reduce opportunities for continued abuse, intimidation, or coercive control during parent-child contact and transfers, while still allowing courts to structure parenting time in ways that prioritize safety.

The program also supports training and education for professionals who work with families in the court system. This includes people such as judges, magistrates, custody evaluators, guardians ad litem, court administrators, mediators, supervised visitation staff, and others whose decisions and interactions can significantly affect survivor safety and case outcomes. Training supported by this program generally aims to improve understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence and sexual assault, the risks posed by stalking and post-separation abuse, and the ways trauma can affect survivors and children as they navigate legal systems. In addition, the grant can fund civil legal assistance, recognizing that survivors often need legal help to secure protection orders, address custody and visitation disputes, resolve housing and economic issues tied to abuse, and protect their rights and safety through the civil justice process.

Eligibility is limited to a defined set of applicants within the United States and U.S. territories. Eligible entities include state governments, units of local government (such as counties and cities/townships), courts (including juvenile courts), federally recognized Indian tribal governments, tribal organizations (including those that are not federally recognized as governments), nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education), legal services providers, and victim service providers. This range is intended to allow applications from the systems that make court decisions as well as the community-based organizations that support survivors and provide specialized services.

For FY 2024, the opportunity is listed as Funding Opportunity Number O-OVW-2024-171902. OVW anticipated making about 20 awards, with an award ceiling of $700,000 per award. The original closing date for applications was January 30, 2024, and the opportunity record indicates it was created on December 8, 2023. Overall, the grant is structured to fund targeted improvements that make family justice processes safer and more responsive in cases where violence, abuse, or sexual harm is part of the family history or allegations before the court.

• The Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Justice for Families Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.021.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $700,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for O OVW 2024 171902

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