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For Immediate Release Contact: Betsy Hart
September 04, 2008 (202) 226-8555

HERSETH SANDLIN ANNOUNCES $750,000 GRANT FOR SOUTH DAKOTA NETWORK AGAINST FAMILY VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSUALT

Grant will support Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention and Treatment Services in 58 Rural Counties in South Dakota

September 4, 2008, Washington, DC-Today, Rep. Herseth Sandlin announced that the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. The funding will support the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Assistance Program to provide advocacy services in rural South Dakota for victims, support public education and prevention strategies, and strengthen collaboration among service providers.

"Domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking are as much of a problem in rural communities and reservations as they are in urban parts of the country," Rep. Herseth Sandlin said. "However, victims in rural communities and on reservations face unique challenges due to the lack of adequate prevention and treatment services available to them. This grant will ensure that the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault can continue the important work of treating victims of domestic violence and preventing violence before it starts by expanding their services to serve even more rural communities and reservations across South Dakota."

"Since 2002, the Network, in collaboration with 15 domestic violence shelters and agencies, has been receiving this funding through the Office on Violence Against Women," said Krista Heeren-Graber, Executive Director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault. "This continuation funding will allow the 35 satellite offices throughout rural South Dakota to be served by 18 rural advocates reaching victims of violence in rural, remote areas of the state."

The South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault will collaborate with fifteen member agencies, the SD Division of Criminal Investigation, the SD Immigrant Battered Women state team and the Yankton Sioux Tribe to implement this project that will serve fifty-eight rural counties in South Dakota. The primary purpose of the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Assistance Program is to enhance victim safety in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking living in rural areas by encouraging collaborative partnerships between criminal justice agencies, victim service providers and community organizations to respond to these crimes. In addition, the program supports the provision of services to the victims of such violence, and encourages communities to work in coordination to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward these issues.

Additionally, the Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Assistance Program includes services for the Santee Sioux Tribe through the partnership with the Wholeness Center in Flandreau and the Yankton Sioux Tribe through partnership with an OVW tribal grant.

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Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin was one of only 15 members appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.