FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VAWO
TUESDAY, JULY 3, 2001 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS HAWAII $944,000
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $944,000 to Hawaii to prevent and respond to violence against
women, as part of this year’s STOP
(Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women
Formula Grants Program. This program is
funded under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
“No
American should feel outside the protection of the law, or beyond the reach of
the law. The STOP program supports
communities that champion victims’ rights and develops coordinated responses to
violence against women,” said Attorney General Ashcroft. “The funds will give law enforcement and
victim services the resources they need to do a better job of investigating,
prosecuting and preventing crimes against women. We must continue to provide our communities with the resources to
hold offenders accountable and to meet the needs of victims.”
STOP funds are used to promote partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the courts and victim advocates to ensure victim
safety and accountability for offenders.
The Justice Department has awarded Hawaii
over $ 5.2 million in STOP funds since
1995, for total funding exceeding $7.8
million under the VAWA grant programs since the enactment of the VAWA
legislation in 1994. In the President’s
FY 2002 budget request, the Justice Department seeks $390 million in overall
VAWA funding, a $102.52 million increase over FY 2001.
Through this funding, states and communities
are urged to restructure and strengthen the criminal justice system response to
domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, utilizing the expertise of all
participants working in the system, including victim advocates.
The State of Hawaii has used its STOP funds
to facilitate a higher degree of government
Current project priorities include:
·
Using funds for
law enforcement training and specialized equipment
·
Multi-disciplinary
training;
·
Legal
assistance;
·
Transitional
services, including advocacy, case management, counseling,
·
Training for
other criminal justice providers.
The
STOP Program is authorized under the Violence Against Women Acts of 1994 and
2000. The STOP grants are awarded by
the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) to
designated state agencies, which must award 25 percent of the funds they
receive to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution, 30 percent to victim
services,
For information about the Hawaii STOP grant contact Tony Wong, in the Resource Coordination Division in the Department of the Attorney
General at (808) 586-1096. Information
about the STOP program and other initiatives involving violence against women
issues is available on VAWO’s Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo or
OJP’s Website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov, or by
calling the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at
800/851-3420.
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VAW01139
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
#888/763-8943