Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP), Fall 2024

The Sexual Assault Services Formula Grant Program (SASP) was created by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 Technical Amendments and is the first federal funding stream solely dedicated to the provision of direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault. SASP is administered at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Funding through SASP supports rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations or tribal programs that provide core services, direct intervention, and related assistance to victims of sexual assault. 

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is the State Administering Agency for SASP. DCJS, in partnership with other stakeholders, seeks to consider the array of needs of all sexual assault victims and available services in the Commonwealth when developing implementation strategies. Funds provided through SASP are designed to supplement other funding sources directed at addressing sexual assault. The purpose of SASP is to support the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of rape crisis centers and other nongovernmental or tribal programs and projects to assist individuals who have been victimized by sexual assault, without regard to the age of the individual (34 U.S.C. §12511(b)(2)(B)). Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. §12511(a)(1), funds under this program must be used to provide intervention and related assistance to:

1. Adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault

2. Family and household members of such victims

3. Those collaterally affected by the victimization (e.g., friends, coworkers, classmates), except for the perpetrator of such victimization. 

OVW has identified the following priority areas for funding:  

1. 24-hour hotline services providing crisis intervention services and referral.

2. Accompaniment and advocacy through medical, criminal justice, and social support systems, including medical facilities, police, and court proceedings.

3. Crisis intervention, short-term individual and group support services, and comprehensive service coordination and supervision to assist sexual assault victims and family or household members.

4. Information and referral to assist the sexual assault victim and family or household members.

5. Community-based, culturally specific services and support mechanisms, including outreach activities for underserved communities.

6. Development and distribution of materials on issues related to the services described in numbers 1 through 5 above. 

For this funding opportunity, eligibility is limited to organizations that propose to provide services to victims of sexual assault in a portion of the 12-county area of Southside Virginia. This includes the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, and/or Prince Edward. 

Rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations or tribal programs that provide core services, direct intervention, and related assistance to victims of sexual assault within the 12-county area are eligible to apply. The term “rape crisis center” means a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal organization, or governmental entity in a state other than a territory that provides intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault without regard to their age. In the case of a governmental entity, the entity may not be part of the criminal justice system (such as a law enforcement agency) and must be able to offer a comparable level of confidentiality as a nonprofit entity that provides similar victim services. 34 U.S.C. §12291(a)(25).   

The grant period for subawards made under these guidelines is September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025.