AG announces grants to help victims of violence

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has announced two new grants that are available to assist Ohio’s victims of domestic or violent crimes.

DeWine stated in an Oct. 17 news release that his office’s Crime Victim Services Section, in a partnership with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, was awarded a federal grant to help Ohio’s children and youth who are at risk. The Office for Victims of Crime awarded the nearly $500,000 Vision 21: Linking Systems of Care Initiative Grant.

The purpose of the grant is to help fund state and other organizations in their efforts to improve the identification and community response to child victims of violence, according to the news release.

“Children deserve to grow up in safe, stable and violence-free environments,” DeWine said. “This grant ensures more vulnerable children and their families receive the help and support they need through a measurable and coordinated effort.”

The grant, with a 15-month duration, will assist agencies with the ability to develop methods to allow child victims to not only be better identified across existing services, but also improve links to resources. Additionally, a statewide training plan will be developed by a working group, which will ultimately issue a report with the findings and recommendations for longterm implementation of the plan.

State leaders are planning to work on a resource survey and directory for service providers, according to the news release. In addition, they will create an online screening tool for service professionals to assess clients’ needs and develop statewide training for both the survey and online tool. Furthermore, they plan on incorporating training on child victimization, safety, trauma, healing and recovery.

There are various county and private agencies, organizations, and courts that work to serve vulnerable children and families, the news release stated. Funding from this grant creates an opportunity to bring these groups together to assess and improve state’s response to this vulnerable population

“Ohio has excellent resources for children that do not work together, so maximizing Ohio’s assets through the quality collaboration will ensure effective and comprehensive services to child victims of violence,” said Nancy Neylon, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.

In an Oct. 13 news release, DeWine announced two additional grants: the Victims of Crime Acts grant for $85.5 million, which was awarded to 367 crime victim service providers across Ohio; and the State Victim Assistance Act, which awarded $3.4 million to 187 crime victim service agencies in the state.

The VOCA grant is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s expanding services and empowering the Victims Initiative that was created in 2015 to determine how grant funds could best be spent to serve Ohio’s victims of crime.

According to the news release, an estimated $28 million of the $85.5 million will go toward providing services to domestic violence victims; $25 million will assist victims of sexual assault; and more than $16 million is targeted for services for abused children. Funds also will be available to agencies that provide services to at-risk youths, victims with disabilities, and other victims who traditionally have not accessed victim services.

“It is critical that crime victims have access to comprehensive care and services to aid them in their recovery,” DeWine said. “I am happy to provide these grant funds to help local crime victim service agencies provide thorough assistance to Ohioans who need support following a crime.”

A list of agencies receiving VOCA and SVAA grants can be found on the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s website: www. ohioattorneygeneral.gov.