ACF and IHS award $21 million to support Tribal family violence victims and organizations

October 1, 2015

ACF funding announced today is being awarded under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), which is the primary federal funding source dedicated to providing immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence and their dependents. 

IHS funding will be awarded to 56 projects to increase access to health services and build the capacity of American Indian and Alaska Native communities to provide prevention, intervention, and treatment services to American Indians and Alaska Natives who have experienced domestic or sexual violence. Funding will go to tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and IHS federal government programs.

These IHS grants are a new phase in the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI), which previously funded 65 health programs in a five-year demonstration project to expand outreach and increase awareness of domestic and sexual violence, and expand services to victims and communities. In the first four years of the demonstration project, DVPI projects provided over 50,000 crisis interventions, victim advocacy, and counseling encounters and made more than 38,000 referrals for domestic violence services.

Quick Facts

  • $21 million to support tribal domestic violence victims and organizations in American Indian and Alaska Native communities across the nation.
  • In 2014, local tribal domestic violence programs, funded by FVPSA: served 30,860 victims of domestic violence and their children in their programs and answered 86,203 calls for crisis counseling and requests for shelter and other services.
  • Grants will be awarded to 136 tribes and tribal organizations serving 274 tribes. These funds will help to strengthen tribal responses to domestic violence and emphasize public awareness, advocacy, and policy, training, and technical assistance.

Quotes

“Tribal domestic violence programs provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of Native women, children and men each year.”
— Rafael Lopez, Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families
“For the past three decades, the FVPSA Program has been an integral part of our nation’s response to domestic violence by providing funding, oversight, training, and guidance to emergency shelters, crisis hotlines, prevention programs, specialized resource centers, and a wide range of federal partners across the United States.”
— Rafael Lopez, Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families
“These new awards dramatically expand our efforts to provide community based, culturally appropriate services for domestic and sexual violence.”
— Robert G. McSwain, IHS Principal Deputy Director
“American Indian and Alaska Native communities have called on IHS for more support to prevent domestic and sexual violence. The IHS Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative funding represents a commitment to address these critical services.”
— Robert G. McSwain, IHS Principal Deputy Director

Contact

Administration for Children & Families
Office of Communications
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

Phone: (202) 401-9215
Fax: (202) 205-9688
Email: media@acf.hhs.gov

Program Office: