2021 FVPSA American Rescue Plan $198 million Grants to Support Survivors of Sexual Assault Funding Program Instruction Guidance Memo

Publication Date: March 7, 2022

By addressing domestic violence and sexual violence as public health epidemics, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) program's reach is broad and changes lives. Each year, FVPSA-funded state and tribal programs serve more than 1.3 million victims and their dependents and respond to 2.7 million crisis calls.

FVPSA will award $198 million ARP supplemental funding to states, territories, and tribal grantees to support survivors of sexual assault. The ARP Grants to Support Survivors of Sexual Assault is designed to 1) assist with the transition to virtual/remote services for rape crisis centers, sexual assault programs, tribal programs, and culturally specific programs that provide crisis services, support services, and assistance to survivors of sexual assault, and 2) support the increased emergency needs of sexual assault survivors as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. With these supplemental funds, FVPSA grant programs will be able to provide critical supports to even more families all across the country. The ARP funding will provide flexibility to support:

  • A range of in-scope activities including: counseling, mobile advocacy, telehealth, teletherapy, peer support, temporary housing, rental assistance and nominal relocation expenses, supplies, equipment, and software to assist in carrying out virtual services. All activities listed must align with each recipient’s program narrative and budget.
  • The purchase of needed supplies, if necessary to meet the emergency needs of survivors and increased demand for services during the pandemic, to continue to safely and adequately staff and operate rape crisis centers.
  • Additional workforce to sustain the current workforce needed to safely staff and operate rape crisis centers during the pandemic.

This list is not exhaustive, as there may be other allowable uses of funds consistent with the operation of virtual services and meeting the emergency needs of sexual assault survivors in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

Sub-Awards

Recipients of the ARP Grants to Support Survivors of Sexual Assault may implement sub-awards to programs whose primary purpose is to provide direct intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault inclusive of, but not limited to rape crisis centers, sexual assault programs, tribal programs, culturally specific programs, LGBTQ+ organizations, and such programs within underserved communities.

States, territories, and tribes may allocate this supplemental funding via sub-awards to rape crisis centers, sexual assault programs, tribal programs, culturally specific organizations, and underserved communities’ organizations within 90 days of receiving this federal grant award. States, territories, and tribes may allocate sub-awards to sexual violence coalitions, tribal coalitions, LGBTQ+ technical assistance providers, sexual violence technical assistance resource centers, and culturally specific technical assistance providers in order to provide training and technical assistance to rape crisis centers, sexual assault programs, tribal programs, and culturally specific organizations sub-award recipients.