HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-18 City Commission Packet Materials - C3. FY18 OVW Grant ApplicationCommission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Rich McLane, Deputy Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Grant application from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Violence
Against Women (OVW) to address issues of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and dating
violence.
MEETING DATE: January 22, 2018
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Consent
RECOMMENDATION: Grant approval to submit Grant application under CFDA# 16.589,
OVW Fiscal Year 2018 Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) solicitation for a three year
grant addressing issues of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and dating violence.
BACKGROUND: For over 20 years, the City of Bozeman has partnered with other government
and non-government organizations in a collaborative approach to providing assistance to victims
of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence. As part of this approach, a team
was formed called the Gallatin Project. This team has worked closely with OVW to secure funding
and to work together to identify and close gaps in services regarding these victims.
The Gallatin Project includes representatives from all Gallatin County law enforcement, the Sexual
Assault Counseling Center (SACC), HAVEN, Gallatin County Court Appointed Special
Advocates-Guardians Ad-Litem (GAL), Gallatin County victim services advocates, prosecutors
for both Gallatin County and City of Bozeman, Bozeman Deaconess Hospital (BDH), Montana
State University (MSU) and others to improve our protocols, training, and public education.
Additionally, we provide direct services to victims in the form of emergency and transitional
housing, counseling, emergency transportation, language services and other direct forms of
advocacy or assistance that help provide a victim the help they need to remain safe.
In February 2017, this team submitted an application for a three-year grant and were unsuccessful.
This team has agreed that the need to fund services for victims has not diminished and have teamed
up to review the past grant, improve on the application and hopefully secure funding for another
three years.
Because this team is still finalizing the grant application, the final, full narrative will not be
available until January 30, 2018. We are providing the abstract of the grant and anticipate funding
requests to be between $500,000 and $600,000 over three years. The project narrative will be
provided to you upon completion and certainly before any formal acceptance.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None
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ALTERNATIVES: As the commission directs.
FISCAL EFFECTS: While most of the funding requested under the grant are for direct services
for victims and/or costs related to our non-government partners, tangible costs such as testing for
Drug Facilitated Sexual assaults, training support, emergency phones, educational brochures and
pamphlets, etc… are items that this grant will help fund and reduce impacts to the general fund.
There will not be any necessary match funds or costs to the city to apply or accept this grant.
Attachments:
Project Abstract
Report compiled on: January 5, 2018
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PROPOSAL ABSTRACT
The Gallatin Project is a multi-disciplinary team of partners that identify and fill voids with
a multi-dimensional collaborative approach, with an emphasis on victims of sexual assault,
domestic violence, stalking and dating violence. Project partners in the government arena include
City of Bozeman prosecution, Gallatin County Attorney’s Office victim witness advocates,
Montana State University and Bozeman Police Department. Community partners include
Bozeman Health Services (the only hospital in the county); Guardian Ad Litem children advocacy;
the Help Center’s Sexual Assault Counseling Center and Child Advocacy Center; and HAVEN,
the nonprofit organization serving survivors of domestic violence and dating violence.
Activities under this grant will include providing shelter to survivors of domestic violence,
dating violence, stalking and sexual assault, as well as access to a legal advocacy program to help
survivors file for Orders of Protection. We intend to provide education and outreach activities to
increase awareness of available services. We will be providing emergency funds to help survivors
with basic needs such as meals, day-care, and transportation for services. We will increase and
improve collaboration and effectiveness through the facilitation of the Sexual Assault Response
Team and Domestic Violence Response Team. We strive to use limited training funds to either
“train the trainer” across all disciplines, or bring in qualified trainers to spread the training to all
in our service area. We provide emergency lodging, as well as transitional housing, for victims
that either need this for financial or for safety reasons. We have an aggressive approach to
investigations of sexual assault, which includes funding expedited testing for suspect victims of
drug facilitated assaults. We intend to increase access for underserved populations by providing
our brochures and educational materials in both English and Spanish. Products to be produced
include victim’s rights notification, strangulation brochures and information brochures for
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survivors of sexual assault, amongst others. Our service area includes all of Gallatin County,
Montana (approximately 110,000 population), with the largest city of Bozeman (45,000
population) at the center and extending down as far as 90 miles away to West Yellowstone, at the
entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Our services affect citizens in Gallatin County of all ages,
and genders, including a large university population (16,000+) and an underserved Native
American population.
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