Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEditor’s note: This article has been updated.
Indiana is receiving nearly $700,000 as part of a U.S. Department of Justice grant that will be divided among agencies and nonprofits around the state to help support victims of sexual assault.
In total, the Justice Department is awarding $35.7 million in grants through the Sexual Assault Services Formula Grant Program to all 50 states plus five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, which administers the funds for the Hoosier State, has been appropriated $676,908 to provide to local organizations for 2023.
Indiana’s portion of the federal grant is the highest award the state has received in at least the last five years. It exceeds the award for 2021 by $152,144.
Under federal law, the funds must be used to provide assistance to adult, youth and child victims of sexual assault as well as family members and others collaterally affected by the victimization. Eligible organizations include rape crisis centers, faith-based organizations, mental health and counseling centers along with other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that offer assistance to sexual assault victims.
“Over the next year, this SASP grant funding will help tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence access essential services,” Allison Randall, Office on Violence Against Women acting director, said in a news release. “… SASP funding helps sexual assault survivors from every walk of life access medical care, crisis intervention, advocacy and counseling, among other services. I am so grateful to the direct service providers who ensure these services are available to survivors and provide trauma-informed care on a daily basis.”
For the 2022 grant cycle, ICJI received $524,764 in SASP funds in 2021. The institute keeps 5% of the federal award to cover administrative costs, so the amount available to service providers was $498,526.
Nine organizations across the state were appropriated funds, with Prevail Inc. of Hamilton County receiving the lowest grant amount at $42,971 and Fair Haven Inc. in Lake County receiving the highest amount at $66,757.
The boost in grant funding is based on the SASP formula as calculated by the Justice Department. ICJI told Indiana Lawyer it did not request additional money. Within the previous five years, the largest SASP grant Indiana had received was $537,563 in 2019. That dropped to $475,945 in 2020 but has risen since.
SASP was first authorized by Congress in 2005 and is the nation’s first federal funding stream solely dedicated to providing direct intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault.
The Office on Violence Against Women administers SASP funding according to a statutorily determined, population-based formula. States and territories, in turn, subaward the funds organizations that help sexual assault victims.
“For nearly two decades, the Justice Department’s Sexual Assault Services Program has demonstrated our commitment to providing comprehensive support to survivors of sexual assault,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release. “This grant funding will go directly toward strengthening the efforts of agencies and organizations across the country to provide critical services and care that survivors need and deserve.”
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.