OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Legal Assistance for Victims | O OVW 2024 171904

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2024 171904

The OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) grant (CFDA 16.524) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, designed to expand access to meaningful legal help for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The core purpose is to increase the availability of both civil and criminal legal assistance for victims ages 11 and older by supporting programs that deliver comprehensive, direct legal services in matters that relate to or arise from the abuse. In practice, this program is meant to help victims protect their safety, privacy, and long-term stability by ensuring they can obtain skilled legal representation and advocacy when navigating complex systems like courts, administrative processes, and related proceedings.

The solicitation defines "legal assistance" broadly to reflect the real-world legal problems victims face. On the civil side, funding can support legal services in family law and related matters (such as custody, visitation, divorce, and child support) as well as proceedings in tribal or territorial forums where applicable. It also explicitly includes immigration issues, employment matters, housing problems, and administrative agency proceedings, along with campus administrative processes. A major emphasis is also placed on protection or stay-away order work and similar remedies that can immediately affect a victim's safety. This wide scope recognizes that violence often triggers cascading legal needs, and that victims may require help across multiple systems at the same time.

On the criminal side, LAV funds can support legal assistance connected to criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, and post-trial matters, including sentencing, parole, and probation issues, particularly where those processes impact a victim's safety or privacy. The program also allows support for alternative dispute resolution, restorative practices, or other structured processes, but with a clear condition that these approaches must be aimed at promoting victim safety, privacy, and autonomy rather than pressuring participation or compromising protection. In addition, the program includes an important category of work: post-conviction relief proceedings in state, local, Tribal, or territorial courts where a victim's conviction is connected to or arises from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or sex trafficking. This recognizes that some victims are criminalized in ways that are directly tied to their victimization and may need specialized legal help to address those convictions.

Eligibility is limited and targeted to organizations that can provide these direct legal services without operating as a government entity in a governmental capacity. Eligible applicants include private nonprofit entities (including both 501(c)(3) and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status), publicly funded organizations that are not acting in a governmental capacity, territorial organizations, Indian tribal governments, and tribal organizations operating within the United States or U.S. territories. The source listing also includes certain higher education institutions and other categories, but the solicitation language emphasizes the program's limitation to nonprofit, tribal, territorial, and certain non-governmental publicly funded entities; applicants should rely on the specific Eligibility Information section in the official solicitation to confirm fit and any conditions.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include the funding opportunity number O-OVW-2024-171904, an original closing date of February 13, 2024, and an award ceiling of $900,000 per award. OVW anticipated making about 45 awards under this cycle. Overall, the LAV program is positioned as a direct-services legal funding stream focused on practical, victim-centered representation and advocacy that improves safety outcomes and helps survivors assert rights and access remedies across civil, criminal, administrative, and related systems.

• The Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Legal Assistance for Victims" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.524.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $900,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 45 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for O OVW 2024 171904

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