OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Initiative Solicitation

This program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12291(b)(11). The primary purpose of the OVW Training and Technical Assistance Initiative (TA Initiative) (CFDA 16.526) is to provide direct training and technical assistance to existing and potential OVW recipients and subrecipients to enhance their efforts to successfully implement projects supported by OVW grant funds. OVW's TA Initiative is designed to strengthen and build the capacity of civil and criminal justice system professionals and victim service providers across the nation to respond effectively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and foster partnerships among organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address these crimes. For additional information about this program and related performance measures, including how awards contribute to the achievement of program goals and objectives, see: OVW grant program information: OVW Grants and Programs Webpage. Program performance measures under the Measuring Effectiveness Initiative: VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative webpage. Examples of successful projects in OVW's most recent report to Congress on the effectiveness of VAWA grant programs. About the OVW Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Project Special Initiative On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice released a comprehensive strategy for reducing violent crimes. Under federal law, individuals with domestic violence misdemeanor and felony convictions, as well as individuals subject to domestic violence protection orders, are prohibited from possessing firearms. The data shows that offenders with domestic violence in their past pose a high risk of homicide. In fact, domestic violence abusers with a gun in the home are five times more likely to kill their partners. In addition to their lethality, firearms are used by abusers to inflict fear, intimidation, and coercive control. In support of the Justice Department's strategy, in FY 2022 OVW funded 12 sites to participate in the Firearms Technical Assistance Project (FTAP) with the goal of reducing violent crime and helping communities across the country reduce domestic violence homicides and injuries committed by firearms. The 12 sites are: One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center; the City of Tucson, Arizona; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; the City of Detroit, Michigan; the Muscogee (Creek) Nation; the City of Columbus, Ohio; the City of New York, New York; the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley in Tennessee; the City of Austin, Texas; the Vermont Network Against Sexual and Domestic Violence; the City of Spokane, Washington; and the City of Yakima, Washington. Through the FTAP Special Initiative, OVW seeks to support the training and technical assistance needs of the sites to enhance and strengthen the community's response to domestic violence homicide.