Two federal grants from the U.S. Department of Justice are aimed at intervening in the lives of those struggling with drug abuse or sexual or domestic violence, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.
The largest grant, more than $975,000, goes to the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KSARC) to provide services to youth and young adults who have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking. The second grant, to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is aimed at supporting drug treatment for offenders in Washington’s jails and prisons. The $150,000 grant is from DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.
“These grants recognize the quality work being done in Washington to build a better future. Preventing domestic violence and stalking, and helping victims is critical to building safe communities and strong adults. KSARC has long been a national leader on these issues,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “As Attorney General Eric Holder noted last week, we also must provide services such as drug treatment to allow those reentering society from prison the best chance at success.”
The grant from DOJ’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) is designed to support comprehensive child- and youth-centered prevention, intervention, treatment, and response strategies to more fully address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking. The grant supports training for professionals, school based strategies, services for non-abusive parents and coordinating community responses. This project also supports innovative projects that engage men and boys to act as allies with women and girls to address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking. The King County Sexual Assault Resource Center will implement this comprehensive project which focuses on sexual assault. The primary targeted age groups include youth and young adults, ages 13-24 years old, with a special focus on the homeless and runaway youth population, LGBTQ and the Latino population.
The grant to DSHS will support the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program in the state’s jails and prisons. The goal of the RSAT program is to break the cycle of drugs and violence by reducing the demand for, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs. RSAT enhances the capability of states and units of local government to provide residential substance abuse treatment for incarcerated inmates; prepares offenders for their reintegration into the communities from which they came by incorporating reentry planning activities into treatment programs; and assists offenders and their communities through the reentry process through the delivery of community-based treatment and other broad-based aftercare services.
