OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Training and Services to End Violence and Abuse Against Individuals with Disabilities and Deaf People Program | O OVW 2024 171936

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the OVW FY 2024 Disability Grant Program?

The OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Training and Services to End Violence and Abuse Against Individuals with Disabilities and Deaf People Program (often called the Disability Grant Program) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). It is listed under CFDA 16.529 and is authorized under 34 U.S.C. 20122.

What is the main goal of this grant?

The central purpose is to create lasting, structural improvements in how communities and organizations respond to victims and survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors who experience domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and caregiver abuse. The program also emphasizes strengthening accountability for people who commit these crimes.

Is this grant meant to fund short-term service expansion?

No. This program is designed for sustainable, permanent organizational and systems change. The intent is to institutionalize improvements so that services and systems remain accessible, safe, and effective beyond the grant period.

What types of victimization does the program focus on?

The program focuses on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and caregiver abuse affecting individuals with disabilities and Deaf survivors.

What makes this program different from other victim services funding?

A defining feature is the emphasis on cross-sector collaboration between disability-focused organizations and victim service providers, along with a structured, phased approach (planning/development followed by implementation) and intensive technical assistance designed to support long-term systems change.

Who is expected to work together under this program?

Funded projects are expected to bring together disability-focused organizations and victim service providers in a coordinated, multidisciplinary effort, often described as a Multidisciplinary Collaborative Team. The approach recognizes that barriers faced by survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors cannot be solved by a single agency acting alone.

What is a Multidisciplinary Collaborative Team in the context of this grant?

Based on the opportunity description, it refers to a coordinated group of partners (including disability services and victim services organizations) working across organizational lines to identify gaps, remove accessibility and communication barriers, improve policies and procedures, and build infrastructure for confidential, appropriate, survivor-centered services that meet disability- and Deaf-specific needs.

Does the program require accessibility and communication improvements?

Yes. The program is explicitly aimed at identifying and removing accessibility and communication barriers and building organization-wide practices that make responses genuinely accessible and effective for survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors.

Is the program mainly focused on direct services to survivors?

For new recipients, the grant is primarily capacity-building and does not fund direct services at the outset. The early focus is on planning, infrastructure, policy, and practice changes that support safe, confidential, appropriate services over the long run.

What are the phases for new grantees?

New grantees follow a prescribed, two-phase process: (1) a planning and development phase and (2) an implementation phase.

What happens during the planning and development phase?

During planning and development, the collaborative team produces required documents that culminate in a strategic plan. That strategic plan should reflect a clear understanding of local or organizational needs and lay out concrete steps to address them.

What happens during the implementation phase?

During implementation, the grantee carries out the strategic plan, focusing on institutionalizing changes that endure beyond the grant period. The emphasis is on durable improvements to policies, procedures, and internal infrastructure rather than one-time activities.

Is technical assistance required as part of the grant?

Yes. A core expectation is that grantees will participate in intensive technical assistance from an OVW-designated technical assistance provider, consistent with the program's systems-change design.

How do continuation grantees differ from new grantees?

Continuation grantees are expected to complete or advance activities identified during the prior project period that could not be fully addressed earlier. They may also be able to provide direct services, but only if key initiatives and safeguards are already in place to ensure services are safe, confidential, and appropriate for survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors.

Can continuation grantees provide direct services?

Potentially, yes. The opportunity states that continuation grantees may be able to provide direct services only after they have successfully put in place key initiatives and safeguards that support accessible, safe, confidential, and appropriate services.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants are limited to specific entity types in the United States and U.S. territories: states; units of local government (such as counties, cities, or townships); federally recognized Indian tribal governments; tribal organizations; and victim service providers.

What types of organizations count as victim service providers for eligibility purposes?

The opportunity provides examples that include state or tribal domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions, as well as nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that serve individuals with disabilities and Deaf people.

Is this funding opportunity a grant or something else?

It is issued as a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial federal involvement during the project. In this program, that aligns with the required technical assistance and the structured, phased approach.

What is the award ceiling?

The posted opportunity lists an award ceiling of $725,000.

How many awards are anticipated?

The opportunity anticipates making 14 awards.

What was the original closing date for applications?

The original closing date listed in the opportunity was April 2, 2024.

What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is O-OVW-2024-171936.

What is the funding activity category for this opportunity?

The funding activity category is Law, Justice and Legal Services.

What types of changes are grantees expected to make?

Projects are expected to focus on systems and organizational changes such as improving policies and procedures, strengthening internal infrastructure, removing accessibility and communication barriers, and enhancing cross-organizational coordination so responses are survivor-centered, confidential, appropriate, and responsive to disability- and Deaf-specific needs.

What does the program mean by "structural improvements" or "systems change"?

Within the description provided, systems change refers to institutionalizing practices and infrastructure so accessibility and effective responses are built into how organizations and community systems operate, rather than relying on ad hoc accommodations or temporary project activities.

Does the program address accountability for offenders?

Yes. In addition to improving responses for survivors, the program is intended to strengthen accountability for people who commit domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and caregiver abuse.

Is the program limited to a single service sector?

No. The program is built around collaboration at the intersection of disability services and victim services and expects coordinated work across partners to address gaps and barriers collectively.