OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) Grant Program | O OVW 2024 171919

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2024 171919

The OVW Fiscal Year 2024 Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) Grant Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), offered under Assistance Listing (CFDA) 16.025. It is designed to help federally recognized Tribal governments strengthen and operate their criminal justice systems so they can exercise Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over certain non-Indian offenders who commit specific offenses within a Tribe's jurisdictional boundaries in Indian Country. The central purpose is to improve safety for victims and communities by ensuring that Tribes have the capacity, policies, and practices needed to hold non-Indian perpetrators accountable when they commit qualifying crimes on Tribal lands.

This program focuses specifically on "covered crimes" that Congress has authorized Tribes to prosecute under STCJ. The covered crimes listed in the opportunity include assault of Tribal justice personnel, child violence, dating violence, domestic violence, obstruction of justice, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking, and violation of a protection order. Funding is intended to support both Tribes that are preparing to implement STCJ authority and Tribes that are already exercising it, recognizing that each stage requires major system work such as developing procedures, training staff, updating codes, and coordinating among law enforcement, courts, detention, victim services, and prosecution.

A major feature of the program is technical assistance tied to planning and implementation. In practice, that means the grant is not only meant for direct service or enforcement activity, but also for the behind-the-scenes system changes that make STCJ possible and sustainable. Those changes typically include updating Tribal criminal laws and court rules, strengthening due process protections required for STCJ cases, improving investigative capacity for complex crimes like sexual violence and trafficking, expanding victim-centered practices, and building coordination protocols with neighboring jurisdictions and partners. The overall emphasis is on building a functional, fair, and victim-focused Tribal justice response that can successfully investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate covered crimes committed by non-Indians in the community.

Eligibility is limited. Applicants must be governments of Indian Tribes that have jurisdiction over Indian Country, and the opportunity is aimed at federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. The funding opportunity number is O-OVW-2024-171919. OVW anticipated making around 10 awards under this solicitation. The listed award ceiling is shown as 0, which generally indicates that applicants should rely on the solicitation details for award sizing or that awards may vary without a fixed maximum stated in the summary fields. The original application closing date for this opportunity was July 9, 2024, and the opportunity was created on March 26, 2024.

In short, this OVW program is about helping Tribal governments build and operate the legal and operational infrastructure necessary to use STCJ effectively for a defined set of serious crimes that frequently intersect with intimate partner violence, coercion, stalking, and sexual assault. The practical outcome OVW is driving toward is a stronger Tribal justice system where victims can access safety and justice locally, and where non-Indian offenders who commit covered crimes on Tribal lands can be investigated and prosecuted through Tribal courts exercising STCJ authority.

• 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 Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.025.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.

Apply for O OVW 2024 171919

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