GRANT TITLE:  SEXUAL ASSAULT SERVICES PROGRAM (SASP)
 

OVERVIEW: The Sexual Assault Services Program Grant (SASP) Grant funds will support the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of sexual assault services by non-governmental or tribal victim services programs to assist individuals who have been victimized by sexual assault without regard to the age of the individual. 

The purpose of the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) Grant is to provide direct intervention, advocacy, accompaniment (i.e. accompanying victims to court, medical facilities, police departments, etc.), support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, family and household members of victims, and those collaterally affected by sexual assault, except for the perpetrator of such victimization. 

These services include: 

• 24-hour hotline services providing crisis intervention services and referrals;
• Accompaniment and advocacy through the medical, criminal justice, and social systems including medical facilities, police, and court proceedings;
• Crisis intervention, short-term individual and group support services, and comprehensive service coordination and supervision to assist sexual assault victims and non-offending family or household members;
• Information and referral to assist the sexual assault victim and non-offending family or household members;
• Community-based, culturally specific services and support mechanisms, including outreach activities for underserved communities; and
• The development and distribution of materials on issues related to the services described in the previous bullets.

The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 added "direct payments" to the list of items that may constitute "intervention and related assistance" for victims of sexual assault under the SASP statute. Direct payments to victims and their family or household members must be for costs related to the sexual assault.  

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS 

The following list are examples of projects that could be funded under the SASP: 

• Funding of a victims services position that would provide crisis intervention and support services to adult/child victims of sexual violence. These services would be provided in court, legal, medical and office setting.
• Funding for a Sexual Assault Services program that focuses on teens who have been victims of sexual violence. This project would address the social and philosophical barriers that lead to sexual assault and work to re-educate the young women so that they avoid unhealthy relationships as adults.
  
• Funding a victims services project that would develop support group and crisis services to the non-offending parent of children who are sexually abused.
  
• Funding for a support services for victims of sexual violence on campus.  This project would coordinate with local universities to provide an on-campus support group to women who have been sexually assaulted.
  
• Developing an extensive outreach campaign to include radio, news and distributed materials for the purposes of making victims of sexual violence aware of current services available in a town or region.
  
• Funding of a licensed mental health professional with experience in treating sexual assault trauma, to provide individual/group treatment to clients.
  
• Printing and dissemination of coalition sexual assault brochures for underserved populations, including Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning (LGBTQIA+) population, and working with local LGBTQIA+ groups to provide outreach and encourage the use of services.
  
• Printing and dissemination of coalition sexual assault brochures for underserved populations, including physical or mental disabilities experiencing sexual assault and working with the local aging services to provide outreach and use of services.
  
• Developing community specific sexual assault awareness materials including materials for underserved populations.
   

ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for funding from the SASP Grant, an applicant must be a non-governmental or tribal victim services program. The domestic violence/sexual assault victim service providers must be certified through the Office of the Attorney General before applying for a SASP Grant. Victim service providers from federally recognized Indian Tribes are exempt from this requirement.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1: May SASP Formula Program funds be used to support services to children?
A: Yes, SASP Formula Program funds may be used to support projects that focus on direct services for children who are victims of sexual assault. Services rendered to child victims do not have to be provided in connection with serving an adult parent, and there is no age restriction on providing services to child victims. In addition, SASP Formula funds may be used to provide services to children of victims of sexual assault.

2: Are state sexual assault coalitions eligible to apply for SASP Formula funding?
A: Yes, state sexual assault coalitions are eligible sugrantees, if they propose to provide direct services to victims of sexual assault.

3: Are states/territories required to submit implementation plans?
A: No, implementation plans are not required for the SASP Formula Program.

4: Do state subgrants have to be for a 24-month project period?
A: No, state and territorial administering agencies may, at their discretion, award subgrants for shorter project periods. However, subgrants may not be made for longer than the 24-month award made to the administering agency.

5: Does the process for making subgrants have to be competitive?
A: No, the process may be competitive or non-competitive at the discretion of the administering agency. Regardless of how the administering agency makes subgrants, however, it should ensure that sufficient protections against fraud, waste, or abuse of the funds are in place.

6: May SASP Formula Program funds be used to support projects that include education and prevention activities?
A: No, SASP Formula Program funds may not be used for education and prevention. However funds may be used for outreach to inform persons about the services provided by a specific program. For example, a program could use pamphlets, brochures, or community presentations to announce the services available under the grant.

7: May SASP Formula Program funds be used to support projects implemented by child advocacy centers?
A: Generally, SASP funds cannot support child advocacy centers because the focus of the program is "establishment, maintenance, and expansion of rape crisis centers and other nongovernmental or tribal programs and projects to assist individuals who have been victimized by sexual assault, without regard to the age of the individual (emphasis added)." This means that funded service providers must provide services to sexual assault victims of all ages. In addition, SASP funds may not be used for prosecution or law enforcement projects such as forensic examinations or forensic interviewing, which are often components of the child advocacy centers.

8: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for a subgrant that just focuses on a particular age? For example, may a subgrant be used to hire a children's advocate or a youth advocate?
A: The subgrantee organization itself must provide services to sexual assault victims of all ages. The specific subgrant, however, may focus on a particular age group, such as children, youth, or elders.

9: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for volunteer-related expenses?
A: Yes, SASP funds may be used to support volunteer-related activities, so long as those volunteers provide direct services for victims. Examples would include training volunteers to provide crisis intervention and supervision of those volunteers. 

10: Are governmental agencies that provide rape crisis services eligible to apply for subgrants?
A: Yes, governmental agencies may receive SASP subgrants if they meet the definition of "rape crisis center" in 42 U.S.C. 13925(a)(25). This provision states that "the term 'rape crisis center' means a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal organization, or governmental entity in a state other than a territory that provides intervention and related assistance, as specified in 42 U.S.C. 14043g(b)(2)(C), to victims of sexual assault without regard to their age. In the case of a governmental entity, the entity may not be a part of the criminal justice system (such as a law enforcement agency) and must be able to offer a comparable level of confidentiality as a nonprofit entity that provides similar victim services." Intervention and related assistance listed at 42 U.S.C. 14043g(b)(2)(C) include 24-hotline services, accompaniment and advocacy, crisis intervention, individual and group support services, comprehensive service coordination, information and reference, culturally-specific services, and development of outreach materials related to these services. Please note that rape crisis centers in the United States territories must be nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations. 

11: Is there a limitation on the types of sexual assault that SASP Formula Program funds may be used to address?
A: No. SASP Formula Program funds may be used to address intimate partner, stranger and non-stranger sexual assault, as well as adult, adolescent, and child sexual violence, regardless when the assault occurred. Both male and female victims may be served.

12: May SASP Formula Program funds be used to address domestic violence?
A: No. Funds must be used to provide services to victims of sexual assault. In cases when victims of domestic violence disclose a history of sexual assault, including by a current or former intimate partner, services may be provided with SASP funding to the extent that such victim expresses a need for services related to the sexual assault. For example, SASP funds could support accompaniment of victims to sexual assault forensic medical exams but could not be used to support a general domestic violence-related crisis center.

13: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for advocate/staff training?
A: SASP funds may be used to train program staff (volunteer or employee) who will provide specific grant-funded victim services but may not be used to provide a generalized statewide training. For example, funds may be used to support skill-building training on providing sexual assault advocacy services or training on a particular therapeutic technique to assist SASP-funded counselors/therapists in providing a more effective therapy. The amount of funds spent on training should represent only a small portion of the overall subgrant.

14: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for trainings on sexual assault for other professionals (e.g., for law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, prosecutors, etc.)?
A: No, SASP funds must be used for direct services. They may not be used for general training nor may they be used to develop training curricula. 

15: May SASP Subgrantees serve adult survivors of child sexual abuse or other survivors of a non-recent assault?
A: Yes. There are no limits on when the assault must have occurred or the age of victimization. Both male and female victims may be served.

16: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for Sexual Assault Nurse/Forensic Examiner programs?
A: No. SASP funds cannot support activities that are conducted by or inherent to the criminal justice system such as sexual assault nurse/forensic examiner programs, law enforcement investigations, and/or prosecution of sex crimes. However, SASP funds can support advocates accompanying a victim through any aspect of the criminal justice system.

17: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs)? 
A: No. However, if an advocate position is funded under a subgrant, the advocate’s time in attending SART meetings may be covered as part of the advocacy he or she provides.

18: May SASP Formula Program funds support a hotline? 
A: Yes, to the extent the hotline is for sexual assault victims. If the hotline covers a broader array of issues, the costs of the hotline should be pro-rated according to the percentage of calls that are for sexual assault. Moreover, for a multi-issue hotline to receive SASP funds, the employees or volunteers who staff the hotline would need to have sexual assault-specific training.

19: May SASP Formula Program funds be used for women's only or men's only support groups? 
A: A recipient may provide women's only or men's only support groups, but only if it is necessary to the essential operation of the program that these support groups be segregated by sex. Even if a recipient can establish that sex-specific support groups are necessary to the essential operation of the program, the recipient is still required to provide "comparable services" to victims who cannot be served by the sex-specific support groups. For more information about a recipient's option to provide services in a sex-segregated or sex-specific manner and its obligation to provide comparable services, please see the FAQs on the Nondiscrimination Grant Condition in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 at https://www.justice.gov/archives/ovw/file/29386/download

20: How long is “short-term counseling?” 
A: Up to one year.

21: Are universities eligible for subgrants?
A: Universities are eligible for subgrants only if they meet the definition of "rape crisis center" provided in the response to question 10, above, and are using the SASP funds to provide intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault.

22: If a state or territory passes the SASP Formula Program award through to the state/territorial sexual assault coalition, is it required to pass along the 5% administrative allowance? 
A: No. However, OVW strongly encourages states and territories to discuss with their respective sexual coalition to what extent some portion of the administrative allowance would assist in the organization fulfilling its function as a pass through. Many states/territories choose to pass along the entire 5% or share the allowance with each taking 2.5%.

23: Can SASP Formula Program funds awarded to subgrantees be used towards items such as rent, office supplies, computer equipment, or office furniture? 
A: Yes, if the subgrant is also funding a staff or contract position to provide direct services. The office space and other office items (e.g., computer, phone, desk, etc.) associated with this position may be charged to the grant.

BOARD PRIORITIES: The Violence Against Women Grant Board, comprised of seven members, is charged with developing and reviewing grant proposals and determining funding awards. In approving the 2022-2025 VAWA Implementation Plan, the VAWA Grant Board has determined the following as priority areas for funding:

• Provide advocacy and support to victims of sexual assault.
• Improve access to and awareness of direct advocacy services, counseling, safety planning, language services, and other resources for women who are members of underserved and minority populations.
• Enhance the capacity of professionals who impact victims of sexual assault through education and training.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION: The SASP Grant Application is currently closed.  The next application will open in OKGrants June 2025 and will close August 2025. 

GRANT NOTIFICATION:  To be placed on the mailing list to receive a Notice of Availability of Funds (NOAF) when funds become available, contact the Federal Grants Division, at 405-264-5008 or email dac-grants@dac.state.ok.us and provide your name, agency name, mailing address, and grant name for which you want to receive the Notice of Availability of Funds. Click on this link for the NOAF: 2024/25 Notice of Availability of Funds

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Laura Russell, Grant Programs Assistant, Federal Grants Division, at 405-264-5008 or via email at DAC-Grants@dac.state.ok.us.