Primary Department: District Attorney
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Sean Teare, District Attorney
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Application
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): US Department of Justice/Office of Violence Against Women
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable):
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Choose an item.
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 5%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Rate is not 0% and is listed above.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the District Attorney for approval to submit an application to the United States Department of Justice/Office of Violence Against Women for grant funds in the amount of $1,000,000, with no required match, for the FY25 Domestic Violence High Risk Advocate Project, subject to review by the County Attorney’s Office.
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Background and Discussion:
The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) administers grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. OVW grants support coordinated community responses that provide services to victims and hold offenders accountable. The Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response Program (ICJR Program) assists state, local, and Tribal governments, and courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law, and to seek safety and autonomy for victims The expected federal grant award is $1,000,000 for the award period beginning October 1, 2025 and ending September 30, 2028.
Expected Impact:
This award ensures that prosecutor’s’ offices engage in planning, developing, and implementing training developed by experts in the field regarding victim-centered approaches in domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking cases; policies that support a victim-centered approach, informed by such training; and a protocol outlining alternative practices and procedures for material witness petitions and bench warrants, consistent with best practices, that shall be exhausted before employing material witness petitions and bench warrants to obtain victim-witness testimony in the investigation, prosecution, and trial of a crime related to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking of the victim in order to prevent further victimization and trauma to the victim. This grant will fund the Domestic Violence High Risk Advocate Project of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Alternative Options:
There are not alternative options identified. Without approval the Domestic Violence High Risk Advocate Project of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office would go unfunded.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): A4: Improve safety through targeted pursuit of violent crime suspects.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
FY25 Domestic Violence High Risk Advocate Project |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (To be filled out by Grants staff only) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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$1,000,000 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 6/12/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 10/1/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Kevin Le, Finance Assistant Director, District Attorney’s Office
Attachments (if applicable): Notice of Funding, Certifications of Funding