(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that he is awarding $79.5 million to 356 crime victim service providers across Ohio as part of the "Ohio Attorney General's Expanding Services and Empowering Victims Initiative."
Attorney General DeWine created the initiative in 2015 to determine how grant funds could best be spent to serve victims of crime in Ohio.
Of the $79.5 million in grants announced today, an estimated $25 million will go toward providing services to domestic violence victims, approximately $20 million will go toward serving victims of sexual assault, and more than $14 million will go toward services for abused children. Additional funds will assist agencies that provide services to at-risk youth, victims with disabilities, and other victims that traditionally have not accessed victim services.
“In the aftermath of a crime, it's critically important that victims have easy access to comprehensive care and services," said Attorney General DeWine. "Through these grants, agencies throughout the state will be able to continue or even expand upon the ways they help victims of crime in Ohio."
Some of the new programs being funded as part of the "Ohio Attorney General's Expanding Services and Empowering Victims Initiative" this year include:
- Welcome House Inc. (Cuyahoga): $373,645 Grant funding will be applied toward hiring staff to work with victims of crime with developmental disabilities and toward establishing a hotline to connect victims of crimes to community resources.
- Catholic Charities Diocese of Toledo (Lucas): $139,731.17 Grant funding will be used to continue adult advocacy services to current clients and expand their reach to other victims - particularly victims of elder abuse - who currently are not receiving victim services.
- Columbus College of Art and Design (Franklin): $56,368 Grant funding will allow the college to hire a full-time therapist with trauma specialization to provide victim care services to students who are victims of crime.
- Warm Welcomes Foster Care Outreach (Butler, Hamilton, Warren): $23,395 Grant funding will be used to expand their "Welcome Bag" outreach for local children in foster care who are victims of child abuse and neglect.
- Wright State University (Greene): $156,500 Grant funding will be used to develop a mobile app that will assist victims of sexual violence on their college campus gain access to campus and community resources, as well as offer assistance with accessing the justice system.
The $79.5 million in funds is being awarded from Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant funding awarded to Ohio from the U.S. Department of Justice. The fund is financed by federal settlements, fines, and fees.
As part of separate grant funding also announced today, Attorney General DeWine awarded 195 crime victim service agencies with $3.4 million in grants from the State Victim Assistance Act (SVAA).
A list of agencies receiving VOCA and SVAA grants can be found
here.
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Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840