Federal Funding for Tribal Victim Services

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Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice

Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program

The Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program (TVSSA) Program offers grantees the flexibility to support a broad range of activities focused on developing and enhancing victim services for American Indian and Alaska Native victims of crime. Among other activities, TVSSA grantees have used funding to hire victim advocates, purchase modular units or renovate buildings to house or shelter victims, offer victims inpatient and outpatient substance use treatment, pay costs for transporting and burying the remains of homicide victims, and generate awareness of individual missing persons cases.

Eligibility: Federally recognized Tribes, organizations acting as the authorized designee of a federally recognized Tribe, and Tribal consortia.

Children’s Justice Act Program (Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Purpose Area 6)

The goal of the Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities program is to provide funding to help AI/AN communities develop, establish, and operate programs designed to improve the investigation, prosecution, and handling of cases of criminal child abuse and neglect, particularly child sexual abuse cases, in a manner which lessens trauma for child victims. 

Projects funded under this purpose area improve (a) the handling of child abuse cases, particularly cases of child sexual abuse, in a manner that limits additional trauma to the child victim; and (b) the investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse. 

Project activities should focus on trauma-informed, multidisciplinary approaches to the criminal investigation, prosecution, and management of cases by improving coordination among Tribal, state, and federal professionals.

Eligibility: A federally recognized Tribe or an organization that is acting as the authorized designee of a federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
U.S. Department of Justice

Violence Against Women Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Initiative

The OVW Violence Against Women Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Initiative supports Tribes and United States Attorney’s Offices (USAOs) in their investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, sex trafficking, and stalking cases in Indian country. 

Grant funds support salary, fringe benefits, training, travel, and supplies for dedicated Tribal prosecutors who are cross-designated as Tribal SAUSAs to work directly with their USAOs. 

The goals of the initiative are to fill gaps in jurisdictional coverage; increase communication and coordination with Tribal, federal, and state law enforcement agencies; establish consistent relationships between federal prosecutors and the Tribal community(ies); and improve the quality of investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking cases through training and best practices, such as DOJ’s recently released framework for prosecutors on strengthening responses to these crimes. 

Eligibility: Invited Federally recognized Tribes.

Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program

The Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Grant Program (Tribal Jurisdiction Program) provides support and technical assistance to Indian Tribes for planning and implementing changes in their criminal justice systems necessary to exercise “special Tribal criminal jurisdiction” (STCJ) and funds to exercise the jurisdiction.

The Tribal Jurisdiction Program is designed to enhance the ability of Tribes to implement and exercise STCJ.

The program encourages collaborations among Tribal leadership, courts, prosecutors, attorneys, defenders, law enforcement, probation, victim services providers, and other partners to ensure that victims find safety and justice and that non-Indians who commit the covered crimes in the Indian Country of the Tribe are held accountable.

Eligibility: Governments of Indian Tribes that have jurisdiction over Indian country.

Grants to Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program

This program supports the development and operation of nonprofit, nongovernmental Tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. 

Tribal coalitions provide education, support, and technical assistance to member Indian service providers and Tribes to enhance their response to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Eligibility: Must meet the statutory definition of a “Tribal coalition.”

Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program

The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program (TSASP) is one of five funding streams within the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP). Overall, the purpose of SASP is to provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment (e.g., accompanying victims to court, medical facilities, police departments), support services, and related assistance for adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault, non-offending family and household members of victims, and those collaterally affected by the sexual assault. 

TSASP specifically supports projects to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by Tribes, Tribal organizations, and nonprofit Tribal organizations within Indian country and Alaska Native villages.

Eligibility: Indian Tribes, Tribal consortiums, Tribal organizations, and nonprofit Tribal organizations.

Tribal Governments Program

The Tribal Governments Program provides funding to Tribes to develop and enhance effective governmental strategies to curtail violent crimes against and increase the safety of Indian women consistent with Tribal law and custom; increase Tribal capacity to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking crimes against Indian women; strengthen tribal justice interventions; enhance services to Indian women victims; work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed towards these crimes; provide programs for supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange of children; provide transitional housing for victims; provide legal assistance for victims; provide services to address the needs of youth victims; and develop and promote legislation and policies that enhance best practices for responding to these crimes against Indian women.

Eligibility: Federally recognized Tribes or an organization that is acting as the authorized designee of a federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS)
Office of the Administration for Children & Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act

Formula grants to Native American Tribes (including Alaska Native Villages) and Tribal organizations to assist Tribes in efforts to increase public awareness about, and primary and secondary prevention of, family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, and to provide immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence, and their dependents.

Eligibility: All Native American Tribes and Tribal organizations that meet the definition of “Indian Tribe” or “Tribal organization” at 25 U.S.C. 450b and are able to demonstrate their capacity to carry out domestic violence prevention and services programs.

Comparison Chart

Eligibility and allowable activities vary for each funding program, so we encourage interested applicants to review the notices of funding opportunity carefully when they are released. We’ve also prepared the chart below to demonstrate which federal government agency has a funding source that will pay for various services.