OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Initiative Solicitation | O OVW 2022 171421

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2022 171421

The OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Initiative Solicitation is a discretionary Department of Justice funding opportunity from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) that uses the cooperative agreement funding instrument. It is authorized under 34 U.S.C. 12291(b)(11) and falls under CFDA 16.526, OVW Training and Technical Assistance Initiative. At its core, the opportunity is meant to fund organizations that can deliver practical, hands-on training and technical assistance to current and future OVW grantees and subgrantees so they can plan, run, and sustain OVW-supported projects more effectively. The larger OVW TA Initiative is intended to build the skills and capacity of professionals across the civil and criminal justice systems, along with victim service providers nationwide, so communities can respond more effectively to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. A consistent theme of this initiative is improving coordination and encouraging partnerships among agencies and organizations that have not traditionally worked together, since gaps between systems often lead to weaker safety planning, inconsistent enforcement, and missed opportunities to prevent harm.

Within that broader technical assistance framework, this specific solicitation focuses on a Special Initiative called the Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Project (often described as FTAP). It connects directly to the Justice Department strategy released on May 26, 2021 aimed at reducing violent crime. The rationale for focusing on firearms in domestic violence cases is grounded in both law and risk: federal law prohibits firearm possession by individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or felonies and by individuals who are subject to qualifying domestic violence protection orders. The solicitation highlights the well-established lethality risk associated with firearms in domestic violence situations, noting that abusers with access to a gun in the home are far more likely to kill an intimate partner, and that firearms are also commonly used as tools of intimidation and coercive control even when they are not discharged. From OVW's perspective, strengthening how communities identify prohibited possessors, enforce firearm prohibitions, and build coordinated local protocols is a direct path to preventing domestic violence homicides and firearm-related injuries.

The FY 2022 FTAP Special Initiative is designed around supporting 12 selected sites that OVW had already funded to participate in the Firearms Technical Assistance Project. Those sites include One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center; the City of Tucson, Arizona; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; the City of Detroit, Michigan; the Muscogee (Creek) Nation; the City of Columbus, Ohio; the City of New York, New York; the YWCA of Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley in Tennessee; the City of Austin, Texas; the Vermont Network Against Sexual and Domestic Violence; the City of Spokane, Washington; and the City of Yakima, Washington. The intent of this solicitation is to resource training and technical assistance providers that can meet the needs of these participating communities, helping them enhance their local responses and ultimately reduce domestic violence homicides involving firearms. In practical terms, that typically means providing expertise, tools, training curricula, peer-learning opportunities, implementation support, and troubleshooting assistance tailored to multidisciplinary partners such as law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, probation/community supervision, advocacy programs, and other community stakeholders involved in protection order processes and firearm relinquishment or recovery protocols.

The opportunity was created on September 9, 2022, with an original closing date of October 14, 2022. The award ceiling listed is $2,500,000, and OVW anticipated making about 3 awards. Eligible applicants were broad and included county governments; city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments; tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status; nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs); and certain other entities as described in the solicitation's additional eligibility information. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect a closer working relationship with OVW than a standard grant, meaning OVW typically has substantial involvement in shaping deliverables, aligning technical assistance with program goals, and ensuring the support provided matches the needs and performance expectations of the participating sites.

Finally, OVW ties this work to its broader accountability framework, pointing applicants to OVW program information and to performance measurement guidance through the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative. In other words, the work is not only about delivering training events, but also about building measurable capacity and documenting progress in ways that show how technical assistance contributes to stronger implementation, better cross-system coordination, and improved community outcomes related to firearm-involved domestic violence risk and lethality prevention.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Firearms Training and Technical Assistance Initiative Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.526.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 09, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 14, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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