CJPA gets fresh federal funds

The Criminal Justice Planing Agency has received a total of $337,595 from the federal government, which it will channel to various programs aimed at alleviating the conditions of violence victims.

The biggest portion of the funds released goes to STOP (Services Training Officers Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with a total of $176,220 appropriated for its operation.

STOP VAWA is a program created to foster more widespread apprehension, prosecution and adjudication of violent crimes against women through the criminal justice system.

Under its fiscal year 2000 grant application, 95 percent or $167,409 of the funding will be for direct services, while 5 percent or $8,811 will go to administration costs.

Furthermore, at least 25 percent will be allocated, without duplication, to each of the following areas: prosecution, law enforcement, and nonprofit, non-governmental victim services.

Family Violence Task Force received the second biggest budget with $167,409 appropriated to it. The task force provides a centralized, coordinated and multi-disciplinary response to domestic violence, with an emphasis on victim safety and on the prevention of further and more serious violence or injury to women and/or juvenile family members.

Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Program received $106,070. A formula program that provides direct services to victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assaults, survivors of homicide and other crime victims, the program will farm $76,350 to Karidat Social Services, $15,140 to the Family Violence Task Force, and $14,580 Family Violence Task Force (Department of Public Safety-Tinian).

The victim of violence program which got the least funding was the Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Program.

The program sets the direction and lays the foundation for the Commonwealth in addressing the unique and difficult challenges faced by victims, social services, criminal justice agencies, and the community in general.

The funding it received will be disseminated to the Violence Against Women Office’s travel and training expenses for the Rural Committee, $15,000; and the CNMI Interagency Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Planning Committee for direct services.

The Criminal Justice Planning Agency is the Northern Mariana Islands’ State Administering Agency for the aforementioned programs.