County Accepts Nearly $776K in Federal VAWA Grants

Franklin County Board of Commissioners I Franklin County Office of Justice Policy and Programs 

Franklin County will receive close to $776,000 in federal funding to support services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence after the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved two grant awards on April 21.

The funding comes through the FY 2025 Services-Training-Officers-Prosecutors (S.T.O.P.) Violence Against Women Act program, administered federally by the Office on Violence Against Women and passed through to counties via the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.

The first award, an administrative grant of $25,807.48, covers personnel costs within the county's Office of Justice Policy and Programs necessary to administer the broader Violence Against Women Block Grant. The county's general fund contributes a required cash match of $6,441.87 toward that total.

The second award is the block grant itself, totaling $749,995.99. According to Director Ernest Stockton of the Office of Justice Policy and Programs, those funds will go toward enhancing prosecution, law enforcement response, and victim services for female victims. The block grant period runs January 1 through December 31, 2026.

Stockton noted that subrecipient awards from both grants, the organizations and agencies that will deliver direct services to survivors, will come before the Board for approval under separate resolutions.

Both resolutions passed 3-0.