OJJDP FY 19 VOCA Regional Children's Advocacy Centers (RCAC) | OJJDP 2019 14993

Opportunity Information: Apply for OJJDP 2019 14993

The OJJDP FY 19 VOCA Regional Children's Advocacy Centers (RCAC) grant opportunity is a discretionary funding program from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), designed to strengthen how communities respond to child abuse and neglect. Through this program, OJJDP planned to fund four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers, with one center serving each of the four U.S. census regions. The core idea is to reinforce and expand the Children's Advocacy Center model by supporting coordinated, multidisciplinary responses that bring together professionals such as law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates so that child victims and their families experience a more consistent, effective, and trauma-informed path through investigation and recovery.

The opportunity focuses on two major responsibilities for the funded regional centers. First, the RCACs are expected to help develop and strengthen multidisciplinary teams, local CAC programs, and state chapter organizations that handle child abuse and neglect investigations, treatment and intervention services, and prosecution. This includes building the capacity of communities that are still developing their coordinated response as well as improving the structure and functioning of established teams and programs. Second, the RCACs are tasked with delivering training and technical assistance across their regions. This means providing hands-on guidance, tools, and education to improve practice quality, increase consistency across jurisdictions, and help programs solve operational problems, adopt stronger policies, and meet recognized standards of care.

A key emphasis of the program is promoting widespread and consistent use of evidence-based practices and a multidisciplinary approach throughout the child abuse case process, from initial report and forensic interviewing through assessment, treatment, and court proceedings when applicable. The grant is aimed at improving outcomes for child victims and their families by encouraging approaches that reduce trauma, improve coordination among agencies, enhance the quality of investigations and case decision-making, and increase access to appropriate services. In practical terms, the supported work would typically involve improving protocols for collaboration, strengthening training related to forensic interviewing and child-friendly investigative processes, supporting victim and family advocacy services, and helping communities align their practices with proven methods and professional standards.

Administratively, this opportunity was offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the federal agency generally expects to have substantial involvement in guiding or collaborating on the work compared to a standard grant. The funding opportunity number is OJJDP 2019 14993, and the CFDA number listed for the program is 16.758. The posting indicates an award ceiling of $1,250,000 per award, with an anticipated total of four awards, matching the goal of one RCAC per census region. The opportunity was created on November 20, 2018, with an original application deadline of January 22, 2019.

Eligibility was primarily aimed at nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), with additional eligibility possible under the "Others" category as clarified in the full announcement. Overall, the grant was structured to invest in regional leadership hubs that can spread effective CAC practices, raise the quality and consistency of multidisciplinary responses, and strengthen state and local systems so child abuse victims receive better-coordinated investigations, services, and justice outcomes.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 19 VOCA Regional Children's Advocacy Centers (RCAC)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.758.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 20, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 22, 2019. (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 $1,250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for OJJDP 2019 14993

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