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The IHS and the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) are putting nearly $21 million toward supporting victims of tribal domestic violence. Grants will be awarded to 56 health programs to increase access to services. The goal is to help strengthen tribal responses to domestic violence; emphasize public awareness, advocacy, and policy; and fund training and technical assistance. “Tribal domestic violence programs provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of Native women, children, and men each year,” said Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Families Rafael López.
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The funding is provided under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). In 2014, local tribal domestic violence programs funded by FVPSA answered 86,203 calls for crisis counseling and requests for shelter and other services.
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The grants are also a new phase in the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI), which previously funded 65 health programs in a 5-year demonstration project. During the first 4 years of the demonstration, DVPI projects provided more than 50,000 crisis interventions, victim advocacy and counseling encounters and made more than 38,000 referrals for domestic violence services.