The City of Seattle’s Human Services Department has been awarded a two-year continuation grant from the federal Office of Violence Against Women in the amount of $920,523 for to develop and strengthen  responses to violence against women.  The Grants to Encourage Arrests Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders (Arrest) Program encourages communities to treat domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking as serious crimes by strengthening the criminal justice response to these crimes and promoting a coordinated community response.  Victim safety and offender accountability are the center piece of projects funded by this grant program.

The award will fund the continuation and expansion of the following regional activities:

• Collaboration with Consejo Counseling and Referral Services, Domestic Abuse Women’s Network, Eastside Domestic Violence Program, New Beginnings, and the YWCA in South King County to implement a project to provide access and advocacy for DV victims with limited English proficiency
• Community-based DV advocate co-located with Seattle Police and City Attorney
• Coordination through co-location of a felony prosecutor
• Developing a tool to identify, track more accurately, and better organize work involving high risk domestic violence cases