The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Created in 1995, OVW administers grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. OVW grants support coordinated community responses to hold offenders accountable and serve victims.

Justice for Families Program

The Grants to Support Families in the Justice System program (Justice for Families Program) was authorized in the VAWA reauthorization of 2013 to improve the responses of the civil and criminal justice systems to families with a history of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, or in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. The program supports the following activities for improving capacity of courts and communities to respond to families affected by the targeted crimes: court based and court related programs; supervised visitation and safe exchange by and between parents; training for people who work with families in the court system; civil legal services; and the provision of resources in juvenile court matters. For more information about this program, see https://www.justice.gov/ovw/grant-programs and https://www.vawmei.org/grant-program/justice-for-families-jff-program.