08.29.14

Hoeven Announces $270K in Formula Funds to Support Services for Victims of Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded $270,447 in funding to the North Dakota Department of Health to support core services, direct intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault. The funds are made available through the Sexual Assault Services Formula Grant Program (SASP), which assists states in supporting rape crisis centers and other nonprofit organizations.

“We are working hard to provide the assistance our local officials need to not only prevent crime in our state, but also to help them alleviate the impacts of crime,” said Hoeven. “To that end, these funds will help provide the support and care victims of sexual assault most need in their time of crisis.”

Earlier this week, Hoeven announced $3 million in grants to help rural and tribal officials prosecute crimes of violence against women and provide services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in the Bakken Region of North Dakota and Montana

Last month, Senator Hoeven called on the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to better support local and state officials in fighting drug crimes and to provide additional DEA agents to help investigate drug cases in western North Dakota. The senator pressed for these additional resources in light of new crime statistics showing an increase in drug related activities in the state.

Additionally, the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Hoeven is a member, passed the Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill this past June, which directs the DOJ to develop a plan to support law enforcement in the Bakken.