OJJDP FY 20 Alaska Children's Advocacy Center Expansion Initiative for Child Abuse Victims | OJJDP 2020 17712

Opportunity Information: Apply for OJJDP 2020 17712

The OJJDP FY 20 Alaska Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) Expansion Initiative for Child Abuse Victims is a Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) discretionary funding opportunity designed to strengthen Alaska's response to serious child physical abuse and child sexual abuse. The core purpose is to improve how child abuse cases are investigated and how victims and their families receive services by supporting a coordinated, multidisciplinary team approach. In practice, this means bringing together key partners such as law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors, medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates so that children can receive timely, trauma-informed support while agencies coordinate investigations more effectively.

A major driver behind this initiative is Alaska's geography and the realities of serving rural and remote communities. Long travel distances, limited local service providers, weather-related access barriers, and uneven availability of specialized care can make it difficult to conduct child-friendly forensic interviews, arrange medical evaluations, and connect children to appropriate treatment. The CAC model is intended to reduce those barriers by centralizing and standardizing best practices: child-focused interviews conducted by trained professionals, coordinated case review among agencies, and referrals to evidence-based treatment and victim support services. Alaska already has CACs in strategic locations, but OJJDP is emphasizing that there are still gaps in coverage and opportunities to improve the range and quality of services available through existing centers.

Funding is offered through cooperative agreements, which typically means the federal agency expects to have an ongoing working relationship with award recipients, including structured oversight or collaboration during implementation. The solicitation includes two distinct funding categories aimed at expanding reach and improving capacity statewide. The first category, New Satellite CACs (OJJDP-2020-17772), focuses on establishing additional satellite locations or service points to extend CAC coverage into underserved areas. This category is meant to address geographic service gaps so that children and families do not have to travel unreasonable distances to access CAC-supported forensic interviewing, advocacy, and coordinated services.

The second category, Capacity Enhancements for Existing CACs (OJJDP-2020-17773), is aimed at strengthening and upgrading the services of CACs that already operate in Alaska. This may include efforts that improve service delivery, increase staffing or specialized expertise, enhance coordination among multidisciplinary team partners, expand victim advocacy and family support, improve access to medical and behavioral health services, or otherwise increase the center's ability to respond effectively to child abuse cases. The overarching emphasis in both categories is improving outcomes for child victims and supporting families through a more consistent, comprehensive, and trauma-informed system of care.

Key administrative details include a funding opportunity number of OJJDP 2020 17712, a CFDA listing of 16.841, and a funding activity category of Law, Justice and Legal Services. The opportunity was posted on January 23, 2020, with an original application deadline of March 25, 2020. OJJDP anticipated making up to 17 awards, with an award ceiling of $750,000 per award. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the solicitation's eligibility section, indicating that applicants would need to consult the full announcement for the specific types of organizations or entities permitted to apply.

Overall, this initiative is best understood as a targeted investment in Alaska's statewide CAC network, intended both to expand access through new satellite CAC capacity and to improve the effectiveness of existing CACs. The focus is on reducing the burden on child victims during investigations, improving coordination among agencies, and strengthening the availability and quality of services that help children and families recover while supporting a sound investigative and legal response.

• 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 20 Alaska Children's Advocacy Center Expansion Initiative for Child Abuse Victims" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.841.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 23, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 25, 2020. (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 $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 17 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for OJJDP 2020 17712

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