OVW Fiscal Year 2022 SAFE Virtual Practicum Program Invitation to Apply | O OVW 2022 171115

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2022 171115

The OVW Fiscal Year 2022 SAFE Virtual Practicum Program (Invitation to Apply) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 16.526. It is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12291(b)(11) and focuses on sustaining and strengthening the SAFE Virtual Practicum, an interactive, scenario-based training platform designed to improve how sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAFEs) are conducted. The application window opened April 13, 2022, and closed May 12, 2022, with an anticipated single award and a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $300,000.

At the center of the program is the SAFE Virtual Practicum itself, described as an in-depth, hands-on training experience grounded in the OVW SAFE Protocol and SAFE Training Standards. Rather than being a basic lecture-style course, the Practicum is built to simulate real-world practice. Users can conduct a mock sexual assault medical forensic exam and work through connected elements that reflect what practitioners encounter beyond the exam room. These features include virtual components such as a courtroom and a crime lab, interviews with victims, an expert roundtable discussion, a mock Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) conversation, and specialized scenarios involving patients from unique populations, including an elderly victim. The overall design emphasizes coordinated, multidisciplinary response and the practical decision-making that clinicians and team members must apply in actual cases.

The purpose of the SAFE Virtual Practicum Program is twofold. First, it supports ongoing maintenance of the Practicum through technical advancement, meaning the award is intended to help keep the platform current, functional, and updated as technology evolves. Second, it funds additional technical assistance (TA) for Practicum users, which typically implies support that helps end users adopt the tool effectively, troubleshoot issues, and maximize the training value in different settings. Because this is a cooperative agreement, recipients should generally expect substantial involvement from the funding agency during the project period, such as coordination on updates, deliverables, implementation choices, and other key project decisions aligned with OVW priorities.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the official eligibility text, signaling that this opportunity may target a specific type of organization or entity capable of maintaining a national-level training product and delivering technical assistance. The funding activity category is Law, Justice, and Legal Services, reflecting the Practicum's role in strengthening the justice and community response to sexual assault through improved forensic medical practice and cross-system coordination.

OVW also ties this opportunity to its broader effectiveness and accountability framework. The notice points applicants to OVW program information, established performance measures under the VAWA Measuring Effectiveness Initiative, and examples of successful projects discussed in OVW reporting to Congress on the effectiveness of VAWA grant programs. In practical terms, this signals that the funded project is expected to align with OVW outcome goals, track performance in ways consistent with OVW requirements, and demonstrate how the work contributes to improved capacity, quality, and consistency in sexual assault medical forensic examinations and related coordinated responses.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2022 SAFE Virtual Practicum Program Invitation to Apply" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.526.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 13, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 12, 2022. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O OVW 2022 171115

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: