Violence Against Women Act STOP Formula Grant Program

The Violence Against Women Act STOP Formula Grant Program administered by the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet through its Grants Management Division is a federally funded initiative originating from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. The program provides subawards to eligible entities across Kentucky to strengthen systemic and community-based responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. As a formula grant program, funding is allocated to the state and then distributed through a competitive subaward process to local and regional applicants. The administering agency is responsible for ensuring compliance with federal statutes, financial guidelines, and programmatic priorities outlined by both federal and state authorities. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to support the development and enhancement of law enforcement, prosecution, court, and victim service responses to gender-based violence. The program emphasizes coordinated, multidisciplinary approaches that improve victim safety, offender accountability, and system effectiveness. Funded projects may include training for law enforcement and judicial personnel, expansion of victim services, development of specialized units, improvement of data systems, and implementation of evidence-based practices. The program also prioritizes culturally specific services, underserved populations, and initiatives that improve responses for vulnerable groups including youth, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities. Funding under this program must align with one or more statutory purpose areas defined in federal law. These include strengthening criminal justice responses, expanding victim services and legal assistance, improving forensic and investigative practices, supporting coordinated community responses, and developing prevention and educational programming. The Kentucky implementation plan further prioritizes sustaining victim services, enhancing justice system responses, and addressing intersections between violence and human trafficking. Funds are distributed across mandated allocation categories including victim services, law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and discretionary programs. The total anticipated funding available for this cycle is approximately 2200000 dollars, with no established maximum number of subawards or individual award ceilings. Projects are funded for a 12 month period, beginning January 1, 2027 and ending December 31, 2027. Funding is provided on a reimbursement basis, requiring subrecipients to submit quarterly financial reports. A cost sharing requirement of 25 percent applies to most applicants, although certain victim service providers and tribal entities may qualify for a waiver. Matching funds must come from nonfederal sources and adhere to the same allowable cost restrictions as federal funds. Eligible applicants include state agencies, units of local government such as law enforcement and prosecution offices, courts, and nonprofit organizations including faith-based and community-based victim service providers. Applicants must submit their proposals through the Intelligrants system and comply with extensive application requirements including agency information, project narrative, budget justification, certifications, and supporting documentation. The proposal must clearly describe the problem, project design, implementation strategy, and organizational capacity, as well as include measurable goals and evaluation plans. Applications for the current funding cycle opened on August 3, 2026 and must be submitted by September 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. Award decisions are anticipated by December 1, 2026. Applicants are required to adhere to all administrative, financial, and civil rights requirements, and must ensure that proposed activities do not include prohibited or out of scope uses of funds. The program includes strict compliance standards regarding allowable costs, procurement, reporting, and documentation, and emphasizes accountability, transparency, and measurable outcomes in funded projects.

Align proposal clearly with statutory purpose areas and Kentucky priorities; demonstrate measurable outcomes; ensure compliance with allowable costs and match rules; provide strong coordination with victim service partners