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Sexual Assault Services Program

Grant Status Open

Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) directs grant dollars to states to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations or tribal programs that provide direct intervention, and related assistance to victims of sexual assault, without regard to age.

Read the RFP

Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12511, funds under this program must be used to provide intervention and related assistance to:

  1. Adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault;
  2. Family and household members of such victims; and
  3. Those collaterally affected by the victimization, except for the perpetrator of such victimization.

Funds under this program must be used to support the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of rape crisis centers and other nongovernmental or tribal programs and programs and activities that provide direct intervention and related assistance to individuals who have been victimized by sexual assault, without regard to the age of the individual.

Intervention and related assistance may include:

  • 24-hour hotline services providing crisis intervention services and referral;
  • Accompaniment and advocacy through medical, criminal justice, and social support systems, including medical facilities, police, and court proceedings;
  • Crisis intervention, short-term individual and group support services, direct payments, and comprehensive service coordination and supervision to assist sexual assault victims and family or household members;
  • Information and referral to assist sexual assault victims and family or household members;
  • Community-based, culturally specific services and support mechanisms, including outreach activities for underserved communities; and
  • Development and distribution of materials on issues related to the services described above.

In cases when victims of domestic violence disclose a history of sexual assault, including by a current or former intimate partner, services may be provided with SASP funding to the extent that such victim expresses a need for services related to the sexual assault.  For example, SASP funds could support accompaniment of victims to sexual assault forensic medical exams but could not be used to support a general domestic violence-related crisis shelter.

Eligible Entities

Eligible applicants include the entity types listed below that assist victims (and their dependents) of sexual assault and have a documented history of effective work involving sexual assault victims.

  • Rape Crisis Centers- a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal organization, or governmental entity in a state other than a territory that provides intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault without regard to their age.
    • In the case of a governmental entity, the entity may not be part of the criminal justice system (such as a law enforcement agency) and must be able to offer a comparable level of confidentiality as a nonprofit entity that provides similar victim services.
  • Dual programs that provide sexual assault and domestic violence services.
  • Faith-based organizations that have staff specifically trained to serve victims of sexual assault.
  • Other state, local public, and nonprofit agencies, such as mental health or counseling centers or other programs that have staff specifically trained to serve victims of sexual assault.

If selected, SASP grantees must protect the privacy and confidentiality of those being provided services and adhere to all of the requirements outlined in the request for proposal.

SASP is a reimbursement-based grant.

The award period for the current grant cycle is from January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025

Priority will be given to programs that can and will promote civil rights (including by meeting the needs of underserved and marginalized survivors), improve access to justice for survivors, and enhance survivor safety.

For the purposes of this solicitation, underserved communities are communities consisting of “populations who face barriers in accessing and using victim services, and include populations that are underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity; underserved racial and ethnic populations; and populations that are underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age).

Out-of-scope Activities

The activities listed below are out of the program scope, and they will not be supported by this program’s funding.

  • Research projects. Funds under this program may not be used to conduct research, defined in 28 C.F.R. § 46.102(d) as a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Surveys and focus groups, depending on their design and purpose, may constitute research and therefore be out-of-scope.
  • Activities focused on prevention efforts and public education (e.g., bystander intervention, social norms campaigns, presentations on healthy relationships, etc.).
  • Criminal justice-related projects, including law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and forensic interviews.
  • Sexual Assault Forensic Medical Examiner programs.
  • Sexual Assault Response Team coordination.
  • Providing training to allied professionals and the community (e.g., law enforcement, child protection services, prosecution, other community-based organizations, etc.).
  • Domestic violence services unrelated to sexual violence.

Unallowable Activities

This grant program does not fund activities that jeopardize victim safety, deter, or prevent physical or emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions. The following activities have been found to jeopardize victim safety, deter, or prevent physical or emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions. In planning a SASP proposal, please ensure that these activities are not included:

  • Procedures or policies that exclude victims from receiving safe shelter, advocacy services, counseling, and other assistance based on their actual or perceived sex, age, immigration status, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health condition, physical health condition, criminal record, work in the sex industry, income or lack of income, or the age and/or sex of their children.
  • Procedures or policies that compromise the confidentiality of information and/or privacy of persons receiving services.
  • Procedures or policies that require victims to take certain actions (e.g., seek an order of protection, receive counseling, participate in couples counseling or mediation, report to law enforcement, seek civil or criminal remedies) in order to receive services.
  • Procedures or policies that fail to include conducting safety planning with victims.
  • Project designs, products, services, and/or budgets that fail to account for the unique needs of individuals with disabilities, with limited English proficiency, or who are Deaf or hard of hearing, including accessibility for such individuals.
  • Using technology without addressing implications for victim confidentiality, safety planning, and the need for informed consent.
  • Partnering with individuals or organizations that support/promote practices that compromise victim safety and recovery or undermine offender accountability.
  • Materials that are not tailored to the dynamics of sexual assault or to the specific population(s) to be addressed by the project.
  • Policies that deny individuals access to services based on their relationship to the perpetrator.

The following budget items listed below are ineligible and will not be supported by this program’s funding:

  • Food and beverages except emergency food and beverages for victims.
  • Lobbying.
  • Fundraising (including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions) and time spent procuring funding including completing federal and state funding applications.
  • Purchase of real estate or vehicles.
  • Construction and physical modification to buildings, including minor renovations (such as painting or carpeting).
  • Overtime is allowed, but to claim the overtime rate, there must be a separate line item in the budget that includes the overtime rate of pay.

Administrative costs are an allowable expense but are limited to 10% of the total grant funded budget.  Administrative costs include time to complete SASP required time and attendance sheets and programmatic documentation, reports, and required statistics; administrative time to collect and maintain satisfaction surveys; and needs assessments used to improve services delivery within the SASP funded project.

Webinar

ICJI’s Victim Services Division conducted a webinar on the 2025 Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) Grant Program request for proposal. The webinar included a basic overview of the program, important highlights, and what to know before applying. There was also be an opportunity to ask questions from the division. Registration is not required.

Download the Powerpoint

TRAINING HUB: For additional webinars on topics ranging from grant writing tips to filling out the Subgrantee Basic Budget form, click here.

Reporting Form Instructions

View reporting form instructions for more in-depth guidance on how to report about SASP-funded activities on the subgrantee Annual Progress Report.

Learn more

Formula FTE Calculator

This FTE calculator is an optional tool that can be used by SASP Formula subgrantees to calculate totals for the staff section of their progress report.

Learn more

Sample Reporting Form

This document provides an example of the SASP Reporting Form.

Learn more

SASP Formula Training Video

Review all of the sections of the reporting form with examples and detailed instructions on how best to report your SASP-funded activities.

Watch here

Video: What is full-time equivalent (FTE)?

Stumped by FTEs? Spend 4 minutes (actually, less!) watching this video.

Watch here

Crafting Narratives Training Video

Data are just summaries of thousands of stories – tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful. Watch this video to learn more.

Watch here

Crafting Narratives - Training Materials

Access and download all of the materials you need to follow along with the webinar training!

Click here

  • 2024 Awards

    Number of Awards: 11
    Total Amount Awarded: $898,007.98
    Download PDF

    Organization

    County

    Award

    YWCA Northeast Indiana

    Allen

    $96,782.88

    A Better Way Services, Inc.

    Delaware

    $79,150.25

    Crisis Connection, Inc.

    Dubois

    $64,730.98

    Family Service Association of Howard County, Inc

    Howard

    $101,550.83

    North Central Indiana Rural Crisis Center, Inc.

    Jasper

    $51,898.95

    Fair Haven Inc.

    Lake

    $141,738.73

    The Stepping Stone Shelter for Women, Incorporated

    Laporte

    $64,968.82

    Children's Bureau

    Marion

    $91,458.41

    The Caring Place

    Porter

    $41,407.00

    Albion Fellows Bacon Center, Inc

    Vanderburgh

    $134,412.89

    Council on Domestic Abuse, Inc.

    Vigo

    $27,908.24

  • Past RFPs

Technical Assistance

For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the ICJI Helpdesk, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, except state holidays. ICJI is not responsible for technical issues with grant submission within 48 hours of grant deadline.

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