OVC FY 2023 Invited to Apply Buffalo, NY - Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Crime Victim Compensation and/or Assistance | O OVC 2023 171825

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVC 2023 171825

The OVC FY 2023 Invited to Apply Buffalo, NY - Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) for Crime Victim Compensation and/or Assistance is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). It is designed to provide supplemental, incident-driven support to victims and communities impacted by an act of mass criminal violence or domestic terrorism, when the scale and urgency of the event overwhelm the jurisdiction's existing victim service capacity. The underlying purpose aligns with broader Office of Justice Programs (OJP) priorities that emphasize advancing civil rights and racial equity, improving access to justice, strengthening public safety, and building trust between communities and law enforcement.

This funding is made available through the Antiterrorism Emergency Reserve, which allows OVC to respond quickly and flexibly when extraordinary events create immediate and long-term needs that cannot be met through normal state and local resources. The program recognizes that after a major incident, jurisdictions often face a dual challenge: they must surge services for victims of the incident while continuing to serve victims of other crimes without delays or gaps. AEAP is meant to fill that surge capacity need by supporting victim-centered services that are clearly tied to the incident and that add to, rather than replace, existing funding streams.

AEAP funding can support four major categories of assistance, which may be combined within a single application depending on what the incident requires. Crisis response covers immediate, short-term actions to stabilize and support victims right after the event, such as emergency victim advocacy, crisis counseling, outreach, and coordination of victim services. Consequence management focuses on longer-term recovery needs, helping victims and communities cope with ongoing impacts, which can include trauma-informed counseling and sustained support services as people work through grief, fear, and disruption. Criminal justice support is aimed at helping victims engage with and navigate the justice process, including services that facilitate victim participation in investigations, prosecutions, and related proceedings. Crime victim compensation support is intended to supplement state crime victim compensation programs that reimburse victims for eligible out-of-pocket costs connected to the victimization, such as medical expenses, mental health treatment, funeral and burial costs, and other allowable expenses depending on state rules.

A key feature of this opportunity is that funding is retroactive to the date of the incident. That means eligible applicants can seek reimbursement for qualifying costs incurred starting on the incident date, as long as those costs are allowable, well-documented, and directly connected to serving victims of the event. However, the program is explicit that every dollar requested must be justified as supplemental. Applicants must show why existing resources, including current victim assistance and compensation capacity, were not sufficient to meet incident-related needs in a timely and comprehensive way, and how AEAP funds will close that gap specifically for victims of the incident.

The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $3,899,303 with one expected award, reflecting that it was targeted and limited in scope rather than a broad national competition. The posting date was July 13, 2023, with an original closing date of July 19, 2023, indicating a fast turnaround consistent with emergency-response funding. The CFDA number associated with the program is 16.321, and the statutory authority cited is 34 U.S.C. 20103(c)(1)(A), which provides the legal basis for OVC to make these emergency and supplemental awards.

Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full solicitation, which is typical for AEAP because eligible entities can vary depending on the incident and the role an organization plays in delivering victim compensation or victim assistance. Another practical component built into the program is that OVC may provide a no-cost consultant to help the prospective grantee through the AEAP application process, which can be especially useful when local agencies and partners are under pressure responding to a high-impact event and need support assembling documentation, budgets, and justifications quickly.

Overall, this grant opportunity is structured as a targeted, time-sensitive mechanism to strengthen Buffalo, NY's capacity to respond to and support victims after a qualifying act of mass violence or domestic terrorism, covering both immediate crisis needs and longer-term recovery and justice-system engagement, while also bolstering the systems that reimburse victims for direct financial losses tied to the crime.

• The Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVC FY 2023 Invited to Apply Buffalo, NY - Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program for Crime Victim Compensation and/or Assistance" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.321.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 13, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2023. (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 $3,899,303.00 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).

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