Grant Programs at DOJ

The Sexual Assault Victim Services (SAVS) grant is a sexual assault grant provided by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

SAVS Grant Program Details

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was designed to improve the criminal justice responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to increase the availability of services for victims of these crimes. The Office of Crime Victim Services (OCVS) administers two VAWA formula grants from the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women: the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grant and the Sexual Assault Service Formula Program (SASP).

VAWA Grant Program Details

Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) victim assistance grants are provided to private and public agencies to support direct services to victims of violent crime. Services provided under this program include safety planning, community service referrals, counseling, crisis intervention and legal advocacy.

VOCA Grant Program Details

Child Advocacy Centers are centralized locations where all responders to a sexual assault within a community can respond to a victim. They were developed to limit the number of times a child has to “tell their story” and the number of people from various stages of the system to which the victim has to respond.

As directed by Wis. Stats. 165.96, OCVS provides 15 annual grants of $17,000 each to specified child advocacy centers for education, training, medical advice, and quality assurance activities. Child advocacy centers are intended to provide comprehensive services for child victims and their families by coordinating services from law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, child protective services, victim advocacy agencies, and health care providers.

Grants awarded under the program typically fund multi-disciplinary teams of law enforcement, nurses, and victim advocates to record victim interviews and collect evidence in child sexual assault and child abuse cases. These grants do not provide funding for direct services; rather, state funds support the professional development, service improvement, medical consultation, and evaluation in 15 Child Advocacy Centers across Wisconsin.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program is the primary provider of federal criminal justice funding to states and units of local government. JAG funds may be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support and information systems for criminal justice or civil proceedings. Wisconsin’s multi-year funding strategy includes funding for projects such as Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG) and Drug Task Forces; Law Enforcement Assisted Deflection; Local Pretrial Services; the State Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; and Drug Take Back events and related expense. ​​

The Wisconsin Department of Justice provides funding to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to support compliance with the US DOJ “National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape” in adult and juvenile corrections and the implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The PREA and SORNA subgrants are funded by a penalty on the JAG and Title II federal grants until Wisconsin becomes compliant with federal law for SORNA and PREA. 

The Wisconsin Department of Justice provides funding to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to support compliance with the US DOJ “National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape” in adult and juvenile corrections and the implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The PREA and SORNA subgrants are funded by a penalty on the JAG and Title II federal grants until Wisconsin becomes compliant with federal law for SORNA and PREA.

Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Site-Based Program (COSSUP) funding support local implementation of jail-based MAT programs and the Wisconsin Deflection Initiative (WDI). The WDI supports established deflection programs to plan, develop, and implement comprehensive efforts that identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by the use and misuse of opioids, stimulants, and other substances. A variety of multidisciplinary overdose prevention, response, diversion, and referral models (including mobile crisis units and co-responder models), led by law enforcement and other first responders, have emerged in communities throughout the Nation.  WDI implements one or more of the six pathways of deflection in partnership with law enforcement or other first responders that target at risk-populations, including individuals who commit low-level, non-violent, drug-related offenses to community-based substance abuse and behavioral health services.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  PSN is coordinated by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the 94 federal judicial districts throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories.  PSN is customized to account for local violent crime problems and resources.  Current subawards include programs in Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, Madison Police Department, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Beloit Police Department, Janesville Police Department, and La Crosse Police Department.

The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program's –funding is sub-awarded to Dane County and Taycheedah Correctional Facility (DOC) to provide Residential Substance Abuse Treatment to offenders. Federal funds are provided for the RSAT Program through the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The beat patrol program provides state funding to the ten communities with the highest violent crime rates and with a population over 25,000 with funds to support additional police personnel for community work or beat patrols. As required, the calculation of eligibility occurs every three years and is based on the violent crime rates reported by eligible agencies through the Uniform Crime Reporting system.

The Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) Grant Program provides state funds to law enforcement agencies to purchase body cameras, digital storage, and retrieval systems for all their officers. The Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) Grant Program was established under 2021 Wisconsin Act 185.

State funds are provided for three grant programs for counties and tribes to be used for law enforcement purposes. These grants programs are funded from Indian Gaming Receipts revenue allocated to DOJ from the Department of Administration. The three separate programs include a grant for counties, one for tribes, and one that is a collaboration between a county & tribe.

Gunshot Location Technology Program (formerly ShotSpotter)  provides state funds to the Milwaukee Police Department to support deployment of the Gunshot Location Technology Program in the City of Milwaukee. 

The Law Enforcement Drug Trafficking Response Program provides state funds via a competitive grant opportunity once each biennial budget to Wisconsin local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund law enforcement response to drug trafficking.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Supplemental Appropriations Act allows funding to assist state and local efforts to reduce violent crime and gun-related violence across the United States in the form of a Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program grant. ​

The Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) program was established by the 2005 Wisconsin Act 25 to support county and tribal efforts that provide treatment and diversion programs for non-violent adult offenders for whom substance abuse was a contributing factor in their criminal activity. There have been numerous expansions of the TAD program with programs now operating in 56 counties and 3 tribes in Wisconsin.

State funding for TAD programs has been increased over the years, to nearly $9.7 million for 2023 and 2024 each. Funded projects range from approximately 30 pre-charge and post-charge diversion programs at the initial prosecutorial decision-making stage to 60 treatment courts programs. TAD programs provide local jurisdictions with options to offer offenders the opportunity to enter diversion programs or treatment court programs, which typically involve drug and/or alcohol treatment, case management, and other risk reduction services as a safe alternative to jail or prison confinement.​

The Abuse in Later Life Program funds a comprehensive approach to addressing elder abuse in communities. The program provides training to criminal justice professionals to enhance their ability to address elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; provide cross-training opportunities to professionals working with older victims; establish or support a coordinated community response to elder abuse; and provide or enhance services for victims who are 50 years of age or older.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice provides funding to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to support compliance with the US DOJ “National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape” in adult and juvenile corrections and the implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The PREA and SORNA subgrants are funded by a penalty on the JAG and Title II federal grants until Wisconsin becomes compliant with federal law for SORNA and PREA.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice provides funding to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to support compliance with the US DOJ “National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape” in adult and juvenile corrections and the implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. The PREA and SORNA subgrants are funded by a penalty on the JAG and Title II federal grants until Wisconsin becomes compliant with federal law for SORNA and PREA.

Youth Crisis Stabilization and Reentry funding aims to fill gaps in Juvenile Detention Centers mental health and substance use disorder assessment, treatment, and reentry services. The program will fund and train facility staff in evidence-based mental health and substance use disorder screenings and assessments. The program aims to increase the availability of treatment for these disorders within facilities and for youth reentering the community.​

State funds are provided to support programs in four priority counties designated to reduce youth gang involvement, youth violence, and youth alcohol and other drug abuse. The Youth Gang Diversion Grant program funds designated agencies’ services that divert youth from gang activities into productive activities, including placement in appropriate educational, recreational, and employment programs.  The program was created under Wisconsin Statute 165.987(1).

The Social Development Commission (SDC) Milwaukee AODA Initiative is funded through the Federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SAPTBG) through an agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The AODA Initiative provides alcohol and other drug abuse education, prevention, and treatment services for participants in the SDC Milwaukee youth gang diversion program (Wisconsin Statute 165.987(3)).

The OSS Grants Team administers several grant opportunities for Wisconsin schools: Act 109 - Digital Mapping of School Buildings, Critical Incident Stabilization, and SUSO Instructional Materials. 

Visit the School Safety Grants Webpage for more information on grant opportunities.​

2021 Wisconsin Act 109 Digital Mapping of School Buildings 2022

The purpose of this grant is to assist school boards, governing bodies or private schools, charter schools and tribal schools with obtaining reimbursed funds for the creation of critical incident mapping data. 

Maps created as part of this opportunity are distributed to local law enforcement and first responders to expedite response in the event of an incident on school grounds. 

Visit the School Safety Grants Webpage for more information on this grant opportunity.

SSI Grants - Critical Incident Stabilization Funds

The purpose of this grant is to assist schools that need additional resources to respond or recover from a critical incident. There are specific qualifications that a school/district must meet prior to applying, and these funds are awarded differently than other school safety grant funds. A panel of representatives from the OSS Advisory Committee will review and determine if an application will be approved. 

Funding awarded under this grant is used to support schools, students, and staff that experience an unusually traumatic school-related event. Events may vary but include acts of violence or criminal conduct that cause significant trauma to a school community. If a situation occurs, financial assistance is provided to support emergency response, mental health counseling, post-crisis consulting, and other support services. 

Visit the School Safety Grants Webpage for more information on this grant opportunity.

​​SUSO Instructional Materials Grant​

The purpose of this grant is to assist schools that need additional resources to respond or recover from a critical incident. There are specific qualifications that a school/district must meet prior to applying, and these funds are awarded differently than other school safety grant funds. A panel of representatives from the OSS Advisory Committee will review and determine if an application will be approved. 

OSS continues to support implementation and improving awareness of Speak Up, Speak Out Wisconsin (SUSO) in schools across the state. Funding provides schools with access to instructional materials related to SUSO. Schools are annually eligible to receive up to $1,000 per building for instructional materials to support the introduction and use of the tipline.​​​

Visit the School Safety Grants Webpage for more information on this grant opportunity.