Memo regarding changes to progress reporting form

MEMORANDUM
To:

All Rural Program Grantees

From:
Date:

Ginger Baran Lyons, Program Analyst
The Office on Violence Against Women

December 1, 2017

Subject:

Updates to the Rural Semi‐annual Progress Report

Purpose
This memo is to inform grantees of changes made to OVW’s Semi‐annual Progress Report for the Rural
Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program.

Background
The 2013 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) made enhancements to some OVW
grant programs and revised or clarified certain definitions and grant conditions that cut across programs.
OVW has revised the Rural Semi‐annual Progress Report to reflect the changes made by VAWA 2013 and to
improve the quality and utility of the data the form collects.

Changes made to the Rural Semi‐annual Progress Report
Section/Question

Description of Change

Section A1: Grant Information
Question 5. Type of lead agency

Addition of “Legal services organization” category

Section B: Purpose Areas
Question 11. Purpose areas/strategies

Updated to reflect the changes made by VAWA 2013

Section C1: Training
Question 14. People trained

Removal of “Military command staff” and
“Multidisciplinary” categories

Question 15. Training content areas

Addition of “Homicide prevention (lethality
assessment)” category

Section C3: Coordinated Community Response
Question 20. Coordinated community
response activities

Addition of “DV Homicide Prevention Team” and
“Sexual Assault Response Team” columns

Section C4: Policies
Question 22. Protocol or policies

Addition of “Homicide prevention (lethality
assessment)” category

Section C5: Products
Question 24. Product development or
substantial revision

Removal of “Number used or distributed” column

Section C8: System Improvement
Question 28. Use of Rural funds for system
improvement

Addition of “Fatality review” and “Language access
plan” categories

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Section D: Victim Services/Legal Services
Question 30. Number of new
victims/survivors served and partially served

NEW QUESTION ‐ Report the number of
victims/survivors who began receiving services during
the current reporting period

Question 31. Number of victims/survivors
served for all types of victimizations

NEW QUESTION ‐ Report additional types of
victimizations victims/survivors received services for,
including trafficking

Question 33. Reasons victims/survivors
Revised table to have two columns of check boxes –
seeking services were partially served or were one for not served and one for partially served
not served
Question 34. Demographics

Race: Addition of “Some other race, ethnicity, or
origin” category
Gender: Addition of “Transgender or gender
nonconforming” category
Age: Revised age categories
Other demographics: Addition of “Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) individuals”
and “People who are D/deaf or hard of hearing”
categories

Question 36a. Victim services

Updated to include a new column to report the number
of times a service was provided

Legal Services subsection: Questions 40‐43

NEW SUBSECTION ‐ includes questions regarding the
number of legal issues addressed, the number of
victims/survivors receiving assistance with legal
issues, and legal outcomes

Section E1: Law Enforcement
Question 45. Law enforcement activities

Addition of “Lethality assessment” category

Section E3: Courts
Question: Number of criminal cases

Removal of “Number of criminal cases” question
(previously question 49)

Section E4: Probation and Parole
Question 63. Monitoring activities

Addition of “Electronic monitoring” category

For more information
The VAWA MEI website (http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/vawamei/index.htm) provides information, data
summaries, forms and instructions, technical assistance, and other resources related to OVW grant
reporting.
VAWA MEI Contact:
Tel: (800) 922‐VAWA (8292)
E‐mail: vawamei@maine.edu

OVW Contact:
Tel: (202) 305‐2093
E‐mail: virginia.baran@usdoj.gov

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