The 43 domestic violence shelters currently receiving funds from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute are eligible for an additional $740,426 under a plan announced today by ICJI. The monies are in addition to those approved by ICJI’s Board of Trustees last Friday, Sept. 19. The dollars will be added to the Domestic Violence Treatment and Prevention Fund – which is used to provide immediate assistance and short-term support to victims of domestic violence.

“At Governor Pence’s direction, applications for these funds will be expedited so they can be made available to shelters as soon as possible,” said Mary L. Allen, ICJI’s executive director. “The total funding for domestic violence programs exceeds $4.2 million this year – which is $1.5 million more than in 2013.”

This afternoon, ICJI staff met with the DVPT Council to discuss how to best disperse the additional funds. The council is responsible for developing a statewide domestic violence plan and working with shelters to address programming and develop their budgets.

At the Friday meeting, the board voted to provide the same level of funding as in 2013 to shelters receiving DVPT dollars. They also voted to make an additional $1,188,928 available to current DVPT shelters, and other domestic violence programs, once information is provided on how the funds will be used. With today’s announcement, the total amount of DVPT funds available to domestic violence programs in 2014-15 is $4,221,618. In 2013-14, the amount was $2,623,690.

The domestic violence programs will submit their budgets and plans on how the money will be spent to the DVPT Council. The spending details are critical for public accountability, transparency, and to ensure funds are best utilized to meet the needs of domestic violence victims.

The DVPT Council will review the information and make recommendations to ICJI staff. The staff will then make recommendations to the Victim Services Subcommittee, a subgroup of the ICJI Board of Trustees, which will meet in an emergency session to review the DVPT Council’s recommendations.

The Subcommittee’s vote will be final so the funds can be made available as quickly as possible. The Subcommittee’s emergency meeting will be publicly posted once a date and time are determined.