Justice & Public Safety Cabinet

KENTUCKY

JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY CABINET

GRANTS MANAGEMENT BRANCH

2014-2016

Violence Against Women Act

(Services, Training, Officers, Prosecution)

STOP Formula Program

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………....3

Implementing Agency……………………………………………………………...... 3

Organization of this Plan…………………………………………………………...... 3

1. Description of Planning Process…………………………………………………………4

General Planning Considerations………………………………………………….....5

Member Collaboration……………………………………………………………….5

Roster of Formal Membership……………………………………………………….5

Collaboration with Tribes…………………………………………………………….6

Coordination with Family Violence Prevention and Services Act; Victims of Crime Act and Public Health Services Act…………………………………………………..6

Diversity and Implementation Planning………………………………………………7

Continuous Planning Activities ………………………………………………………7

1. Needs and Context……………………………………………………………………….10

Demographic and Geography………………………………………………………..10

Victimization Rates and Statistics in Kentucky……………………………………...12

1. Plan Priorities and Approaches…………………………………………………………..14

Identified Goals………………………………………………………………………14

Description of Project Priorities, Goals, and Strategies……………………………...16

Goals and Objectives to Reduce Domestic Violence-Related Homicides…………...16

Priority Funding Areas……………………………………………………………….16

Grant Making Strategy……………………………………………………………….17

Geographically Equitable Distributions……………………………………………...20

Technical Assistance…………………………………………………………………21

Underserved Populations…………………………………………………………….21

Barriers to Implementation ………………………………………………………….23

Monitoring and Evaluation…………………………………………………………..23

1. Attachments

A.)Implementation Planning Committee Documentation of Participation

B.)Letters of Support

C.)Legislative Update

I. INTRODUCTION

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY
The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, Grants Management Branch, is the state administering agency for Violence Against Women Act STOP grants, and is therefore the agency responsible for this implementation plan.

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet (KYJPSC) is the state entity responsible for criminal justice services, which encompasses law enforcement activities and training; prevention, education and treatment of substance abuse; juvenile treatment and detention; adult incarceration; autopsies, death certifications and toxicology analyses; special investigations; paroling of eligible convicted felons; and long range planning and recommendations on statewide criminal justice reform issues.

The Grants Management Branch (GMB) receives approximately $15-18 million on an annual basisfrom variousfederal grantprogramsto distribute to state and local criminal justice agencies and not-for-profit service providers.

The Violence Against Women STOP Formula Grant Implementation Plan was completed and approved by the state on: February 7, 2014.

The time period covered by the plan is January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016. Please see Continuous Planning Activities for additional details regarding the 2014-2016 VAWA STOP Implementation Plan action plan, barriers and timeline. The Implementation Planning Committee met initially to identify priorities and to create an action plan on August 29, 2012, and continued to work together and consult on an interim basis since that time. The implementation plan will be reviewed comprehensively on an annual basis.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PLAN

This plan is organized into three major sections: Description of the Planning Process, Needs and Context, and Plan Priorities and Approaches.

The Description of the Planning Process will discuss how needs have been identified and prioritized, an overview of the Implementation Planning Committee members, a description of continuous efforts to update the plan throughout the timeline of this plan, and how the state coordinated the VAWA STOP Implementation Plan with the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, as well as other similar formula grants.

The Needs and Context section provides a brief description of the state’s population, demographics, geographical information, and identified underserved populations within Kentucky.

II. DESCRIPTION OF PLANNING PROCESS

GENERAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS

The Implementation Planning Committee (IPC) for the Kentucky VAWA STOP grant program is a multi-disciplinary advisory body. Information is gathered from members of the IPC for development of this plan and funding priorities (see the Grant Making Strategysection for information about Kentucky’s grant-making strategies).

Stakeholders from across Kentucky volunteer to participate,and steps were taken to ensure a diverse group of experts and stakeholders were invited to participate in the 2014-2016 IPC planning process. Non-profit services providers and government agencies were very involved in the planning process (see Table 1 for list of committee members). Careful consideration was taken to ensure that all focus areas of the VAWA STOP grant are represented on the IPC.

Committee members attended two, in person meetings and one conference call, identifying gaps, needs, priorities and strategies of how to best use VAWA funds in Kentucky to respond to identified deficits. For the committee members that were unable to participate in person, the VAWA STOP Administrator met one-on-one to ensure that each stakeholder and discipline is fairly represented in the development of the VAWA STOP Implementation Plan.

Information about statewide needs was gathered for this plan in a variety of ways. The KYJPSC and GMB have been active in several multi-disciplinary planning groups working on issues related to VAWA funding and priorities. The Sexual Assault Response Team Advisory Committee (SART Advisory Committee), chaired by leadership of Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs and Kentucky State Police, has worked toward the enactment of legislation (HB 500, passed by the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly, amended KRS 216B.400) ensuring Kentucky’s continued federal compliance with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. 3796gg through 3796gg-5. GMB staff is available to provide technical assistance to the SART Advisory Committee; as well as attending quarterly meetings. The SART Advisory Committee has worked to develop the Sexual Assault Forensic-Medical Exams Toolkit Compliance Guide: Safe Exams for Victims Without Reporting to Law Enforcement[1]; to train SANE nurses throughout Kentucky on compliance with legislation; and to develop local protocols for storage of collected Kentucky State Police Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits that will not be released to law enforcement in cases of non-reporting victims.

GMB staff also serve on the planning committee for, as well as co-sponsor, the Ending Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Conference hosted annually by the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association and Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs;participate in communication with Women of Color Network in partnership with Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) regarding under, un-served populations; and partner with Kentucky Crime Victim Compensation Board, Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Kentucky Domestic Violence Association and Western Kentucky University onthe state-wide Victim’s Assistance Academy. Additional legislative activities are as follows: KAR update to reflect sexual assault exam protocol, KAR update to include HIV prophylaxis costs, and sexual assault prosecution cannot be conditioned on a victim submitting a polygraph (KRS 69.008). Currently, there is pending legislation on dating violence.

KJPSC GMB representatives have also participated in the strategic planning of recent Safe Harbor legislation. A staff member will continue to participate on the statewide Human Trafficking Advisory Committee as the strategic plan progresses.

MEMBER COLLABORATION

Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA) , Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) , Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet’s Statistical Analysis Center Coordinator, Louisville Metro Police Department, a Family Court District Judge, University of Louisville School of Justice Administration, University of Kentucky Center of Research on Violence Against Women, University of Kentucky Department of Behavior Science, and Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) provided information, research, and/or opinions for inclusion in this plan. Steps have been taken to ensure that Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet (KJPSC) Grants Management Branch (GMB) staff will continue to monitor and evaluate the Implementation Process through December 31, 2016.

The formal membership of the current IPC includes several victim service providers who are asked to represent needs of victims throughout the state. Kentucky does not have a dual domestic violence and sexual assault coalition; however, both coalition agencies have a strong representation on the IPC. Input from direct victim service providers, as from representatives of all related disciplines, is sought during in-person meetings of the full IPC, as well as, ad hoc requests for information via telephone or email.

Several sources of information from victim service providers have been provided for assistance in the preparation of this Implementation Plan, and will be used to develop funding priorities during each application cycle, as appropriate.

A full roster of formal membership on the committee can be found in Table 1.

Table 1

Documentation of participation included in attachment section (Attachment A), signed forms in order of member listed above.

COLLABORATION WITH TRIBES

The most current data available shows 0.23% of Kentucky’s population are American Indian and Alaska Native persons[2]. The National Conference of State Legislatures lists no state- or federally-recognized tribes in Kentucky[3]. No tribal communities or governments exist within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and thus input from tribal communities and governments was not part of this implementation planning process.

COORDINATION WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND SERVICES ACT; VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT AND PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES ACT

The Kentucky VAWA STOP Administrator is committed to coordinating with representatives and other Kentucky grant administrators of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, Victims of Crime Act and section 393A of the Public Health Service Act.

Kentucky receives two Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) formula grants. One of the formula grants directly funds the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association’s (KDVA) coalition efforts; the other formula grant is received through the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which then subawards the funds to the domestic violence shelters through KDVA. The objective of FVPSA is to “assist States in its efforts to increase public awareness about, and primary and secondary prevention of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence; and to assist States in efforts to provide immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence, and their dependents.”

Efforts to coordinate with FVPSA representatives and administrators include the domestic violence state coalition’s representation and participation on the VAWA STOP Implementation Planning Committee. In addition, the FVPSA Administrator at Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services serves as a Subject Matter Expert during the VAWA and Victims of Crime Act grant reviews.

Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet receives the VAWA STOP formula grant and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) formula grant. At least twelve subgrantees receive VAWA STOP and VOCA funding, through competitive grant application processes. The overlap funded agencies are monitored by the VAWA STOP Administrator to ensure collaboration and coordination of efforts.

Coordination and support from academic researchers on the IPC provide key research and information regarding the Rape Prevention Education section of the Public Health Services Act.

DIVERSITY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING

GMB strives to maintain an Implementation Planning Committee that is geographically, culturally, and racially diverse. Activity plan details in Table 2 present the four identified priorities in the 2014-2016 Implementation Plan: training, reaching underserved and un-served populations, incorporating economic justice, and helping survivors through the justice system.

CONTINUOUS PLANNING ACTIVITIES

Table 2

III. NEEDS AND CONTEXT

DEMOGRAPHICS and GEOGRAPHY

Implementation Planning Committee Members identified areas of un-served, underserved and inadequately served populations. These identified target populations include: race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, persons with disabilities, and immigration status.

According to the 2010 census data, the Commonwealth of Kentucky was home to4,339,367 residents, 50.8% of which are female. Of the total population, 87.8% are White, 7.8% are Black, and 3.1% identify as persons of Hispanic or Latino origin[4]. U.S. Census data suggests that the Hispanic/Latino population is increasing; in 2010, 132,836 identified as being of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. The shift in the demographic data has been considered in this Implementation Plan.

Information in this section provides the demographic distribution within Kentucky. The implementation Plan takes race and ethnicity distribution into serious consideration, as this is one of the Implementation Plan priority areas. Area Development Districts (see map 2) with diverse race and ethnic populations will focus on objective strategies to increase services to underserved, un-served, and inadequately served populations.

Additional 2010 U.S. Census data states that 18.9% of Kentuckians live in poverty, as compared to 15.3% of the United States population[5]. Twenty-one percent of women in Kentucky are living in poverty[6]. Persons with disabilities are an underserved population according to the Office of Violence Against Women. In Kentucky, around 19% of persons have one or more disabilities[7].