Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $215,000)
There is a need for an online, searchable database of resources for victims of crime in Ohio. As of now, there is no centralized database of victim services providers in the state of Ohio. Victim services in Ohio operate in a highly specialized manner, with coalitions existing for domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and victim witness organizations. While each of these sectors of victim services maintain contact information for their own members, there are hundreds of victim service providers in Ohio that are available for victims of crime but do not fit within these coalitions. This means victims whom have experienced multiple types of victimization may never be aware of all of the services that are available to them.
The Office for Victim of Crime FY 2021 Building State Technology Capacity grant request will achieve the following goals and objectives:
Goal 1: Ensure that all victims of crime in Ohio have an easy to understand resource guide of all available services in the State of Ohio
Objective 1.1: Upgrade the Grants Management System used by the CVS Grants Unit
Objective 1.2: Increase victims served throughout the state by increasing visibility through the centralized resource database.
Goal 2: Ensure victims are able to access services faster by providing reimbursement through multiple grant programs to victim services providers from a centralized grants management system
Objective 2.1: Decrease the maximum reimbursement timeline for victims of crime to between seven and ten days
Award dollars from this grant will be used to upgrade the Grants Management System (GMS) used by the CVS Grants Unit. The upgrade will allow more than 400 victim services providers to provide contact information, descriptions of their services, and instructions for accessing their services, which will then be exported automatically into a centralized database. This database will allow victims throughout the state, and other service providers, to identify services that are available to them in their communities. This funding will also allow the CVS Grants Unit to centralize its funding opportunities into one system. The upgrade to the GMS used by the Grants Unit also will centralize all funding streams provided by CVS into one platform, which will decrease the maximum reimbursement timeline to between seven and ten days. Additionally, the database will offer the option of being in English or translated to Spanish, which is Ohio’s second most commonly spoken language.