OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Hiring and Training Program | O OVW 2025 172371

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2025 172371

The OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Hiring and Training Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), focused on strengthening and expanding access to sexual assault forensic exams for both pediatric victims and adolescent/adult victims. The central goal is to help communities establish new capacity or expand existing services so that survivors can receive timely, high-quality forensic medical exams, which are critical for both immediate health needs and the preservation of evidence. Rather than emphasizing equipment purchases or broad program operations, this opportunity is specifically designed to build and sustain the workforce needed to deliver these exams and to train others to do the work effectively and consistently.

Funding under this program primarily supports staffing and training by covering salary costs for full-time and part-time sexual assault nurse examiners and other qualified forensic examiners (often referred to as SANEs/SAFEs). These funded positions can be used for clinicians who conduct forensic exams directly, as well as for experienced professionals who serve in training and capacity-building roles, such as regional preceptors who mentor and supervise developing examiners, or SANE/SAFE instructors who deliver structured education and skills development. In practical terms, OVW is aiming to reduce gaps in coverage, improve exam availability across regions (including rural or underserved areas), and ensure that examiner programs have the clinical depth and instructional support to maintain quality over time.

A wide range of applicants are eligible, reflecting the fact that sexual assault forensic exam services often operate through partnerships among health care systems, advocacy organizations, and government agencies. Eligible applicants include state governments, local governments (including counties, cities, townships, and special districts), federally recognized Tribal governments, and certain Tribal organizations. Nonprofits are also eligible, including both 501(c)(3) organizations and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education). The opportunity explicitly contemplates applications from sexual assault examination programs, state or territorial sexual assault coalitions, health care facilities, community-based programs, and faith-based organizations, which makes it suitable for both hospital-based SANE programs and community-rooted models that coordinate clinical, advocacy, and follow-up services.

Administratively, this is a grant (not a contract) under the law, justice, and legal services funding activity category, and it is associated with CFDA number 16.064. The funding opportunity number is O-OVW-2025-172371. OVW anticipates making about 36 awards, with an award ceiling of $750,000 per award. The opportunity was created on May 6, 2025, and the original closing date for applications is June 24, 2025. Taken together, these details indicate a competitive national program with a meaningful, but capped, award size intended to help jurisdictions and organizations build examiner staffing and training infrastructure rather than fund unlimited expansion.

Overall, the SAFE Hiring and Training Program is best understood as workforce development for sexual assault forensic services: it helps pay for the clinicians who conduct exams and the expert mentors and instructors who can grow and stabilize those services. By targeting examiner availability and training capacity, OVW is trying to ensure survivors can access specialized forensic care across age groups, and that communities can maintain consistent, high-quality exam services over time through sustainable staffing and structured training pathways.

• The Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Hiring and Training Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.064.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-06-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 36 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for O OVW 2025 172371

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: