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Amata Welcomes DOJ Grant

September 18, 2021

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata welcomed the announcement of $344,292 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and congratulated the American Samoa Criminal Justice Planning Agency.

"Like this past week's grants to help prevent domestic violence, this grant to benefit victims is also the direct result of the initiative of CJPA Director Mariana Timu-Faiai and her hard-working staff, who pursued these funding opportunities, and followed through on the process," Amata said.

Specifically, this grant through DOJ's Office of Victims of Crime (OVC), part of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), provides funds via the Crime Victims Fund to enhance crime victim services in the Territory. Rather than taxpayer money, these funds result from fines and penalties assigned to perpetrators of crime for restitution efforts.

Assistance funds from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which was created by Congress to provide federal assistance to local programs for victims, are typically awarded competitively by the State or Territory government to a local community-based organization that provides their services directly to the victim.

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Issues:Judiciary