Tribe receives $695,466 in DOJ grants

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde received three grants totaling $695,466 from the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, Sept. 18, designed to bolster Tribal police efforts and help combat substance abuse and domestic violence in the Grand Ronde area.

The awards were part of the department's nationwide effort to enhance and support Tribal justice and safety with 192 grants awarded to 110 Native American Tribes totaling $90 million.

The Grand Ronde Tribe received a $66,184 Public Safety and Community Policing grant will help pay for equipment and training for the Grand Ronde Police Department. Included in the grant are funds to pay for an automated license plate reader system for a Tribal patrol vehicle, said Tribal Planning & Grants Manager Kim Rogers.

A $234,550 Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse grant will help fund start-up costs at the under-construction women's transition house, including covering most of the cost of an existing counselor. The grant will be spent over a three-year period.

And finally, the Tribe received a $394,732 Violence Against Women grant that will cover the cost of hiring a domestic violence victims advocate/caseworker position and/or office over a three-year period, and other program costs including emergency shelter services and some legal assistance.

"These programs take a community-based and comprehensive approach to the root causes and consequences of crime, as well as target areas of possible intervention and treatment," said Associate Attorney General Tony West in a Department of Justice press release announcing the grants. "The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation programs are critical tools to help reverse unacceptably high rates of crime in Indian Country, and they are a product of the shared commitment by the Department of Justice and Tribal nations to strengthen and sustain healthy communities today and for future generations."