President Obama Includes $41 Million for Rape Kit Reform in Budget Request On Tuesday, President Obama announced his FY17 budget proposal, which included $41 million in funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s community-based sexual assault response initiative. These federal funds will build upon the investments made to address the rape kit backlog in FY15 […]
The backlog of untested rape kits has touched nearly every corner of the country. It seems every week, a community discovers rape kits that have never been sent to the lab for analysis. Untested rape kits mean that dangerous offenders have been allowed to remain on the streets—free to offend with impunity—and survivors of these […]
$45 Million Allocated to Rape Kit Reform in Federal Spending Bill Signed into Law on Friday Joyful Heart Foundation praises the inclusion of $45 million for rape kit reform in the FY16 omnibus spending bill, signed into law by President Obama on Friday afternoon. This funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s community-based sexual assault […]
The Joyful Heart Foundation today praised the inclusion of $45 million in funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s community-based sexual assault response initiative in the FY16 omnibus bill released this morning. This community-based sexual assault response initiative provides local communities the resources to: test backlogged kits in their police storage facilities; create multi-disciplinary teams to investigate and prosecute cases connected to the backlog; and address the need for victim notification and re-engagement with the criminal justice system.
The Joyful Heart Foundation was honored to participate in the second annual Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Summit for Cities, which convened on October 19 – 20 in Memphis, Tennessee. Having attended the inaugural summit last year, I am encouraged to see how much the participation has grown: from representatives of four jurisdictions last year, to […]
U.S. Department of Justice and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office award nearly $80M in funding to address untested rape kits Last month, Joyful Heart Foundation Founder & President Mariska Hargitay stood with Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. as they announced nearly $80 million in funding to […]
Today, Joyful Heart Foundation Founder and President Mariska Hargitay was proud to stand beside Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as they awarded nearly $80 million in funding for law enforcement agencies to address their backlogs of untested rape kits. This historic investment will help jurisdictions develop […]
NEW YORK – The Joyful Heart Foundation, one of the leading advocacy organizations working toward nationwide rape kit reform, today applauded the awards of nearly $80 million in grants to address the backlog of untested sexual assault kits at law enforcement agencies. At an event onstage today with Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta […]
Over the past year, there has been unprecedented movement in the call for rape kit reform. The issue has been covered extensively in the media; the federal government created a new $41 million grant program focused on the untested rape kit backlog and the New York District Attorney’s Office announced $35 million in grant funds […]
