Loudoun County has received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to strengthen the county’s current coordinated community response to domestic violence. Loudoun County applied for the grant in collaboration with the Leesburg Police Department and Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter.
The funding, which will be available October 1, 2019, and will be spread over three years, will be utilized for a number of improvements, including:
- Advanced trainings for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and related professionals;
- Hiring of two specialized domestic violence detectives for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Leesburg Police Department;
- Development of a data tool with standardized metrics for better tracking of domestic violence data;
- Expansion of multilingual resources;
- A strategic plan for the Loudoun County Domestic Violence Steering Committee;
- Legal advocacy services for domestic violence victims with immigration concerns;
- Updated inter-agency protocols;
- Evaluation of the impact of new program elements; and
- Enhanced Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) case review. LAP is an innovative tool that gives first responders a way to assess risk and intervene before there is a fatal domestic assault.
“This is great news for the residents of Loudoun County. As the county has grown, so has the need for services in this area. In the past five years, the county has seen an increase in domestic violence assaults. The funding will be used to help enhance our efforts to prevent and respond to domestic and sexual violence,” said Assistant County Administrator Valmarie Turner.
Loudoun County’s coordinated community response to domestic violence is a collaborative effort, which includes the Loudoun Domestic Abuse Response Team (D.A.R.T.). D.A.R.T. is comprised of front line workers and managers from several agencies. The team is advised by the multi-agency Loudoun Domestic Violence Steering Committee. The agencies involved are:
- Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
- Juvenile Court Services Unit
- Leesburg Police Department
- Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter (LAWS)
- Loudoun County Department of Community Corrections
- Loudoun County Department of Family Services
- Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Developmental Services
- Loudoun County Office of the County Administrator
- Loudoun County Public Schools
- Loudoun County Sheriff's Office
More information about the county’s efforts to prevent domestic violence may be found at loudoun.gov/DART.
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