Saturday, February 1, 2025
2/1/2025
The purpose of this application is to request continued funding to support sexual violence prevention activities in Maryland through the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) cooperative agreement issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The Rape and Sexual Assault Prevention Program (RSAPP) is requesting $775,777 for the budget period of February 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025, which is Year 1 of the 2024-2029 project period. Maryland has received RPE funding since 1995, and this application represents a planning effort to continue existing programs while incorporating new initiatives as required by the CDC. RSAPP was created to provide education and training for sexual assault professionals and the general public with the goal of preventing sexual violence. To accomplish this mission, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) will continue to utilize RPE funding to address sexual violence in Maryland by maintaining collaborative partnerships with other state agencies, statewide and community-based organizations, and academic institutions. These collaborations allow for the implementation of primary prevention programming focused on school-based interventions, college-based initiatives, individual and community-level strategies, evaluation activities, and professional development opportunities. Specifically, MDH plans to sustain partnerships with rape crisis centers through the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services; the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA); Bowie State University (BSU); the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), as well as other colleges and universities, community-based organizations, local governments, and businesses (TBD). This budget year will not only allow for the continued implementation of our current primary prevention strategies through sustained partnerships, it will also incorporate planning objectives aimed at strengthening future prevention efforts. This will entail program evaluation; providing training and technical assistance (TTA) to RPE-funded organizations on the implementation of sexual violence primary prevention strategies; and continuing our participation in required CDC-sponsored program support activities. The RPE cooperative agreement supports 1.9 FTEs: RPE Director (Erin Boguski), directs the development, implementation, and evaluation of the RPE grant and provides fiscal oversight, including annual budget preparation and monitoring. Program Coordinator (Tanisha Robinson) provides administrative support and coordinates activities with our partner agencies. Joyce Dantzler, Chief of Office of Healthy Homes and Communities, serves as the Project Director in providing administrative and programmatic oversight of the RPE Grant. Ms. Dantzler devotes 25% (in-kind) of her time to the grant. There is no federal matching requirement for this grant.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).