Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced grants for 12 programs targeting domestic violence homicides.
In total, the Department of Justice will award $2.3 million as part of the new Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative (DVHP Initiative), which helps local law enforcement identify potential victims and monitor high-risk offenders.
The federal initiative is modeled after the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, which enlists police, health clinics and faith groups to identify women at the most risk of abuse and connect them to domestic violence services. The homicide rate linked to domestic violence in Maryland has fallen 34 percent in the past five years, officials report.
The federal grants will go to Contra Costa County, Calif.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Rockdale County, Ga.; Winnebago County, Ill.; Boston; Brooklyn; Westchester County, N.Y.; Pitt County, N.C.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; North Charleston, S.C.; and Rutland, Vt.
