Court Lifts Grant Curbs for USVI Violence Victims Programs

A federal court has blocked enforcement of eight conditions that the U.S. Department of Justice had placed on grants for domestic violence and sexual assault services, affecting $1.4 million in awards to organisations across the US Virgin Islands.

On October 23, the Justice Department issued revised funding instructions acknowledging that U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose in Rhode Island had struck down the restrictions in a September 29 ruling. The lifted conditions will no longer apply to grants for fiscal years 2025, 2026 and 2027, unless the court's decision is overturned or temporarily halted on appeal.

Three territory recipients shared the $1,426,032 in grants during fiscal year 2025 through the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women: the V.I. Law Enforcement Planning Commission received $642,314, the V.I. Department of Human Services received $258,718, and the Women's Coalition of St. Croix received $525,000.

The restrictions, put in place under the Trump administration, had barred funding for certain diversity, equity and inclusion work, programs addressing gender identity, services tied to immigration matters, and initiatives that framed domestic violence or sexual assault as part of wider social issues rather than primarily as criminal matters. They also prohibited programs that discouraged law enforcement cooperation and some public awareness efforts.

The lawsuit, Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Blanche, was filed by 25 nonprofit organisations challenging the restrictions. Judge DuBose found that the Justice Department breached the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to justify the restrictions adequately or assess their impact on grant recipients.

Organisations seeking these grants no longer need to certify that funds will not support the eight banned categories. However, two other restrictions remain: limits on unrelated community development work and caps on administrative or consulting costs. Recipients must still follow all other federal laws and grant requirements.

Federal records do not show whether any of the three Virgin Islands recipients had to alter programs, stop services or revise applications because of the restrictions before they were invalidated.