The California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program was established through the Budget Act of 2019 (Assembly Bill 74, Chapter 23, Statutes of 2019) and appropriated $30,000,000 in funding for competitive awards to cities and community-based organizations to support evidence-based violence reduction initiatives.
On October 11, 2019, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1603 (Chapter 735, Statutes of 2019) – also known as the Break the Cycle of Violence Act – which adds Section 14130 to the California Penal Code, codifying the establishment of the CalVIP Grant and the authority and duties of BSCC in administering the program, including selection criteria for grants and reporting requirements to the Legislature.
The Break the Cycle of Violence Act specifies that the purpose of CalVIP is to improve public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly group-member involved homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults.” CalVIP grants shall be used to support, expand and replicate evidence-based violence reduction initiatives, including but not limited to:
- hospital-based violence intervention programs,
- evidence-based street outreach programs, and
- focused deterrence strategies.
These initiatives should seek to interrupt cycles of violence and retaliation in order to reduce the incidence of homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. Further, these initiatives shall be primarily focused on providing violence intervention services to the small segment of the population that is identified as having the highest risk of perpetrating or being victimized by violence in the near future.
All projects should be focused on the implementation of a coordinated, community-based strategy for reducing violence. Proposals must target those individuals at highest risk for perpetrating violence or being victimized by violence. Grantees must work through community-based organizations and/or public agencies that are well positioned to work with these high-risk individuals.