The Administrative Office of the Courts is now accepting Grant Applications for the Parent Education and Mediation Fund as well as the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
The Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of Tennessee (VORP) was sanctioned by the legislature in 1993. Pursuant to this legislation, the Administrative Office of the Courts has grant funds available for fiscal year 2017-2018 for VORP programs based on the statutory criteria listed in T.C.A. §16-20-101 et seq. VORP grant recipients must be organized as a not-for-profit corporation that helps resolve felony, misdemeanor, and/or juvenile delinquent disputes by providing a more informal and less adversarial alternative to court in which persons may voluntarily participate in to resolve altercations.
In 2000, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted Public Chapter 889, known as the Tennessee Parenting Plan Law which provides for funding to be distributed by the Administrative Office of the Courts “for the specific purpose of funding the parenting plan requirements pursuant to this part, through the divorcing Parent Education and Mediation Fund (PEMF), which funding includes the costs of court-ordered mediation, parenting education programs and any related services to resolve family conflict in divorce, post-divorce, and other child custody matters.” T.C.A. §36-6-413.
Non-profit organizations serving rural communities that are looking to develop initiatives are encouraged to apply. The PEMF grant application must be signed by the presiding judge of the trial court in the district or the judge presiding over the court in which the litigants will be assisted by the initiative.
The PEMF and VORP grants shall be for the time period of July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018. Funding awards are dependent upon the availability of state appropriated funding.
The PEMF and VORP grant applications are located at https://www.tncourts.gov/programs/rfpsgrants. The application must be received by the Administrative Office of the Courts via mail, fax, or email to grants@tncourts.gov by 4:30 pm on April 13, 2017. Notification of grant awards will be sent on or about May 12, 2017.
For more information about 2016-2017 grant recipients, please visit https://www.tncourts.gov/programs/mediation/resources-public.