Grants from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault prevention and probation services for offenders, Congressman Jim Oberstar announced Wednesday.

The DOJ will award $400,000 to Itasca County to combat domestic violence and sexual assault.

The county will partner with two non-profit organizations, Advocates for Family Peace and the Itasca Alliance Against Sexual Assault, to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

“Community leaders, victims advocates and law enforcement in Itasca County are coming together to make a difference,” said Oberstar. “They are combating violence against women that tears apart the fabric of our families and communities.”

Duluth-based Mending the Sacred Hoop will receive $225,000 to operate its program to combat sexual assault against Native American women in Minnesota.

The Sacred Hoop Coalition builds community coalitions to prevent sexual assault and to prosecute offenders.

“Native American women are 3.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women of other races and ethnicities; that statistic is chilling.” said Oberstar. “The people at Mending the Sacred Hoop are national leaders in protecting the safety and well-being of Native American women.”

Pine County was awarded a DOJ grant of $153,000 to establish probation programs in its new county jail.

Those programs will include conditional release for offenders, chemical dependency and mental health resources and intake and evaluations and psychiatric assessments for the county court system.