The recipient entity's physical address:
           2133 Silverside Drive Suite A
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810

The recipient entity's mailing address (if different):
           2133 Silverside Drive Suite A
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70810

Type of Entity (for instance, a nonprofit corporation):  Non-Profit Corporation

If the entity is a corporation, list the names of the incorporators:
          

The last four digits of the entity's taxpayer ID number:  4547

What is the dollar amount of the request?  $3,000,000

What type of request is this?  General Appropriation

Is this entity in good standing with the Secretary of State?  Yes

Provide the name of each member of the recipient entity's governing board and officers:
           Jordyn Martin - 5527 N. Afton Pkwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Dr. Wesley ‘Wes” Heath - 10310 The Grove Blvd, Baton Rouge, La 70836
Robin Myers Primeau - 528 Dufossat St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
Alicia Murphy - 8155 Jefferson Hwy., Unit 701, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Summer Steib - 9153 Trudeau Ave, Baton Rouge, La 70806
Luz Randolph - 2207 Bald Cypress Drive, Baton Rouge, La 70816
Joseph (Jody) Plauche’ - 13647 Honey Dr., Baton Rouge, La 70810
Tiffani M. Dorsa, CPA - 8550 United Plaza Blvd, Suite 1001, Baton Rouge, La 70809
Teressa LeDay - PO Box 40196, Lafayette, La 70504-0196
Dr. Rani Whitfield, MD - 429 East Airport Ave, Suite 4Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Jacque Jovic - 3150 North Market Street, Shreveport, LA 71106
Dominique Dillard - 28280 Lake Salvador Drive, Harvey, La 70058
Portia Gordon, LPC - 2200 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70130
Dr. Amber Blair - 265 S. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Anna Guerra - 13798 Shady Hollow Dr., Denham Springs, LA 70726

Provide a summary of the project or program:
           The Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LaFASA) seeks an appropriation on behalf of Louisiana’s eleven (11) accredited sexual assault centers, which together provide the only comprehensive, community-based response to sexual assault across the lifespan in Louisiana. These centers serve survivors of sexual violence regardless of age, gender, relationship to the perpetrator and are uniquely equipped to respond to non-intimate partner sexual violence. This work is distinct from and not duplicative of child advocacy centers or domestic violence programs, which are designed to address different forms of victimization.

LaFASA is the statewide membership and oversight organization responsible for accrediting sexual assault centers through a rigorous biannual process that evaluates governance, financial accountability, staffing, and adherence to national best practices. Accreditation ensures that state funds support high-quality, trauma-informed programs that meet survivors’ legal rights and public safety needs.
The requested appropriation would support accredited sexual assault centers in delivering essential services that are mandated as survivor rights under Louisiana’s Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights. These rights include access to information, accompaniment, advocacy, and support throughout medical, legal, and justice processes. Sexual assault centers are the primary entities responsible for operationalizing these rights in communities across Louisiana.
Accredited sexual assault centers provide 24-hour crisis hotlines; accompaniment during forensic medical examinations; assistance navigating hospitals and healthcare systems; legal advocacy related to reporting options, law enforcement interviews, court proceedings, protective orders, and crime victim compensation; support for survivors navigating sexual harassment and sexual violence in employment and educational settings; and long-term counseling and therapy for survivors and their loved ones.
Data from the Louisiana Violence Experiences Survey (LaVEX) shows that most survivors of sexual assault in Louisiana are assaulted by someone who is not a romantic or intimate partner. This reality underscores why sexual assault centers are essential and why their services cannot be replaced by domestic violence programs, which are structured to respond primarily to victimization occurring within intimate partner relationships. Sexual assault centers are specifically designed to address assaults committed by acquaintances, coworkers, classmates, authority figures, and strangers, and to support survivors who may never seek a domestic violence shelter or identify as experiencing intimate partner abuse.
In addition to direct services, sexual assault centers play a critical systems-level role by participating in multidisciplinary sexual assault response teams; providing technical assistance and training to colleges, universities, and K-12 schools; collaborating with youth-serving organizations; and conducting prevention education that promotes consent, bystander intervention, and trauma-informed responses.
Louisiana’s eleven accredited sexual assault centers serve sixty (60) of the state’s sixty-four (64) parishes, often across large geographic regions that require survivors to travel long distances to access in-person services. Survivors in the remaining parishes rely on LaFASA-coordinated hotline and legal advocacy services. Despite this statewide reach, Louisiana currently has no dedicated state funding stream for sexual assault survivor services.
An appropriation of 3 million would strengthen Louisiana’s capacity to fulfill survivors’ statutory rights, which are mandated in Louisiana Revised Statutes 46:1845, improve access to essential services, stabilize the sexual assault response workforce, and address a longstanding gap in the state’s victim services continuum.

What is the budget relative to the project for which funding is requested?:
          Salaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . $0
          Professional Services. . . $0
          Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . $0
          Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . $0
          Major Repairs . . . . . . . $0
          Operating Services. . . . $0
          Other Charges. . . . . . . $3,000,000

Does your organization have any outstanding audit issues or findings?  No

If 'Yes' is your organization working with the appropriate governmental agencies to resolve those issues or findings?
          

What is the entity's public purpose, sought to be achieved through the use of state monies?
          The purpose of this allocation is to ensure that Louisianans who have experienced sexual assault have access to advocacy, crisis response, and healing services through the state-designated sexual assault coalition, the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault (LaFASA), and accredited sexual assault centers statewide.
Sexual assault centers provide free, confidential, and accessible services to survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones, as well as training, technical assistance, and coordination with multidisciplinary partners to support an effective statewide response. Louisiana Revised Statute 46:2187 defines sexual assault centers and establishes the confidentiality of survivor communications. The statute restricts this designation to programs accredited by LaFASA, ensuring that any state funds are limited to core sexual assault services and distributed only to qualified, accredited agencies.
Louisiana currently provides no state funding dedicated to sexual assault survivor services or prevention. Existing services are supported through limited federal funding administered by state agencies and LaFASA. This allocation would align Louisiana with the majority of states that provide state funding for sexual assault survivor services.
Louisiana’s sexual assault centers primarily serve older adolescents and adults, including survivors harmed by non-intimate partners who may not qualify for services through domestic violence programs or children’s advocacy centers. In 2024, centers served at least 1,599 new primary survivors and provided services to survivors’ family members and other support persons. Sixty-one percent (61%) of clients reported sexual victimization in adulthood, and 79% of offenders were not a current or former spouse or intimate partner.
In 2024, sexual assault centers statewide:
• Responded to 5,310 calls to 24-hour sexual assault hotlines
• Accompanied 759 survivors during forensic medical examinations
• Provided legal advocacy, including protective order assistance (105 individuals), law enforcement interview accompaniment (292), and court accompaniment (66)
• Delivered individual support services to 2,987 individuals and group support services to 880 individuals
• Provided critical assistance to address economic disruptions related to sexual assault, including transportation, housing, and employment-related needs
• Conducted prevention and outreach activities in every parish within their service areas
Sexual violence imposes significant long-term costs on individuals and the state. A 2017 study estimated the lifetime economic cost of rape at $122,461 per victim, including medical care, lost productivity, and criminal justice system involvement. By providing early, trauma-informed intervention and prevention, sexual assault centers reduce long-term public costs while supporting survivor recovery and community stability.

What are the goals and objectives for achieving such purpose?
          Goal 1: Utlize this funding to ensure that survivors of sexual violence have the information and support they need for healing, and expand available services statewide.
Objective 1.1: Louisiana’s accredited sexual assault centers will operate hotlines and provide immediate crisis advocacy to primary and secondary survivors of sexual violence in Louisiana.
Objective 1.2: Advocates at Louisaina’s sexual assault centers will help survivors navigate the medical, legal, and other systems that impact a survivor’s life. This includes in-person accompaniment for forensic medical examinations, interviews, and hearings.
Objective 1.3: Sexual assault survivors will have access to long-term support, counseling, and/or therapy. When resources allow and when situations are appropriate, this may be offered in individual and/or group settings.
Objective 1.4: Expand the organizational capacity of sexual assault centers in locally-relevant ways, including increasing staff capacity and reducing geographical barriers to service.

Goal 2: Reduce sexual violence through community engagement and promoting systems of accountability and effective response.
Objective 2.1: The Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault will provide training and technical assistance for sexual assault centers, as well as direct survivor assistance through its helpline and legal services program
Objective 2.2: Sexual assault centers will conduct prevention and outreach activities in each parish for which they are accredited
Objective 2.3: Sexual assault centers will participate in sexual assault response teams (SARTs) and other multi-disciplinary teams that are established to create a robust and comprehensive response to sexual violence
Objective 2.4: Sexual assault centers will provide training and technical assistance for partner agencies, including law enforcement, investigators, hospitals, healthcare providers, schools, and youth-serving organizations

What is the proposed length of time estimated by the entity to accomplish the purpose?
           Ongoing/Annual

If any elected or appointed state official or an immediate family member of such an official is an officer, director, trustee, or employee of the recipient entity who receives compensation or holds any ownership interest therein:
     (a) If an elected or appointed state official, the name and address of the official and the office held by such person:
                 N/A
    
     (b) If an immediate family member of an elected or appointed state official, the name and address of such person; the name, address, and office of the official to whom the person is related; and the nature of the relationship:
                 N/A

     (c) The percentage of the official's or immediate family member's ownership interest in the recipient entity, if any:
                 N/A

     (d) The position, if any, held by the official or immediate family member in the recipient entity:
                  N/A

If the recipient entity has a contract with any elected or appointed state official or an immediate family member of such an official or with the state or any political subdivision of the state:
(a) If the contract is with an elected or appointed state official, provide the name and address of the official and the office held by such person: 
               N/A

(b) If the contract is with an immediate family member of an elected or appointed state official:
          Provide the name and address of such person:
               N/A

          Provide the name, address, and office of the official to whom the person is related:
                N/A

          What is the nature of the relationship?  N/A

(c) If the contract is with the state or a political subdivision of the state, provide the name and address of the state entity or political subdivision of the state:
                 N/A

(d) The nature of the contract, including a description of the goods or services provided or to be provided pursuant to the contract:
               N/A


Contact Information
name:  Rafael de Castro 
                                       address:  5142 McInnis Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
                                       phone:  2252262531
                                       fax: 
                                       e-mail:  rafael@lafasa.org
                                       relationship to entity:  Executive Director