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Glendale council approves application for DOJ violence‑against‑women grant, declines to name tech partner
Summary
The council authorized staff to apply to the DOJ Office on Violence Against Women for up to $500,000 over three years, approving a technology‑agnostic application that will allow the city to select any suitable platform later through procurement.
The Glendale City Council on June 10 authorized staff to submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the Improving Criminal Justice Responses (ICJR) program, seeking up to $500,000 over three years to improve responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
Staff recommended a technology‑neutral approach in the application so the city could select a technology partner later through its procurement process. Elena Balbulyan, the city’s chief innovation officer, told the council, "This grant offers up to $500,000 for up to 3 years with no local match," and said staff would apply in partnership with the YWCA of Glendale and Pasadena and the Glendale Police Department if the grant is awarded.
Council discussion centered on whether the application should identify a specific app vendor to strengthen competitiveness. Councilmember Asatjian argued the council should model the application on a particular product, citing a unique feature he said mattered to prosecutors and investigators: "One of the big things with SafeU is the ability for it ... when the button's pressed, it starts recording, which then can be used as evidence in court." He and other members noted that detailed functionality could be incorporated into a technology‑neutral application to avoid weakening the submission.
Staff said specifying a technology partner at application time is optional and that a tech‑agnostic application can be strengthened by spelling out required features. The city will partner with qualified victim services providers (the staff report names the YWCA of Glendale and Pasadena) and coordinate with police and community organizations. Staff also noted the city has a deadline for the grant and cannot return the full proposed budget breakdown to council before submission; if awarded, the city must follow DOJ grant rules when finalizing allocations.
After discussion the council voted to approve staff’s recommended option to submit a technology‑agnostic application and pursue the grant. The motion passed on roll call with all members voting yes.
If awarded, staff said it would return to council with a proposed budget and implementation plan. The application allows for technology, victim services, training and coordination costs; staff said the $500,000 figure will be spread over three years and would not be dedicated solely to technology. The council asked staff to prioritize protections for privacy and evidentiary requirements when selecting any technology partner should the grant be awarded.
