MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING 

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT), Gender Violence Institute (GVI), Minnesota 

Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW), Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault 

Coalition (MIWSAC) 

& 

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Leech Lake Family Violence Prevention and Intervention 

Program (LLFVPIP), Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Police Department, Cass Lake 

Police Department, Pike Bay Township Police Department, Cass County Sheriff's 

Department, Cass County Attorney's Office, 

History of Collaboration 

This is the first collaborative effort involving all of the partners named above. However, 

the partners have a rich history of working together on a variety of projects in various 

configurations. 

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a consortium of eight Chippewa Tribes in Minnesota. 

As such, they have worked in numerous collaborations with each of the Tribal Chairs and 

Representatives of the Tribal Councils and governments of each Tribe. This is their first 

collaboration with the remaining grant partners. 

Each of the participating tiibal battered women's programs and the Gender Violence 

Institute are members of MCBW and as such have been active in coalition activities and 

benefited from MCBW legislative and other programming efforts. Delrita Rudnitski, the 

interim executive director of the MCBW, was past director of PEARL Battered Women's 

Resource Center in Milaca Minnesota from 1996 to 2002. During that time, Delrita 

developed sexual assault services in Mille Lacs county and wrote a grant to develop the 

first sexual assault services on the Mille Lacs Reservation in all three districts. Those 

services continue today. Through her work as the director of PEARL, Delrita had an ongoing working relationship with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Women's Project and the 

tribal government. 

GVI has been a member program of the Coalition since 1994. GVI has provided training 

and technical assistance to the Coalition including participation in the current OJP-funded 

project, "Collaborating for Woman and Child Safety: A Statewide Project to Develop and 

Enhance the Capacity of Rural and Tribal Programs". In 01/02, GVI also implemented a 

MCBW- MS. Foundation grant to develop action committees among member programs 

of the coalition and their male allies to support legislation put forward or supported by 

the Minnesota Coalition for battered Women (MCBW) and the Minnesota Coalition 

Against Sexual Assault (MCASA). GVI also has provided training for Praxis 

International and Battered Women's Justice Project, OJP-designated technical assistance 

providers, and has recently become technical assistance consultants, through Praxis 
International, for rural projects receiving OJP funding to implement coordinated 

community response efforts in rural areas nationwide. 

GVJ has implemented VAWA Formula grants throughout the state of Minnesota to enhance local 

coordinated community responses between law enforcement, criminal justice and battered women's 

advocacy agencies. Through these efforts, GVI has worked with each of the three reservation battered 

women's project applicants collaborating on this project. In 2000 GVI worked with the Leech Lake 

Family Violence Prevention and Intervention Project and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Women's 

Project to install and train staff on the utilization of a computer tracking and monitoring software GVI 

helped develop to track and monitor the law enforcement and criminal and civil justice system 

responses to domestic violence-related crimes. In 2001, GVJ and Equay Be Mah De Zee Win (Women 

Alive) Crisis Center collaborated on a similar project. Both projects included meetings with. and some 

training of, local law enforcement personnel. 

Each of the battered women's programs have varying levels of collaborative experiences with law 

enforcement and prosecuting attorneys in their area. Each of them have been working with tribal, 

county and state police as well as county and city prosecutors for several years in an effort to make the 

system more accessible to indigenous women and children both on and off the reservation. 

Nicole Matthews, the Coalition Coordinator of the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault 

Coalition, has previously worked in a rural battered women's and sexual assault program serving parts 

of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation and through her CUITent role as coalition coordinator 

has been working with advocates from each of the programs partnering on this grant. 

Development of the Application 

All of the above collaborators were consulted and their feedback was incorporated into 

the development of all aspects of the proposal. Discussions regarding the collaborative 

effort proposed in the application and detailed in this memorandum began at a number of 

meetings between the Gender Violence Institute, Minnesota Coalition for Battered 

Women, and the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center. The involved non-profit 

battered women's projects from the involved reservations were then contacted for their 

input and guidance. At that point the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the remaining 

reservation, city and county agency collaborators were consulted to elicit their input and 

interest in participation in the project. 

Roles and Responsibilities 

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe ( MCT) is the applicant and fiscal agent for the project. 

They will: 

• Submit the application to the Violence Against Women Office; 

• Keep the collaborators informed of the status of the application and program; 

• Distribute funds to the MCBW to facilitate the implementation of the grant; 

• Upon receipt of administrative and non-administrative reports from MCBW and 

GV[, review and submit all required reports to the Office on Violence Against 

Women; 
• Facilitate a presentation by project collaborators to MCT member tribes on the out 

comes of the project and the potential for replication in their area. 

MCT will contribute office space, copying, and phone costs to the project. 

The Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW) is the statewide membership 

organization for battered women's programs, including the programs participating in this 

collaboration. MCBW will assume the necessary administrative tasks related to the 

ongoing implementation of the grant project. MCBW will also collaborate with the 

Gender Violence Institute to implement the grant activities. In collaboration with the GVI, 

MCBW will: 

• Develop, distribute and analyze a preliminary written assessment, conduct a follow 

up preliminary onsite assessment, and collect preliminary statistical data and law 

enforcement reports to identify practices at the project's inception; 

• Research and compile best practices for advocacy programs, law enforcement, 

prosecution and other systems responding to American Indian battered women; 

• Arrange and facilitate contacts, including: on-site technical assistance; meetings for 

policy, protocol, procedure development, trainings and in-services, and other contacts 

as needed, with project collaborators; 

• Develop all forms and texts as needed for standardizing practices, tracking data, grant 

reporting requirements, etc; 

• Monitor and track results of the project, responding to problems as needed; 

• Develop, administer, and compile pre- and post-assessment tools for the project; 

• Create a final report manual outlining the process used and the results of the project; 

• Make manual available for tribes and other interested parties for replication of this 

project. 

MCBW will contribute office space, copying, phone and staff time to the project. 

The Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC) is a newly 

formed membership coalition. Although their specific area of concern is sexual assault, 

there is considerable (and often overlooked) overlap between sexual assault and domestic 

violence. MIWSAC has agreed to: 

• Review and enhance project design and products (policies, protocols, procedures, 

training, technical assistance) with an emphasis on meeting the specific needs of 

American Indian battered women who have been the victims of sexual assault; 

• Provide input at inter-and intra-agency policy, protocol, and procedure development 

meetings to include provisions regarding sexual assault, as needed; 

• Provide materials and facilitate sessions at the law enforcernenl and prosecution 

trainings regarding sexual assault. 

MIWSAC will contribute office space and copying to the project. 

The Gender Violence Institute (GVI) provides training, technical assistance, and 

program development for agencies and communities seeking to implement more effective 

coordinated community responses to domestic violence. GV! is the grant project 
coordinator for all non-administrative project duties. In collaboration with the MCBW, 

GVI will: 

• Develop, distribute and analyze a preliminary written assessment, conduct a follow 

up preliminary onsite assessment, and collect preliminary statistical data and law 

enforcement reports to identify practices at the project's inception: 

• Research and compile best practices for advocacy programs, law enforcement, 

prosecution and other systems responding to American Indian battered women; 

• Arrange and facilitate contacts, including: on-site technical assistance; meetings for 

policy, protocol, procedure development, trainings and in-services, and other contacts 

as needed, with project collaborators; 

• Develop all forms and texts as needed for standardizing practices, tracking data, grant 

reporting requirements, etc; 

• Monitor and track results of the project, responding to problems as needed: 

• Develop, administer, and compile pre- and post-assessment tools for the project: 

• Create a final report manual outlining the process used and the results of the project: 

• Make manual available for tribes and other interested parties for replication of this 

project 

GVI will contribute office space and copying to the project. 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Government. As the administrative entity 

for the tribe, it is their function to approve the involvement of reservation agencies 

participating in the project. In addition they are involved in jurisdictional issues 

involving the reservation and surrounding areas. As a grant partner they agree to: 

• Support the Tribal Police Department and the Battered Women's Program's 

involvement in the project: 

• Support the hiring of a battered women's advocate to be paid for by this grant: 

• Appoint a tribal representative to attend 4-6 meetings with relevant grant partners 

and assume related responsibilities to review and revise tribal codes on domestic 

violence and resolve jurisdictional questions regarding criminal and civil 

enforcement on tribal lands. 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Government will contribute staff time to the 

project. 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Police Department, Cass Lake Police 

Department, Pike Bay Township Police Department, and the Cass County Sheriff's 

Department. As collaborators in this project they agree to: 

• Utilize the funding that they receive from this project to purchase equipment or 

provide overtime compensation (for attendance at training sponsored by this grant) to 

enhance their investigative and reporting capabilities in domestic violence cases; 

• Provide Gender Violence Institute with 10-20 domestic assault investigative reports at 

the start of the project for initial analysis of the law enforcement response; 

• Appoint a representative to participate in 8 - 10 meetings (2-3 hours each) over the 

two year grant period with other project collaborators in their area to assess cmTent 

responses and develop policies, protocols, procedures, and forms which will enhance 
individual agency (domestic violence program, law enforcement, and prosecution) 

and reciprocal responses to domestic violence-related cases: 

• Contact the battered women's project and provide arrest and non-arrest data after 

each domestic violence-related call: 

• Send patrol officers, investigators, jail ors, and dispatch to attend 2 - 3 one-day 

trainings, sponsored through this project, over the two year grant period: 

• Send a representative to technical assistance events sponsored by the Office of Justice 

Program staff and technical assistance providers as required in the grant guidelines. 

(Travel expenses are provided for in the grant budget): 

• Identify additional training and in-service needs and work with project collaborators 

• Participate in project evaluation at end of project. 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Police Department, Cass Lake Police Department, 

Pike Bay Township Police Department, and the Cass County Sheriff's Department will 

contribute staff time to the project. 

The Leech Lake Family Violence Prevention and Intervention Program. With 

funding provided through this project, they agree to hire additional personnel (1.0 FTE) 

to assist in meeting the individual and systems advocacy enhancement goals of the 

project. They will receive onsite technical assistance throughout the two year grant 

period, as well as phone support and training from GVI and MCBW staff to: 

• Assess agency and interagency practices before, during and at project's end; 

• Enhance their individual and reciprocal roles in a collaborative law enforcement 

prosecution, and advocacy response; 

• Develop best practices and written intra- and inter agency practices (policies, 

protocols, procedures), including procedures and protocols for: responding to victims 

after arrests and non-arrests; communicating victims' needs to law enforcement and 

prosecution; gathering, reviewing and using arrest and non arrest reports for multiple 

individual and systems advocacy purposes; types of information that will be shared, 

confidentiality issues, and documenting and responding to problems relative to 

systems response; 

• Develop a tracking and monitoring system utilizing DAIN data tracking system and 

analyze data collected; 

• Define and enhance their systems advocacy role with all components of the system, 

including their role in negotiating policies and protocols, representing the potential 

impact any change will have on victim's life, holding interagency meetings, 

identifying and responding to trends and gaps, developing consistent collaborative 

responses, providing positive feedback; translating obstacles that victims face into 

opportunities to enhance the system's response. 

The LLFVPIP also agrees to: 

• Attend 2 - 3 one-day trainings, sponsored through this project, over the two year 

grant penod; 

• Send a representative to technical assistance events sponsored by the Office of Justice 

Program staff and technical assistance providers as required in the grant guidelines. 

(Travel expenses are provided for in the grant budget); 

• Identify additional training and in-service needs and work with project collaborators; 
• Participate in the project evaluation at the end of project. 

The Leech Lake Family Violence Prevention and Intervention Program will contribute 

office space, copying, phone and staff time to the project. 

The Cass County Attorneys Office, As grant partner, they agree to: 

• Attend 4-6 meetings (2-3 hours each) during the two year grant period with project 

collaborators from your area to assess current responses and develop protocols, 

policies, procedures, and forms which will enhance individual agency (law 

enforcement, prosecution, battered women's program) and reciprocal responses to 

domestic violence-related cases; 

• Attend 2 to 3 one-day trainings sponsored through this project, over the two year 

grant period, on developing a coordinated community response, evidence-based 

prosecution strategies, law enforcement investigations; 

• Send a representative to technical assistance events sponsored by the Office of Justice 

Program staff and technical assistance providers as required in the grant guidelines. 

(Travel expenses are provided for in the grant budget); 

• Identify additional training and in-service needs and work with project collaborators; 

• Provide evaluative data before, during, and at the end of the project. 

The Cass County Attorneys Office will contribute staff time to this project. 

We, the undersigned have read and agreed with this MOU. Further, we have reviewed 

the portion of the budget pertaining to the collaborative effort described here, and 

approve it. 

By_________ Date.__________ 

Gary S. Frazer, Executive Director 

Minnesc~a ~h.ip'.ewa Tribe , 

By J~ ~- Date.~'-/_ _:/_7_-_Cl_3_ 

Delrita Rudnitski, Interim Director 

Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women 

Bylli'OQ,j~ 

Nicole Matthews, Coordinator 

Minnesota Indian Women's 

Sexual Assault Coalition 

ByC-:t.c:.-,~ L:7 Date. _ 

Charles Derry 

Gender Violence Institute 

__.,_{_-_c._/_7_-_=_--=·3=---
By 

Gerald White, Executive Director 

Tribal Co cil 

Leech e Band of Oji e 

B~:,L;:::JJ~~~l±'Ai_ 

Samue Papasad rector 

Department of Publtc Safety 

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe 

'-+'' . 'i ' 

BY- ')-~:D I'){ Ji../LLLi 11 ian Reese, Director 

Social Services 

Leech Lake Family Violence 

Prevention and Intervention Project 

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

' , ,· 

) 

/ 

/; 

By--,;t-·i2·-c~✓L -~~;·0}-~~·;k~ 

-Larry Johru?on,,Chief 

Cass Lake Police Department 

By;fkr-:kL 

Randy Fish/r 

Cass County Sheri ff 

By/£kf/~· 

Robert Karbowski, Chief 

Pike Bay Township Police Depaitment 

Byz~() '{U, J//uit«,/J ~ Earl Maus 

Cass County Attorney 

Date__1_,/_2----'-3+/_,_0_3___

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Date / ZZ- 0 5 -~--------

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Date I/Z2/0_3 --;+-----t7-~---

I .c? •! ... ~ Date__c~'_/_·_,>_·_•-_._-c_/___ _ 

Date----------

Date,_ ____,_/_-_,:,_~_:?_.-_"'_>___ 

Date / - ;;). d- -c, 3 
BUDGET 

Personnel Time Rate/yr/lFTE Rate/yr/lFTE ProjectYearl Year2with 2 years 

3•1o cost of 

living 

increase 

GVI 

Project 

Coordinator .8FTE 54,080 55,702 87,826 

Proje,et 

Soecialist .8 50,000 51,500 81,200 

Office 

Manaaer .5 30,000 30,900 30,450 

GVITotal 

Salarv 199,476 

Fringe: GVI 

liil 30% 59,843 

GVI 

Salarv/Frinee 259.319 

MCBW 

Project 

Snecialist .5 37,325 38,445 37,885 

Fringe@30%, 

MCBW 11,366 

Total Salary: 

MCBW 49.251 

Total: GVI/ 

MCBWw. 

frinee 308,570 

BW 

Proorams 

Advocates 29,029 

.75 FTE fur 22 

(@20,800 20,800 21,424 month<, 

Coordinators 128,453 

2.25FTE for22 

(ii) 30,680 69,030 71,101 months 

Fringe@30% 

47,245 

Total BW: 204,727 

Total 

GVI/MCBW/ 

BWProeram 513.297 
Bud2et 

Law Enforcement 9Dept.@ 

8,000/Deot. 72,000 

OJP Snonsored TA 30,000 

MCT 10,000 

Admin 30,000 

Consultants 25,600 

Training Costs Food/ 

snacks,etc 6,900 

Travel 

Mileage: MCBW/ Project 

GVI/Consultants specialists 

and trainers 20,341 

Food/ per diems 345 days 

MCBW/GVI/Consultant (@$35 12,075 

Lodging/ MCBW 194 days 

(@$SO 9,700 

Mileage Advocates Bi-monthly 

to Mv. seat 3,194 

Advocate ner diems 78mto-s 936 

Sunnlies 

Final Manual 50X200 @.IO 

=es each 1,000 

Handouts trg 375 X 100 @.IO 3,750 

2 surveys 20X5 each ral. IO 20 

Initial Ass 't 20X IO ral.10 20 

Final Ass't 20X IO ml.JO 20 

Phone 1,500 

Rent @ 

134/month 3,264 

Postal!e 240 

Misc suoolies 240 

2 I .an top comnuters 3,100 

2 Cell ohones 203 

Desk top computer 1,700 

Total $750.000