Medical Forensic Access Initiative

The Medical Forensic Access Initiative aims to support States, Tribal communities, healthcare systems, or community-based organizations in collecting, analyzing, and reporting information related to access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault. The initiative seeks to identify barriers, service gaps, workforce shortages, geographic gaps, wait times, and system-level challenges impacting access to timely, forensic healthcare services. Applicants are encouraged to propose collaborative approaches involving healthcare providers, forensic nursing programs, public health agencies, Tribal entities, victim service organizations, academic institutions, telehealth partners, and/or multidisciplinary response systems to improve access, care coordination, and healthcare system responsiveness. Key activities may include improving data collection and reporting capacity, expanding access to trained forensic examiners, strengthening telehealth-enabled forensic care models, and enhancing the quality and consistency of services across healthcare systems. • Improving statewide, Tribal, territorial, or regional data collection and reporting capacity • Identifying healthcare delivery gaps and underserved geographic areas • Expanding access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) and forensic healthcare workforce development initiatives • Strengthening tele-SANE, tele-forensic, and rural access models • Supporting evidence-based systems improvement and healthcare quality initiatives • Improving coordination across healthcare, victim service, and/or public health systems • Enhancing women and girl survivor follow-up care, referral pathways, and continuity of services