(a) Statewide plan and application. The chief executive of each participating State shall designate a State office for the purposes of:

1. (1) Certifying qualifications for funding under this program;
2. (2) Developing a Statewide plan for implementation of the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants as described in § 90.12; and
3. (3) Preparing an application to receive funds under this program.

(c) Allocation requirement.

1. (1) The State office shall allocate funds as provided in 42 U.S.C. 3796gg-1(c)(4) to courts and for law enforcement, prosecution, and victim services (including funds that must be awarded to culturally specific community-based organizations).
2. (2) The State office shall ensure that the allocated funds benefit law enforcement, prosecution and victim services and are awarded to courts and culturally specific community-based organizations. In ensuring that funds benefit the appropriate entities, if funds are not subgranted directly to law enforcement, prosecution, and victim services, the State must require demonstration from the entity to be benefitted in the form of a memorandum of understanding signed by the chief executives of both the entity and the subgrant recipient, stating that the entity supports the proposed project and agrees that it is to the entity's benefit.
3. (3) Culturally specific allocation: 42 U.S.C. 13925 defines “culturally specific” as primarily directed toward racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 300u-6(g)). An organization will qualify for funding for the culturally specific allocation if its primary mission is to address the needs of racial and ethnic minority groups or if it has developed a special expertise regarding services to address the demonstrated needs of a particular racial and ethnic minority group. The organization must do more than merely provide services to the targeted group; rather, the organization must provide culturally competent services designed to meet the specific needs of the target population. This allocation requires States to set aside a minimum of ten percent (within the thirty-percent allocation for victim services) of STOP Program funds for culturally specific services, but States are encouraged to provide higher levels of funding to address the needs of racial and ethnic minority groups. States should tailor their subgrant application process to assess the qualifications of applicants for the culturally specific set aside, such as reviewing the mission statement of the applicant, the make-up of the board of directors or steering committee of the applicant (with regard to knowledge and experience with relevant cultural populations and language skills), and the history of the organization.
4. (4) Sexual assault set aside: As provided in 42 U.S.C. 3796gg-1(c)(5), the State must also award at least 20 percent of the total State award to projects in two or more allocations in 42 U.S.C. 3796gg-1(c)(4) that meaningfully address sexual assault. States should evaluate whether the interventions are tailored to meet the specific needs of sexual assault victims including ensuring that projects funded under the set aside have a legitimate focus on sexual assault and that personnel funded under such projects have sufficient expertise and experience on sexual assault.