The STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program is a major Federal avenue for supporting victim service (VS) programs serving women victims of violent crime. A major part of the work of VS programs is coordinated approaches to helping victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. However, little research has been conducted about the impact of a coordinated community response to domestic violence or sexual assault. This study is part of a full-scale evaluation focusing on the impact of STOP-funded VS offered by nonprofit VS agencies. The objectives of the study are (1) to understand the community and State context in which these programs operate, (2) to assess the degree to which receipt of STOP funding for VS programs and the degree of State-level STOP agency support for collaboration have led to improved program services and community interaction, and (3) to assess the degree to which interaction among community agencies leads to improvements for VS programs. The study demonstrates that community interaction between VS programs and other community agencies can improve VS program services. Also, the higher the pre-STOP levels of activity around violence against women issues in communities, the more agencies can enhance their service system with STOP funding. References