Military Family Violence Prevention Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2146 To expand and enhance programs and activities of the Department of Defense for prevention of and response to domestic abuse and child abuse and neglect among military families, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2021 Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To expand and enhance programs and activities of the De- partment of Defense for prevention of and response to domestic abuse and child abuse and neglect among mili- tary families, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Family Vio- 4 lence Prevention Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2146 IH SEC. 2. REPORTS ON STAFFING LEVELS FOR THE FAMILY 1 ADVOCACY PROGRAMS. 2 Not later than six months after the deployment of 3 the Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) 4 Family Advocacy Program Staffing Tool, and every year 5 thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Con- 6 gress a report setting forth the following: 7 (1) Current staffing levels for the Family Advo- 8 cacy Programs (FAPs) of the Armed Forces at each 9 installation so staffed. 10 (2) Recommendations for ideal staffing levels 11 for the Family Advocacy Programs, as identified by 12 the staffing tool, set forth, at the election of the Sec- 13 retary, by Armed Force or by installation. 14 SEC. 3. SHARING AMONG THE ARMED FORCES OF DATA ON 15 INCIDENTS REPORTED TO THE FAMILY AD- 16 VOCACY PROGRAMS. 17 Commencing not later than one year after the date 18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 19 shall ensure that appropriate statistical data on incidents 20 reported to the Family Advocacy Programs (FAPs) of the 21 Armed Forces is shared among and across the Armed 22 Forces. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2146 IH SEC. 4. ENHANCEMENT OF ACTIVITIES FOR AWARENESS OF 1 MILITARY FAMILIES REGARDING FAMILY AD- 2 VOCACY PROGRAMS AND OTHER SIMILAR 3 SERVICES. 4 (a) PILOT PROGRAM ON INFORMATION ON FAPS FOR 5 FAMILIES ENROLLING IN DEERS.—The Secretary of De- 6 fense shall carry out a pilot program to assess the feasi- 7 bility and advisability of various mechanisms to inform 8 families about the Family Advocacy Programs (FAPs) and 9 resiliency training of the Armed Forces during their en- 10 rollment in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting 11 System (DEERS). The matters assessed by the pilot pro- 12 gram shall include the following: 13 (1) An option for training of family members 14 on the Family Advocacy Programs. 15 (2) The provision to families of information on 16 the resources available through the Family Advocacy 17 Programs. 18 (3) The availability through the Family Advo- 19 cacy Programs of both restricting and unrestricted 20 reporting on incidents of domestic abuse. 21 (4) The provision to families of information on 22 the Military OneSource program of the Department 23 of Defense. 24 (5) The provision to families of information on 25 resources relating to domestic abuse and child abuse 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2146 IH and neglect that are available through local commu- 1 nity service organizations. 2 (6) The availability of the Military and Family 3 Life Counseling Program. 4 (b) OUTREACH ON FAP AND SIMILAR SERVICES FOR 5 MILITARY FAMILIES.—Each Secretary of a military de- 6 partment shall improve the information available to mili- 7 tary families under the jurisdiction of such Secretary that 8 are the victim of domestic abuse or child abuse and neglect 9 in order to provide such families with comprehensive infor- 10 mation on the services available to such families in connec- 11 tion with such violence and abuse and neglect. The infor- 12 mation so provided shall include a complete guide to the 13 following: 14 (1) The Family Advocacy Program of the 15 Armed Force or military department concerned. 16 (2) Military law enforcement services, including 17 the process following a report of an incidence of do- 18 mestic abuse or child abuse or neglect. 19 (3) Other applicable victim services. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2146 IH SEC. 5. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON 1 WOMEN IN THE SERVICES REPORT ON INI- 2 TIAL ENTRY POINTS FOR SUPPORT FOR MILI- 3 TARY FAMILIES IN CONNECTION WITH DO- 4 MESTIC ABUSE. 5 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 7 to the congressional defense committees a report setting 8 forth the results of a study, conducted by the Defense De- 9 partment Advisory Committee on Women in the Services 10 (DACOWITS) for purposes of the report, on initial entry 11 points (including anonymous entry points) for use by 12 members of military families in seeking support for domes- 13 tic abuse or child abuse and neglect, including online chat 14 rooms and other support, text-based support, and applica- 15 tions on smartphones. 16 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT OF COLLABORATION IN DOMESTIC 17 ABUSE PREVENTION SERVICES. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 19 date of the enactment of this Act, Department of Defense 20 Instruction 6400.01, relating to the Family Advocacy Pro- 21 gram (FAP) of the Department of Defense, shall be modi- 22 fied to enhance collaboration among the programs and 23 components specified in subsection (b) for the purpose of 24 leveraging the expertise and resources of such programs 25 and components to order to improve the availability and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2146 IH scope of domestic abuse prevention services for military 1 families. 2 (b) PROGRAMS AND COMPONENTS.—The programs 3 and components specified in this subsection are the fol- 4 lowing: 5 (1) The Family Advocacy Program. 6 (2) The Sexual Assault Prevention and Re- 7 sponse Officer (SAPRO) of the Department of De- 8 fense. 9 (3) the Defense Suicide Prevention Office 10 (DSPO). 11 (4) The Defense Equal Opportunity Manage- 12 ment Institute (DEOMI). 13 (5) The TRICARE Management Activity 14 (TMA). 15 (6) The substance abuse prevention programs 16 and components of the Armed Forces. 17 (7) Such other programs and components of the 18 Department of Defense as the Secretary of Defense 19 considers appropriate. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2146 IH SEC. 7. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO AUTHORIZE EX- 1 CEPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN BENE- 2 FITS TO DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS OR 3 FORMER MEMBERS SEPARATED FOR DE- 4 PENDENT ABUSE. 5 Section 1059(m)(4) of title 10, United States Code, 6 is amended by inserting ‘‘below the assistant Secretary 7 level. Any exercise of such delegated authority shall be re- 8 ported to the Secretary concerned on a quarterly basis’’ 9 after ‘‘may not be delegated’’. 10 SEC. 8. INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DE- 11 FENSE REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES IN PRE- 12 VENTION AND RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC 13 ABUSE AND CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT 14 AMONG MILITARY FAMILIES. 15 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 120 days 16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector 17 General of the Department of Defense shall submit to the 18 Secretary of Defense, and to the congressional defense 19 committees, a report on best practices among military in- 20 stallations in prevention and response to domestic abuse 21 and child abuse and neglect among military families. 22 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 23 (a) shall include the following: 24 (1) An identification and assessment of best 25 practices among military installations in prevention 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2146 IH and response to domestic abuse and child abuse and 1 neglect among military families in connection with 2 the following: 3 (A) Installation leadership. 4 (B) Communication between the Family 5 Advocacy Program and the installation com- 6 mand team. 7 (C) Elimination of or reduction in barriers 8 to effective incident response. 9 (2) Recommendations for mechanisms, at the 10 installation, Armed Force, and military department 11 level, to identify and assess lessons learned through 12 programs, projects, and activities for prevention and 13 response to domestic abuse and child abuse and ne- 14 glect among military families. 15 (3) An identification and assessment of re- 16 sources in communities surrounding military instal- 17 lations that could assist in prevention and response 18 to domestic abuse and child abuse and neglect 19 among military families. 20 (4) An assessment of the benefits of 21 bidirectional relationships involving the community 22 resources identified pursuant to paragraph (3). 23 (5) Recommendations for memoranda of under- 24 standing, or other formal relationships, between in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2146 IH stallations and surrounding communities on the 1 shared use of resources identified pursuant to para- 2 graph (3), including recommendations on mecha- 3 nisms for expediting entry into such memoranda of 4 understanding. 5 (6) Such other matters regarding best practices 6 among military installations in prevention and re- 7 sponse to domestic abuse and child abuse and ne- 8 glect among military families as the Inspector Gen- 9 eral considers appropriate. 10 (c) GUIDANCE AUTHORIZED IN LIGHT OF REPORT.— 11 Each Secretary of a military department may issue guid- 12 ance for commanders of installations under the jurisdic- 13 tion of such Secretary on best practices in prevention and 14 response to domestic abuse and child abuse and neglect 15 among military families at such installations in light of 16 the matters included in the report of the Inspector General 17 under subsection (a). 18 SEC. 9. CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DEFINED. 19 In this Act, the term ‘‘congressional defense commit- 20 tees’’ has the meaning given that term in section 21 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2146.IH H2146 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS