Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 108 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1275 To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to make improvements. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 21, 2021 Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions JULY 27, 2021 Reported by Mrs. MURRAY, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to make improvements. 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; REFERENCES IN ACT. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1275 RS (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise specified, 1 amendments made by this Act to a section or other provi- 2 sion of law are amendments to such section or other provi- 3 sion of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act 4 (42 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.). 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 Subsection (b) of section 301 (42 U.S.C. 10401) is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to im- 9 prove services and interventions and advance primary and 10 secondary prevention of family violence, domestic violence, 11 and dating violence by— 12 ‘‘(1) assisting States and territories in sup- 13 porting local family violence programs to provide ac- 14 cessible, trauma-informed, culturally relevant resi- 15 dential and non-residential services to domestic vio- 16 lence victims and their children and dependents; 17 ‘‘(2) strengthening the capacity of Indian 18 Tribes to exercise their sovereign authority to re- 19 spond to family violence committed against Indians; 20 ‘‘(3) providing for a network of technical assist- 21 ance and training centers to support effective policy, 22 practice, research, and cross-system collaboration to 23 improve intervention and prevention efforts through- 24 out the country; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1275 RS ‘‘(4) supporting the efforts of State, territorial, 1 and Tribal coalitions to document and address the 2 needs of victims and their children and dependents, 3 including victims and their children and dependents 4 who are underserved, implement effective coordi- 5 nated community and systems responses, and pro- 6 mote ongoing public education and community en- 7 gagement; 8 ‘‘(5) maintaining national domestic violence 9 hotlines, including a national Indian domestic vio- 10 lence hotline; and 11 ‘‘(6) supporting the development and implemen- 12 tation of evidence-informed, coalition-led, and com- 13 munity-based primary prevention approaches and 14 programs.’’. 15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 16 Section 302 (42 U.S.C. 10402) is amended— 17 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol- 18 lows: 19 ‘‘(2) DATING PARTNER.—The term ‘dating 20 partner’ means any person who is or has been in a 21 social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature 22 with a victim, and where the existence of such a re- 23 lationship shall be determined based on a consider- 24 ation of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1275 RS ‘‘(A) the length of the relationship; 1 ‘‘(B) the type of the relationship; and 2 ‘‘(C) the frequency of interaction between 3 the persons involved in the relationship.’’; 4 (2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4); 5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(3) DIGITAL SERVICES.—The term ‘digital 8 services’ means services, resources, information, sup- 9 port, or referrals provided through electronic com- 10 munications platforms and media, which may in- 11 clude mobile phone technology, video technology, 12 computer technology (including use of the internet), 13 and any other emerging communications tech- 14 nologies that are appropriate for the purposes of 15 providing services, resources, information, support, 16 or referrals for the benefit of victims of domestic vio- 17 lence, dating violence, or family violence. 18 ‘‘(4) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, 19 FAMILY VIOLENCE.—The terms ‘domestic violence’, 20 ‘dating violence’, and ‘family violence’ mean any act, 21 threatened act, or pattern of acts of physical or sex- 22 ual violence, stalking, harassment, psychological 23 abuse, economic abuse, technological abuse, or any 24 other form of abuse, including threatening to com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1275 RS mit harm against children or dependents or other 1 members of the household of the recipient of the 2 threat for the purpose of coercion, threatening, or 3 causing harm, directed against— 4 ‘‘(A) a dating partner or other person 5 similarly situated to a dating partner under the 6 laws of the jurisdiction; 7 ‘‘(B) a person who is cohabitating with or 8 has cohabitated with the person committing 9 such an act; 10 ‘‘(C) a current or former spouse or other 11 person similarly situated to a spouse under the 12 laws of the jurisdiction; 13 ‘‘(D) a person who shares a child or de- 14 pendent in common with the person committing 15 such an act; or 16 ‘‘(E) any other person who is protected 17 from any such act under the domestic or family 18 violence laws, policies, or regulations of the ju- 19 risdiction.’’; 20 (4) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol- 21 lows: 22 ‘‘(5) INDIAN; INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZA- 23 TION.—The terms ‘Indian’, ‘Indian Tribe’, and 24 ‘Tribal organization’ have the meanings given the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1275 RS terms ‘Indian’, ‘Indian tribe’, and ‘tribal organiza- 1 tion’, respectively, in section 4 of the Indian Self-De- 2 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 3 U.S.C. 5304).’’; 4 (5) by— 5 (A) redesignating paragraphs (13) and 6 (14) as paragraphs (17) and (18), respectively; 7 (B) redesignating paragraphs (8) through 8 (12) as paragraphs (11) through (15), respec- 9 tively; and 10 (C) redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) 11 as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 12 (6) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 15 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 16 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 17 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).’’; 18 (7) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated, by 19 striking ‘‘42 U.S.C. 13925(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘34 20 U.S.C. 12291(a)’’; 21 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(9) POPULATION SPECIFIC SERVICES.—The 24 term ‘population specific services’ has the meaning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1275 RS given such term in section 40002(a) of the Violence 1 Against Women Act (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)). 2 ‘‘(10) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP.— 3 The term ‘racial and ethnic minority group’ includes 4 each group listed in the definition of such term in 5 section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 6 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)).’’; 7 (9) by amending paragraph (12), as so redesig- 8 nated, to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(12) SHELTER.—The term ‘shelter’ means the 10 provision of temporary refuge and basic necessities, 11 in conjunction with supportive services, provided on 12 a regular basis, in compliance with applicable State, 13 Tribal, territorial, or local law to victims of family 14 violence, domestic violence, or dating violence, and 15 their children and dependents. Such law includes 16 regulations governing the provision of safe homes 17 and other forms of secure temporary lodging, meals, 18 or supportive services (including providing basic ne- 19 cessities) to victims of family violence, domestic vio- 20 lence, or dating violence, and their children and de- 21 pendents.’’; 22 (10) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1275 RS (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 1 (C), by inserting ‘‘, designated by the Sec- 2 retary,’’ after ‘‘organization’’; and 3 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘de- 4 pendents’’ and inserting ‘‘children and depend- 5 ents’’; 6 (11) in paragraph (15), as so redesignated, by 7 striking ‘‘dependents’’ each place it appears and in- 8 serting ‘‘children and dependents’’; 9 (12) by inserting after paragraph (15), as so 10 redesignated, the following: 11 ‘‘(16) TRIBAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALI- 12 TION.—The term ‘Tribal domestic violence coalition’ 13 means an established nonprofit, nongovernmental 14 Indian organization recognized by the Office of Vio- 15 lence Against Women of the Department of Justice 16 that— 17 ‘‘(A) provides education, support, and tech- 18 nical assistance to member Indian service pro- 19 viders in a manner that enables the member 20 providers to establish and maintain culturally 21 appropriate services, including shelter (includ- 22 ing supportive services) designed to assist In- 23 dian victims of family violence, domestic vio- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1275 RS lence, or dating violence and the children and 1 dependents of such victims; and 2 ‘‘(B) is comprised of members that are 3 representative of— 4 ‘‘(i) the member service providers de- 5 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 6 ‘‘(ii) the Tribal communities in which 7 the services are being provided.’’; 8 (13) in paragraph (17), as so redesignated— 9 (A) by striking ‘‘tribally’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘Tribally’’; 11 (B) by striking ‘‘tribal’’ and inserting 12 ‘‘Tribal’’; and 13 (C) by striking ‘‘tribe’’ each place it ap- 14 pears and inserting ‘‘Tribe’’; and 15 (14) by striking paragraph (18), as so redesig- 16 nated, and inserting the following: 17 ‘‘(18) UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS AND UN- 18 DERSERVED INDIVIDUALS.—The terms ‘underserved 19 populations’ and ‘underserved individuals’ mean vic- 20 tims of domestic violence, dating violence, or family 21 violence, and their children and dependents who face 22 obstacles in accessing and using State, Tribal, terri- 23 torial, or local domestic violence, dating violence, or 24 family violence services, and who may be overrepre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1275 RS sented due to historical barriers. Populations may be 1 underserved on the basis of, marginalized racial and 2 ethnic minority populations, Indigenous status, cul- 3 tural and language barriers, immigration status, 4 physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, mental 5 disabilities or other mental health needs, sexual ori- 6 entation or gender identity, age (including both el- 7 ders and minors), geographical location, faith or reli- 8 gious practice, or other bases, as determined by the 9 Secretary, under the Family Violence Prevention 10 and Services Act program carried out under this 11 title. 12 ‘‘(19) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means an indi- 13 vidual who is— 14 ‘‘(A) younger than age 18; and 15 ‘‘(B) not an emancipated minor.’’. 16 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 17 The Act is amended by repealing section 303 (42 18 U.S.C. 10403) and inserting the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 20 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—This section shall apply for any 21 fiscal year before the first fiscal year for which the amount 22 appropriated to carry out the provisions specified in sub- 23 section (b) is not less than $185,000,000. 24 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1275 RS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 1 appropriated to carry out sections 301 through 312, 2 $253,300,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 3 2026. 4 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION FOR GRANTS TO TRIBES.— 5 Of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) 6 for a fiscal year, 10 percent shall be reserved and 7 used to carry out section 309. 8 ‘‘(3) FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES.—Of the 9 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fis- 10 cal year and not reserved under paragraph (2) (re- 11 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘remainder’), not 12 less than 75 percent shall be used for making grants 13 under section 306(a). 14 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 15 CENTERS.—Of the remainder, not less than 6 per- 16 cent shall be used to carry out section 310. 17 ‘‘(5) GRANTS FOR STATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 18 COALITIONS.—Of the remainder, not less than 10 19 percent shall be used to carry out section 311. 20 ‘‘(6) SPECIALIZED SERVICES.—Of the remain- 21 der, not less than 5 percent shall be used to carry 22 out section 312. 23 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATION, EVALUATION, AND MON- 24 ITORING.—Of the remainder, not more than 4 per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jul 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1275.RS S1275 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1275 RS cent shall be used by the Secretary for evaluation, 1 monitoring, and other administrative costs under 2 this title. 3 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALITIONS.— 4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 5 311A $7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 6 2026. 7 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE.— 8 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 9 313 $14,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 10 2026. 11 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL INDIAN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOT- 12 LINE.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 13 out section 313A $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 14 through 2026. 15 ‘‘(f) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION ENHANCE- 16 MENT AND LEADERSHIP THROUGH ALLIANCES.—There 17 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 314 18 $26,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 19 ‘‘(g) GRANTS FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.— 20 There is a [Text truncated for display. 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