II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1321

To amend title III of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act

and title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

to limit the effects of domestic violence on the lives of children, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 1, 1999

Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend title III of the Family Violence Prevention and

Services Act and title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to limit the effects of

domestic violence on the lives of children, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children Who Witness

5 Domestic Violence Protection Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds the following:
2

•S 1321 IS

1 (1) Witnessing domestic violence has a dev2 astating impact on children, placing the children at

3 high risk for anxiety, depression, and, potentially,

4 suicide. Many children who witness domestic violence

5 exhibit more aggressive, antisocial, fearful, and in6 hibited behaviors.

7 (2) Children exposed to domestic violence have

8 a high risk of experiencing learning difficulties and

9 school failure. Research finds that children residing

10 in domestic violence shelters exhibit significantly

11 lower verbal and quantitative skills when compared

12 to a national sample of children.

13 (3) Domestic violence is strongly correlated

14 with child abuse. Studies have found that between

15 50 and 70 percent of men who abuse their female

16 partners also abuse their children. In homes in

17 which domestic violence occurs, children are phys18 ically abused and neglected at a rate 15 times higher

19 than the national average.

20 (4) Men who witnessed parental abuse during

21 their childhood have a higher risk of becoming phys22 ically aggressive in dating and marital relationships.

23 (5) Exposure to domestic violence is a strong

24 predictor of violent delinquent behavior among ado25 lescents. It is estimated that between 20 percent and
3

•S 1321 IS

1 40 percent of chronically violent adolescents have

2 witnessed extreme parental conflict.

3 (6) Women have an increased risk of experi4 encing battering after separation from an abusive

5 partner. Children also have an increased risk of suf6 fering harm during separation.

7 (7) Child visitation disputes are more frequent

8 when families have histories of domestic violence,

9 and the need for supervised visitation centers far ex10 ceeds the number of available programs providing

11 those centers, because courts therefore—

12 (A) order unsupervised visitation and en13 danger parents and children; or

14 (B) prohibit visitation altogether.

15 (8) Recent studies have demonstrated that up

16 to 50 percent of children who appear before juvenile

17 courts in matters involving allegations of abuse and

18 neglect have been exposed to domestic violence in

19 their homes.

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this Act:

22 (1) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic

23 violence’’ includes an act or threat of violence, not

24 including an act of self defense, committed by a cur25 rent or former spouse of the victim, by a person with
4

•S 1321 IS

1 whom the victim shares a child in common, by a per2 son who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the

3 victim, by a person who is or has been in a social

4 relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with

5 the victim, by a person similarly situated to a spouse

6 of the victim under the domestic or family violence

7 laws of the jurisdiction of the victim, or by any other

8 person against a victim who is protected from that

9 person’s act under the domestic or family violence

10 laws of the jurisdiction.

11 (2) INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term

12 ‘‘Indian tribal government’’ has the meaning given

13 the term ‘‘tribal organization’’ in section 102 of the

14 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).

15 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

16 the several States of the United States, the District

17 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

18 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American

19 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern

20 Mariana Islands.

21 (4) WITNESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘witness do23 mestic violence’’ means to witness—
5

•S 1321 IS

1 (i) an act of domestic violence that

2 constitutes actual or attempted physical

3 assault; or

4 (ii) a threat or other action that

5 places the victim in fear of domestic vio6 lence.

7 (B) WITNESS.—In subparagraph (A), the

8 term ‘‘witness’’ means to—

9 (i) directly observe an act, threat, or

10 action described in subparagraph (A), or

11 the aftermath of that act, threat, or action;

12 or

13 (ii) be within earshot of an act,

14 threat, or action described in subparagraph

15 (A), or the aftermath of that act, threat,

16 or action.

17 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN

18 WHO WITNESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Family Violence Prevention

20 and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.) is amended

21 by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘SEC. 319. MULTISYSTEM INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN

23 WHO WITNESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

24 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
6

•S 1321 IS

1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, acting

2 through the Director of Community Services, in the

3 Administration for Children and Families, is author4 ized to award grants to eligible entities to conduct

5 programs to encourage the use of domestic violence

6 intervention models using multisystem partnerships

7 to address the needs of children who witness domes8 tic violence.

9 ‘‘(2) TERM AND AMOUNT.—Each grant award10 ed under this section shall be awarded for a term of

11 3 years and in an amount of not more than

12 $500,000 for each such year.

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re14 ceive a grant under this section, an entity shall—

15 ‘‘(A) be a nonprofit private organization;

16 ‘‘(B)(i) demonstrate recognized expertise

17 in the area of domestic violence and the impact

18 of domestic violence on children; or

19 ‘‘(ii) enter into a memorandum of under20 standing regarding the intervention program

21 that—

22 ‘‘(I) is entered into with the State or

23 tribal domestic violence coalition and enti24 ties carrying out domestic violence pro25 grams that provide shelter or related as-
7

•S 1321 IS

1 sistance in the locality in which the inter2 vention program will be operated; and

3 ‘‘(II) demonstrates collaboration on

4 the intervention program with the coalition

5 and entities and the support of the coali6 tion and entities for the intervention pro7 gram; and

8 ‘‘(C) demonstrate a history of providing

9 advocacy, health care, mental health, or other

10 crisis-related services to children.

11 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a

12 grant under this section shall use amounts provided

13 through the grant to conduct a program to design or rep14 licate, and implement, domestic violence intervention mod15 els that use multisystem partners to respond to the needs

16 of children who witness domestic violence. Such a program

17 shall—

18 ‘‘(1)(A) involve collaborative partnerships

19 with—

20 ‘‘(i) local entities carrying out domestic vi21 olence programs that provide shelter or related

22 assistance; and

23 ‘‘(ii) partners that are courts, schools, so24 cial service providers, health care providers, po25 lice, early childhood agencies, entities carrying
8

•S 1321 IS

1 out Head Start programs under the Head Start

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or entities car3 rying out child protection, welfare, job training,

4 housing, battered women’s service, or children’s

5 mental health programs; and

6 ‘‘(B) be carried out to design and implement

7 protocols and systems to identify, refer, and appro8 priately respond to the needs of, children who wit9 ness domestic violence and who participate in pro10 grams administered by the partners;

11 ‘‘(2) include guidelines to evaluate the needs of

12 a child and make appropriate intervention rec13 ommendations;

14 ‘‘(3) include institutionalized procedures to en15 hance or ensure the safety and security of a battered

16 parent, and as a result, the child of the parent;

17 ‘‘(4) provide direct counseling and advocacy for

18 adult victims of domestic violence and their children

19 who witness domestic violence;

20 ‘‘(5) include the development or replication of a

21 mental health treatment model to meet the needs of

22 children for whom such treatment has been identi23 fied as appropriate;
9

•S 1321 IS

1 ‘‘(6) include policies and protocols for maintain2 ing the confidentiality of the battered parent and

3 child;

4 ‘‘(7) provide community outreach and training

5 to enhance the capacity of professionals who work

6 with children to appropriately identify and respond

7 to the needs of children who witness domestic vio8 lence;

9 ‘‘(8) include procedures for documenting inter10 ventions used for each child and family; and

11 ‘‘(9) include plans to perform a systematic out12 come evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of the

13 interventions.

14 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

15 under this section, an entity shall prepare and submit to

16 the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner,

17 and containing such information as the Secretary may re18 quire.

19 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 90

20 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec21 retary shall identify successful programs providing multi22 system and mental health interventions to address the

23 needs of children who witness domestic violence. Not later

24 than 60 days before the Secretary solicits applications for

25 grants under this section, the Secretary shall enter into
10

•S 1321 IS

1 an agreement with 1 or more entities carrying out the

2 identified programs to provide technical assistance to the

3 applicants and recipients of the grants. The Secretary may

4 use not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated

5 for a fiscal year under subsection (e) to provide the tech6 nical assistance.

7 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

9 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for

10 each of fiscal years 2000 through 2002.

11 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

12 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex13 pended.

14 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘do15 mestic violence’ and ‘witness domestic violence’ have the

16 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Children Who

17 Witness Domestic Violence Prevention Act.’’.

18 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 305(a) of the Family

19 Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C.

20 10404(a)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘an employee’’ and inserting ‘‘1

22 or more employees’’; and

23 (2) by striking ‘‘The individual’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘Each individual’’.
11

•S 1321 IS

1 SEC. 5. COMBATTING THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCING OR

2 WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON ELE3 MENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL CHIL4 DREN.

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subpart 2 of part A of title IV

6 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

7 (20 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

8 the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 4124. GRANTS TO COMBAT THE IMPACT OF EXPERI10 ENCING OR WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIO11 LENCE ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

12 SCHOOL CHILDREN.

13 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

14 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized

15 to award grants to and enter into contracts with ele16 mentary schools and secondary schools that work

17 with experts described in paragraph (2), to enable

18 the schools—

19 ‘‘(A) to provide training to school adminis20 trators, faculty, and staff, with respect to issues

21 concerning children experiencing domestic vio22 lence in dating relationships and witnessing do23 mestic violence, and the impact of the violence

24 described in this subparagraph on children;

25 ‘‘(B) to provide educational programing to

26 students regarding domestic violence and the
12

•S 1321 IS

1 impact of experiencing or witnessing domestic

2 violence on children;

3 ‘‘(C) to provide support services for stu4 dents and school personnel for the purpose of

5 developing and strengthening effective preven6 tion and intervention strategies with respect to

7 issues concerning children experiencing domes8 tic violence in dating relationships and wit9 nessing domestic violence, and the impact of the

10 violence described in this subparagraph on chil11 dren; and

12 ‘‘(D) to develop and implement school sys13 tem policies regarding identification and refer14 ral procedures for students who are experi15 encing or witnessing domestic violence.

16 ‘‘(2) EXPERTS.—The experts referred to in

17 paragraph (1) are experts on domestic violence from

18 the educational, legal, youth, mental health, sub19 stance abuse, and victim advocacy fields, and State

20 and local domestic violence coalitions and commu21 nity-based youth organizations.

22 ‘‘(3) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall award

23 grants and contracts under this section on a com24 petitive basis.
13

•S 1321 IS

1 ‘‘(4) POLICY DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary

2 shall disseminate to elementary schools and sec3 ondary schools any Department of Education policy

4 guidance regarding preventing domestic violence and

5 the impact of experiencing or witnessing domestic vi6 olence on children.

7 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under this

8 section may be used for the following purposes:

9 ‘‘(1) To provide training for school administra10 tors, faculty, and staff that addresses issues con11 cerning children experiencing domestic violence in

12 dating relationships and witnessing domestic vio13 lence, and the impact of the violence described in

14 this paragraph on children.

15 ‘‘(2) To provide education programs for stu16 dents that are developmentally appropriate for the

17 students’ grade levels and are designed to meet any

18 unique cultural and language needs of the particular

19 student populations.

20 ‘‘(3) To develop and implement school system

21 policies regarding identification and referral proce22 dures for students who are experiencing or wit23 nessing domestic violence.

24 ‘‘(4) To provide the necessary human resources

25 to respond to the needs of students and school per-
14

•S 1321 IS

1 sonnel when faced with the issue of domestic vio2 lence, such as a resource person who is either on-site

3 or on-call, and who is an expert in domestic violence

4 as described in subsection (a)(2).

5 ‘‘(5) To provide media center materials and

6 educational materials to schools that address issues

7 concerning children experiencing domestic violence in

8 dating relationships and witnessing domestic vio9 lence, and the impact of the violence described in

10 this paragraph on children.

11 ‘‘(6) To conduct evaluations to assess the im12 pact of programs assisted under this section in order

13 to enhance the development of the programs.

14 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Policies, programs, train15 ing materials, and evaluations developed and implemented

16 under subsection (b) shall address issues of victim safety

17 and confidentiality that are consistent with applicable

18 Federal and State laws.

19 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to be award21 ed a grant or contract under this section for any fis22 cal year, an elementary school or secondary school,

23 in consultation with an expert described in sub24 section (a)(2), shall submit an application to the
15

•S 1321 IS

1 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the

2 Secretary shall prescribe.

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

4 under paragraph (1) shall—

5 ‘‘(A) describe the need for funds provided

6 under the grant or contract and the plan for

7 implementation of any of the uses described in

8 subsection (b);

9 ‘‘(B) describe how the domestic violence

10 experts described in subsection (a)(2) shall

11 work in consultation and collaboration with the

12 elementary school or secondary school; and

13 ‘‘(C) provide measurable goals and ex14 pected results from the use of the funds pro15 vided under the grant or contract.

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘do17 mestic violence’ and ‘witness domestic violence’ have the

18 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Children Who

19 Witness Domestic Violence Protection Act.

20 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this part

21 (other than this section) shall not apply to this section.’’.

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

23 4004 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7104) is amended—
16

•S 1321 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

2 the semicolon;

3 (2) in paragraph (2) by striking the period and

4 inserting ‘‘; and ’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(3) $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years

7 2000 through 2002 to carry out section 4124.’’.

8 SEC. 6. CHILD WELFARE WORKER TRAINING ON DOMESTIC

9 VIOLENCE.

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 (1) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means a

12 recipient of a grant under this section.

13 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

14 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

15 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

16 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General and

17 the Secretary are authorized to jointly award grants

18 to eligible States, Indian tribal governments, and

19 units of local government, in order to encourage

20 agencies and entities within the jurisdiction of the

21 States, organizations, and units to recognize and

22 treat, as part of their ongoing child welfare respon23 sibilities, domestic violence as a serious problem

24 threatening the safety and well-being of both chil25 dren and adults.
17

•S 1321 IS

1 (2) TERM AND AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded

2 under this section shall be awarded for a term of 3

3 years and in an amount of not less than $250,000.

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds provided under this sec5 tion may be used to support child welfare service agencies

6 in carrying out, with the assistance of entities carrying

7 out community-based domestic violence programs, activi8 ties to achieve the following purposes:

9 (1) To provide training to the staff of child wel10 fare service agencies and domestic violence programs

11 with respect to the issue of domestic violence and

12 the impact of the violence on children and their non13 abusive parents, which training shall—

14 (A) include training for staff, supervisors,

15 and administrators, including staff responsible

16 for screening, intake, assessment, and investiga17 tion of reports of child abuse and neglect; and

18 (B) be conducted in collaboration with

19 child welfare experts, domestic violence experts,

20 entities carrying out community-based domestic

21 violence programs, relevant law enforcement

22 agencies, probation officers, prosecutors, and

23 judges.

24 (2) To provide assistance in the modification of

25 policies, procedures, programs, and practices of child
18

•S 1321 IS

1 welfare service agencies and domestic violence pro2 grams in order to ensure that the agencies—

3 (A) recognize the overlap between child

4 abuse and domestic violence in families, the

5 dangers posed to both child and adult victims

6 of domestic violence, and the physical, emo7 tional, and developmental impact of domestic vi8 olence on children;

9 (B) develop relevant protocols for screen10 ing, intake, assessment, and investigation of

11 and followup to reports of child abuse and ne12 glect, that—

13 (i) address the dynamics of domestic

14 violence and the relationship between child

15 abuse and domestic violence; and

16 (ii) enable the agencies to assess the

17 danger to child and adult victims of do18 mestic violence;

19 (C) identify and assess the presence of do20 mestic violence in child protection cases, in a

21 manner that ensures the safety of all individ22 uals involved and the protection of confidential

23 information;

24 (D) increase the safety and well-being of

25 children who witness domestic violence, includ-
19

•S 1321 IS

1 ing increasing the safety of nonabusive parents

2 of the children;

3 (E) develop appropriate responses in cases

4 of domestic violence, including safety plans and

5 appropriate services for both the child and

6 adult victims of domestic violence;

7 (F) establish and enforce procedures to en8 sure the confidentiality of information relating

9 to families that is shared between child welfare

10 service agencies and community-based domestic

11 violence programs, consistent with law (includ12 ing regulations) and guidelines;

13 (G) provide appropriate supervision to

14 agency staffs who work with families in which

15 there has been domestic violence, including su16 pervision concerning issues regarding—

17 (i) promoting staff safety; and

18 (ii) protecting the confidentiality of

19 child and adult victims of domestic vio20 lence; and

21 (H) develop protocols with law enforce22 ment, probation, and other justice agencies in

23 order to ensure that justice system interven24 tions and protections are readily available for
20

•S 1321 IS

1 victims of domestic violence served by the social

2 service agency.

3 (d) APPLICATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a

5 grant under this section, a State, Indian tribal gov6 ernment, or unit of local government shall submit an

7 application to the Attorney General and the Sec8 retary at such time and in such manner as the At9 torney General and the Secretary shall prescribe.

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

11 under paragraph (1) shall contain information

12 that—

13 (A) describes the specific activities that

14 will be undertaken to achieve 1 or more of the

15 purposes described in subsection (c);

16 (B) lists the child welfare service agencies

17 and domestic violence service agencies in the ju18 risdiction of the applicant that will be respon19 sible for carrying out the activities; and

20 (C) provides documentation from 1 or

21 more community-based domestic violence pro22 grams that the entities carrying out such

23 programs—

24 (i) have been involved in the develop25 ment of the application; and
21

•S 1321 IS

1 (ii) will assist in carrying out the spe2 cific activities described in subparagraph

3 (A), which may include assisting as sub4 contractors.

5 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec6 tion, the Attorney General and the Secretary shall give

7 priority to applicants who demonstrate that entities that

8 carry out domestic violence programs will be substantially

9 involved in carrying out the specific activities described in

10 subsection (d)(2)(A), and to applicants who demonstrate

11 a commitment to educate the staff of child welfare service

12 agencies about—

13 (1) the impact of domestic violence on children;

14 (2) the special risks of child abuse and neglect;

15 and

16 (3) appropriate services and interventions for

17 protecting both the child and adult victims of domes18 tic violence.

19 (f) EVALUATION, REPORTING, AND DISSEMINA20 TION.—

21 (1) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—Each

22 grantee shall annually submit to the Attorney Gen23 eral and the Secretary a report, which shall

24 include—
22

•S 1321 IS

1 (A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of

2 activities funded with a grant awarded under

3 this section; and

4 (B) such additional information as the At5 torney General and the Secretary may require.

6 (2) DISSEMINATION.—Not later than 6 months

7 after the expiration of the 3-year period beginning

8 on the initial date on which grants are awarded

9 under this section, the Attorney General and the

10 Secretary shall distribute to each State child welfare

11 service agency and each State domestic violence coa12 lition, and to Congress, a summary of information

13 on—

14 (A) the activities funded with grants under

15 this section; and

16 (B) any related initiatives undertaken by

17 the Attorney General or the Secretary to pro18 mote attention by the staff of child welfare

19 service agencies and community-based domestic

20 violence programs to domestic violence and the

21 impact of domestic violence on child and adult

22 victims of domestic violence.

23 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

24 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF SUCCESSFUL PRO25 GRAMS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
23

•S 1321 IS

1 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall identify

2 successful programs providing training to child wel3 fare and domestic violence programs to address the

4 needs of children who witness domestic violence.

5 (2) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 60 days be6 fore the Secretary solicits applications for grants

7 under this section, the Secretary shall enter into an

8 agreement with 1 or more entities carrying out the

9 training programs identified under paragraph (1) to

10 provide technical assistance to the applicants and re11 cipients of the grants.

12 (3) FUNDING.—The Secretary may use not

13 more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated for

14 a fiscal year under subsection (h) to provide tech15 nical assistance pursuant to the agreement under

16 paragraph (2).

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

19 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for

20 each of fiscal years 2000 through 2002.

21 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

22 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex23 pended.
24

•S 1321 IS

1 SEC. 7. SAFE HAVENS FOR CHILDREN.

2 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General

3 may award grants to States (including State courts) and

4 Indian tribal governments in order to enable them to enter

5 into contracts and cooperative agreements with public or

6 private nonprofit entities (including tribal organizations

7 and nonprofit organizations operating within the bound8 aries of an Indian reservation) to assist those entities in

9 establishing and operating supervised visitation centers for

10 purposes of facilitating supervised visitation and visitation

11 exchange of children by and between parents. Not less

12 than 50 percent of the total amount awarded to a State

13 or Indian tribal government under this subsection for any

14 fiscal year shall be used to enter into contracts and cooper15 ative agreements with private nonprofit entities.

16 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under

17 subsection (a), the Attorney General shall consider—

18 (1) the number of families to be served by the

19 proposed visitation center;

20 (2) the extent to which the proposed supervised

21 visitation center will serve underserved populations

22 (as defined in section 2003 of title I of the Omnibus

23 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42

24 U.S.C. 3796gg–2));

25 (3) with respect to an applicant for a contract

26 or cooperative agreement, the extent to which the
25

•S 1321 IS

1 applicant demonstrates cooperation and collabora2 tion with nonprofit, nongovernmental entities in the

3 local community served, including the State or tribal

4 domestic violence coalition, State or tribal sexual as5 sault coalition, local shelters, and programs for do6 mestic violence and sexual assault victims;

7 (4) the extent to which the applicant dem8 onstrates coordination and collaboration with State,

9 tribal, and local court systems, including mecha10 nisms for communication and referral; and

11 (5) the extent to which the applicant dem12 onstrates implementation of domestic violence and

13 sexual assault training for all staff members.

14 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts provided under a

15 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under

16 this section may be used only to establish and operate su17 pervised visitation centers.

18 (d) APPLICATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall

20 award grants for contracts and cooperative agree21 ments under this section in accordance with such

22 regulations as the Attorney General may establish

23 by regulation, which regulations shall establish a

24 multiyear grant process.
26

•S 1321 IS

1 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

2 under paragraph (1) shall—

3 (A) demonstrate recognized expertise in

4 the area of domestic violence and a record of

5 high quality service to victims of domestic vio6 lence or sexual assault;

7 (B) demonstrate collaboration with and

8 support of the State or tribal domestic violence

9 coalition, State or tribal sexual assault coali10 tion, or local domestic violence shelter, pro11 gram, or rape crisis center in the locality in

12 which the supervised visitation center will be

13 operated;

14 (C) provide supervised visitation and visi15 tation exchange services over the duration of a

16 court order to promote continuity and stability;

17 (D) ensure that any fees charged to indi18 viduals for use of services are based on an indi19 vidual’s income;

20 (E) demonstrate that adequate security

21 measures, including adequate facilities, proce22 dures, and personnel capable of preventing vio23 lence, are in place for the operation of super24 vised visitation; and
27

•S 1321 IS

1 (F) describe standards by which the super2 vised visitation center will operate.

3 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants for con4 tracts and cooperative agreements under this sec5 tion, the Attorney General shall give priority to

6 States that, in making a custody determination—

7 (A) consider domestic violence; and

8 (B) require findings on the record.

9 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after

10 the last day of each fiscal year, the Attorney General shall

11 submit to Congress a report that includes information

12 concerning—

13 (1) the total number of individuals served and

14 the total number of individuals turned away from

15 services (categorized by State), the number of indi16 viduals from underserved populations served and the

17 number turned away from services, and the factors

18 that necessitate the supervised visitation or visita19 tion exchange, such as domestic violence, child

20 abuse, sexual assault, and emotional or other phys21 ical abuse, or any combination of such factors;

22 (2) the number of supervised visitations or visi23 tation exchanges ordered during custody determina24 tions under a separation or divorce decree or protec25 tion order, through child protection services or other
28

•S 1321 IS

1 social services agencies, or by any other order of a

2 civil, criminal, juvenile, or family court;

3 (3) the process by which children or abused

4 partners are protected during visitations, temporary

5 custody transfers, and other activities for which the

6 supervised visitation centers are established under

7 this section;

8 (4) safety and security problems occurring dur9 ing the reporting period during supervised visitations

10 or at visitation centers including the number of pa11 rental abduction cases;

12 (5) the number of parental abduction cases in

13 a judicial district using supervised visitation services,

14 both as identified in criminal prosecutions and in

15 custody violations; and

16 (6) program standards for operating supervised

17 visitation centers established throughout the United

18 States.

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

21 appropriated from the Violent Crime Reduction

22 Trust Fund established under section 310001 of the

23 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of

24 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14211) to carry out this section
29

•S 1321 IS

1 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through

2 2002.

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available

4 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex5 pended.

6 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—Not less than 95 percent

7 of the total amount made available to carry out this

8 section for each fiscal year shall be used to award

9 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.

10 (4) ALLOTMENT FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), not less than 5 percent of the total

13 amount made available to carry out this section

14 for each fiscal year shall be available for grants

15 to, or contracts or cooperative agreements with,

16 tribal organizations and nonprofit organizations

17 operating within the boundaries of an Indian

18 reservation.

19 (B) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—If, begin20 ning 9 months after the first day of any fiscal

21 year for which amounts are made available

22 under this paragraph, any amount made avail23 able under this paragraph remains unobligated,

24 the unobligated amount may be allocated with25 out regard to subparagraph (A).
30

•S 1321 IS

1 SEC. 8. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER TRAINING.

2 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General

3 shall award grants to nonprofit domestic violence pro4 grams, shelters, or organizations in collaboration with

5 local police departments, for purposes of training local po6 lice officers regarding appropriate treatment of children

7 who have witnessed domestic violence.

8 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A domestic violence agency

9 working in collaboration with a local police department

10 may use amounts provided under a grant under this

11 section—

12 (1) to train police officers in child development

13 and issues related to witnessing domestic violence so

14 they may appropriately—

15 (A) apply child development principles to

16 their work in domestic violence cases;

17 (B) recognize the needs of children who

18 witness domestic violence;

19 (C) meet children’s immediate needs at the

20 scene of domestic violence;

21 (D) call for immediate therapeutic atten22 tion to be provided to the child by an advocate

23 from the collaborating domestic violence pro24 gram, shelter, or organization; and

25 (E) refer children for followup services;

26 and
31

•S 1321 IS

1 (2) to establish a collaborative working relation2 ship between police officers and local domestic vio3 lence programs, shelters, and organizations.

4 (c) APPLICATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to be awarded

6 a grant under this section for any fiscal year, a local

7 domestic violence program, shelter, or organization,

8 in collaboration with a local police department, shall

9 submit an application to the Attorney General at

10 such time and in such manner as the Attorney Gen11 eral shall prescribe.

12 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted

13 under paragraph (1) shall—

14 (A) describe the need for amounts provided

15 under the grant and the plan for implementa16 tion of the uses described in subsection (c);

17 (B) describe the manner in which the local

18 domestic violence program, shelter, or organiza19 tion shall work in collaboration with the local

20 police department; and

21 (C) provide measurable goals and expected

22 results from the use of amounts provided under

23 the grant.

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
32

•S 1321 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

2 appropriated from the Violent Crime Reduction

3 Trust Fund established under section 310001 of the

4 Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act of

5 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14211) to carry out this section

6 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through

7 2002.

8 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available

9 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex10 pended.

11 SEC. 9. REAUTHORIZATION OF CRISIS NURSERIES.

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH DEMONSTRATION

13 GRANT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Health and Human

14 Services may establish demonstration programs under

15 which grants are awarded to States to assist private and

16 public agencies and organizations in providing crisis nurs17 eries for children who are abused and neglected, are at

18 risk of abuse or neglect, are witnessing domestic violence,

19 or are in families receiving child protective services.

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

22 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2002.

Æ