II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4979 

To authorize grants for emotional support services for incarcerated victims 

of sexual abuse, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize grants for emotional support services for 

incarcerated victims of sexual abuse, 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 ‘‘Sexual Abuse Services 

5 in Detention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICE.—The term 

9 ‘‘emotional support service’’— 


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1 (A) means emotional support services or 

2 counseling for individuals who have experienced 

3 sexual abuse at any time in their life; and 

4 (B) includes— 

5 (i) crisis intervention services; 

6 (ii) education about dynamics of sex7 ual abuse and sexual harassment; 

8 (iii) sharing resources; 

9 (iv) safety planning and discussion of 

10 reporting options; 

11 (v) telephone hotline services; and 

12 (vi) assistance processing trauma re13 actions and building coping skills. 

14 (2) EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICE PRO15 VIDER.—The term ‘‘emotional support service pro16 vider’’ means a nonprofit, nongovernmental organi17 zation that has— 

18 (A) special expertise and broad experience 

19 in providing sexual abuse and rape crisis coun20 seling services for survivors, including victims of 

21 sexual abuse in correctional settings; and 

22 (B) experience with correctional services, 

23 such as— 

24 (i) understanding the unique dynam25 ics of custodial sexual abuse; 


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1 (ii) understanding correctional prac2 tices and correctional security concerns; or 

3 (iii) providing technical assistance and 

4 training to correctional officers and admin5 istrators. 

6 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

7 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 

8 is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 and that is exempt from taxation 

10 under section 501(a) of such Code. 

11 (4) TRAINING SERVICES.—The term ‘‘training 

12 services’’ means providing education, training, and 

13 technical assistance on providing emotional support 

14 services in corrections settings for incarcerated sur15 vivors and victims of sexual abuse. 

16 SEC. 3. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SEXUAL 

17 ABUSE VICTIMS IN DETENTION FACILITIES. 

18 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General, 

19 acting through the Director of the Office for Victims of 

20 Crime, may award grants to emotional support service 

21 providers for the purpose of collaborating with Federal, 

22 State, local, or Tribal authorities to provide emotional sup23 port services in corrections settings for incarcerated sur24 vivors and victims of sexual abuse. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each 

3 of fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to carry out this sec4 tion. 

5 (c) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts made 

6 available under this section shall supplement and not sup7 plant any other authorization, appropriation, or grant. 

8 SEC. 4. TRAINING GRANTS. 

9 (a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el10 igible entity’’ mean an entity that has experience providing 

11 training services in the manner described in subsection (c). 

12 (b) AUTHORITY.— The Attorney General may award 

13 grants to eligible entities to carry out the activities de14 scribed in subsection (c). 

15 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

16 a grant under subsection (b) shall use amounts received 

17 under the grant to— 

18 (1) provide training services to a corrections 

19 agency or facility seeking to offer emotional support 

20 services at the institution; 

21 (2) provide training services to correctional offi22 cers and administrators; and 

23 (3) collect and maintain data on a biannual 

24 basis on the usage volume for training services de25 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 

3 this section for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028. 

4 SEC. 5. SEXUAL ABUSE SERVICES IN DETENTION RE5 SOURCE CENTER. 

6 (a) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—In this section, the 

7 term ‘‘eligible organization’’ means a nonprofit organiza8 tion that has special expertise and broad experience in pro9 viding the information, guidance, and technical assistance 

10 described in subsection (b). 

11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General shall 

12 establish a national resource center that shall— 

13 (1) provide guidance and training series to cor14 rections agencies, prisons, jails, and other detention 

15 facilities on establishing, administering, operating, 

16 and supporting emotional support services for sexual 

17 abuse victims in correctional or detention facilities; 

18 (2) provide guidance and training services to 

19 emotional support service providers on establishing, 

20 administering, operating, and supporting emotional 

21 support services for sexual abuse victims in correc22 tional or detention facilities; and 

23 (3) collect, compile, and disseminate resources 

24 on the delivery of emotional support services in cor25 rectional or detention settings, including— 


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1 (A) training services; 

2 (B) research; and 

3 (C) best practices. 

4 (c) GRANT.—The Attorney General may make a 

5 grant to an eligible organization to provide for the estab6 lishment, functioning, or implementation of subsection (b). 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to carry out this section. 


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