I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 522

To provide a grant to a nonprofit private organization to establish and

operate a national domestic violence hotline.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 21, 1993

Mrs. MORELLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To provide a grant to a nonprofit private organization to

establish and operate a national domestic violence hotline.

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 ‘‘National Domestic Vio5 lence Hotline Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) 4,000,000 women are battered by their

9 partners each year, of which 4,000 die as a result

10 of such abuse;
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1 (2) victims of domestic violence need access to

2 resources which will refer such victims and their

3 children to safe homes and shelters; and

4 (3) there is a need for a national domestic vio5 lence hotline to provide information and assistance

6 to victims of domestic violence because a privately7 funded national domestic violence hotline which han8 dled more than 65,000 crisis calls annually no longer

9 exists.

10 SEC. 3. GRANT FOR NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOT11 LINE.

12 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

13 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

14 the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 316. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE

16 GRANT.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide a

18 grant to a nonprofit private organization to establish and

19 operate a national, toll-free telephone hotline to provide

20 information and assistance to victims of domestic violence.

21 A grant provided under this subsection may extend over

22 a period of not more than 3 fiscal years and the provision

23 of payments under such grant shall be subject to the an24 nual approval by the Secretary and subject to the avail-
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1 ability of appropriations for the fiscal year involved to

2 make the payments.

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not

5 provide a grant under subsection (a) unless an appli6 cation that meets the requirements of paragraph (2)

7 has been approved by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—An application meets

9 the requirements of this paragraph if the applica10 tion—

11 ‘‘(A) contains such agreements, assur12 ances, and information, and is in such form and

13 submitted in such manner as the Secretary

14 shall prescribe through notice in the Federal

15 Register;

16 ‘‘(B) demonstrates that the applicant has

17 nationally recognized expertise in the area of

18 domestic violence and a record of high quality

19 service to victims of domestic violence, including

20 support from advocacy groups, particularly

21 State coalitions and recognized national domes22 tic violence groups;

23 ‘‘(C) demonstrates that the applicant has a

24 commitment to diversity, including the hiring of

25 and provision of services to ethnic, racial, cul-
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1 tural, and non-English speaking minorities, in

2 addition to older individuals and individuals

3 with disabilities;

4 ‘‘(D) demonstrates that the applicant has

5 the ability to integrate the hotline into existing

6 services provided by the applicant to victims of

7 domestic violence;

8 ‘‘(E) includes a complete description of the

9 applicant’s plan for the establishment and oper10 ation of the hotline, including a description of—

11 ‘‘(i) the hiring criteria and training

12 program for hotline personnel;

13 ‘‘(ii) the methods for the creation,

14 maintenance, and updating of a resource

15 database for the hotline;

16 ‘‘(iii) a plan for providing service on a

17 24-hour-a-day basis to non-English speak18 ing callers, including hotline personnel who

19 speak Spanish;

20 ‘‘(iv) a plan for access to the hotline

21 by individuals with hearing impairments;

22 and

23 ‘‘(v) a plan for publicizing the avail24 ability of the hotline; and
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1 ‘‘(F) contains such other information as

2 the Secretary may require.

3 ‘‘(c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select a non4 profit private organization to receive a grant under sub5 section (a) which has been in existence for at least 5 years

6 from the date of submission of the application by the orga7 nization.

8 ‘‘(d) USES.—A grant made under subsection (a) shall

9 be used to establish and operate a national, toll-free tele10 phone hotline to provide information and assistance to vic11 tims of domestic violence. In establishing and operating

12 the hotline, a nonprofit private organization shall—

13 ‘‘(1) contract with a carrier for the use of a

14 toll-free telephone line;

15 ‘‘(2) employ, train, and supervise personnel to

16 answer incoming calls and provide counseling and

17 referral services to callers on a 24-hour-a-day basis;

18 ‘‘(3) establish, maintain, and update a database

19 of information relating to services for victims of do20 mestic violence, including information on the avail21 ability of shelters that serve battered women; and

22 ‘‘(4) publicize the hotline to potential users

23 throughout the United States.

24 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

2 appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for

3 each of the fiscal years 1994 through 1996.

4 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds authorized to be

5 appropriated under paragraph (1) shall remain

6 available until expended.’’.

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