II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1483

To amend Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to reduce the impact

of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking on the lives of youth

and children and to provide appropriate services for children and youth

experiencing or exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 2, 2001

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 Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to

reduce the impact of domestic violence, sexual assault,

and stalking on the lives of youth and children and

to provide appropriate services for children and youth

experiencing or exposed to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

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 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Domestic violence and sexual assault occur

4 frequently in the United States. 1,500,000 women

5 are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate

6 partner annually in the United States, and 1 in 4

7 women in the United States will experience domestic

8 violence or sexual assault in her lifetime.

9 (2) At least 3,300,000 children in the United

10 States are exposed to parental violence every year.

11 (3) Child abuse and domestic violence often

12 occur within the same families. Because of this over13 lap, cross-training for child welfare workers, courts,

14 law enforcement, prosecutors, and domestic violence

15 and sexual assault victim service providers is essen16 tial.

17 (4) Forty to 60 percent of men who abuse

18 women also abuse children.

19 (5) In 43 percent of households where intimate

20 violence occurs, at least 1 child under the age of 12

21 lives in the home. Domestic violence has been shown

22 to occur disproportionately in homes with children

23 under age 5.

24 (6) In most States, more than 50 percent of the

25 residents in battered women’s shelters are children.
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1 (7) As many as 500,000 children may be en2 countered by police during domestic violence arrests

3 each year.

4 (8) Children who live in homes where domestic

5 violence occurs are at a higher risk of anxiety and

6 depression, and exhibit more aggressive, antisocial,

7 inhibited, and fearful behaviors than other children.

8 (9) Children’s experiences vary widely as the re9 sult of their exposure to domestic violence depending

10 on their family situations, community environment,

11 and the child’s own personality. Children need com12 prehensive services that serve the continuum of their

13 individual needs.

14 (10) Adolescents who have grown up in violent

15 homes are at risk for recreating the abusive relation16 ships they have observed. Forty percent of violent

17 juvenile offenders come from homes where there is

18 domestic violence, and 50 percent of children who

19 come before delinquency court have been exposed to

20 violence in the home.

21 (11) Men who as children witnessed their par22 ent’s domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse

23 their own wives as are sons of nonviolent parents.

24 One-third of women who are physically abused by a
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1 husband or boyfriend grew up in a household where

2 their mother was also abused.

3 (12) The most successful strategies for dealing

4 with the overlap between domestic violence and child

5 abuse are those that provide for the safety of both

6 the children and the nonabusing parent.

7 (13) Recent studies show that battered women

8 parent effectively and attend to their children’s

9 needs.

10 (14) In a major metropolitan area, 80 percent

11 of surveyed battered women with children reported

12 that they and their children were safe and together

13 as a family after receiving domestic violence advo14 cacy services. In contrast, the rate of substantiated

15 cases of sexual abuse in foster care is more than 4

16 times higher than the rate in the general population.

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

18 The purpose of this Act is to—

19 (1) reduce the impact of domestic violence, sex20 ual assault, and stalking in the lives of youth and

21 children;

22 (2) provide appropriate services for children

23 and youth experiencing or exposed to domestic vio24 lence, sexual assault, and stalking;
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1 (3) develop and implement education programs

2 to prevent children and youth from becoming victims

3 or perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual assault,

4 or stalking;

5 (4) encourage cross training and collaboration

6 among child welfare agencies, domestic violence and

7 sexual assault service providers, courts, law enforce8 ment entities, health care professionals, crisis nurs9 eries, and other social services to recognize and re10 sponsibly address domestic violence and sexual as11 sault and the effects of domestic violence on children

12 and youth;

13 (5) promote the safety of children and youth by

14 increasing the safety, autonomy, capacity, and finan15 cial security of the nonabusing parents who are also

16 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault so

17 that they may remain safely together, thereby pre18 venting the unnecessary and harmful removal of the

19 child or youth from the nonabusing parent; and

20 (6) ensure the effective handling of cases where

21 domestic violence or sexual assault and child abuse

22 and neglect intersect in such a way that—

23 (A) holds the adult perpetrator of violence

24 accountable;
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1 (B) assures the safety and well-being of

2 both the child and the child’s nonabusing par3 ent; and

4 (C) prevents the unnecessary and harmful

5 removal of the child from the nonabusing par6 ent thereby increasing the child’s chance to

7 heal.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

9 Section 309 of the Family Violence Prevention and

10 Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10408) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘dating violence’ means violence

13 committed by a person—

14 ‘‘(A) who is or has been in a social rela15 tionship of a romantic or intimate nature with

16 the victim; and

17 ‘‘(B) where the existence of such a rela18 tionship shall be determined based on a consid19 eration of—

20 ‘‘(i) the length of the relationship;

21 ‘‘(ii) the type of relationship; and

22 ‘‘(iii) the frequency of interaction be23 tween the persons involved in the relation24 ship.
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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘domestic violence’ includes acts

2 or threats of violence, not including acts of self-de3 fense, committed by a current or former spouse of

4 the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares

5 a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting

6 with or has cohabited with the victim, by a person

7 who is or has been in a continuing social relationship

8 of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim, by

9 a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim

10 under the domestic or family violence laws of the ju11 risdiction, or by any other person against a victim

12 who is protected from that person’s acts under the

13 domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction.

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘sexual assault’ means any con15 duct proscribed by chapter 109A of title 18, United

16 States Code, whether or not the conduct occurs in

17 the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of

18 the United States or in a Federal prison and in19 cludes both assaults committed by offenders who are

20 strangers to the victim and assaults committed by

21 offenders who are known to the victim or related by

22 blood or marriage to the victim.

23 ‘‘(4) The term ‘stalking’ means engaging in a

24 course of conduct directed at a specific person that

25 would cause a reasonable person to fear death, sex-
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1 ual assault, or bodily injury to such person or a

2 member of such person’s immediate family, when the

3 person engaging in such conduct has knowledge or

4 should have knowledge that the specific person will

5 be placed in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault,

6 or bodily injury to such person or a member of such

7 person’s immediate family and when the conduct in8 duces fear in the specific person of death, sexual as9 sault, or bodily injury to such person or a member

10 of such person’s immediate family.’’.

11 SEC. 5. SERVICES FOR CHILDREN EXPOSED TO DOMESTIC

12 VIOLENCE.

13 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

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

15 the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 320. SERVICES FOR CHILDREN EXPOSED TO DOMES17 TIC VIOLENCE.

18 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, acting

19 through the Director of Community Services of the Ad20 ministration for Children and Families, may award com21 petitive grants to eligible entities to enable such entities

22 to conduct programs to serve children who have been ex23 posed to domestic violence.

24 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE GRANTEES.—To be eligible to receive

25 a grant under this section, an entity shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) meet the requirements of section

2 303(a)(2)(A) or section 303(b)(1); and

3 ‘‘(2) have in place, and describe in its applica4 tion, policies and procedures that—

5 ‘‘(A) enhance or ensure the safety and se6 curity of a battered parent or caregiver, and as

7 a result, the child of the parent; and

8 ‘‘(B) ensure that all services are provided

9 in a developmentally appropriate and culturally

10 competent manner.

11 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity that receives a

13 grant under this section shall use amounts provided

14 under the grant to design or replicate, and imple15 ment, programs and services using domestic violence

16 intervention models to respond to the needs of chil17 dren who are exposed to domestic violence and

18 whose parent or caregiver is a victim of domestic vi19 olence and who is receiving services from such enti20 ty. Such a program—

21 ‘‘(A) shall be a new program or service, or

22 new component of an existing program or serv23 ice not currently offered by the entity;
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1 ‘‘(B) shall provide direct counseling and

2 advocacy for children who have been exposed to

3 domestic violence;

4 ‘‘(C) may include early childhood and men5 tal health services;

6 ‘‘(D) may assist in legal advocacy efforts

7 on behalf of children with respect to issues re8 lated directly to services the children are receiv9 ing from the program;

10 ‘‘(E) may include respite care, supervised

11 visitation, and specialized services for children;

12 and

13 ‘‘(F) may use not more than 25 percent of

14 the grant funds to contract with others to pro15 vide additional services and resources for chil16 dren including child care, transportation, edu17 cational support, respite care, supervised visita18 tion, and access to specialized services for chil19 dren.

20 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Programs developed

21 and implemented under paragraph (1) shall ensure

22 the safety and confidentiality of child and adult vic23 tims in a manner that is consistent with applicable

24 Federal and State laws.
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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

2 under subsection (a), an entity shall prepare and submit

3 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such man4 ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may

5 require.

6 ‘‘(e) TERM AND AMOUNT.—

7 ‘‘(1) TERM.—The Secretary shall make the

8 grants under this section for a period of not more

9 than 3 fiscal years.

10 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Each grant awarded under this

11 section shall be in an amount of not less than

12 $50,000 per year and not more than $300,000 per

13 year.

14 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION, MONITORING, ADMINISTRATION,

15 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Of the amount appro16 priated under subsection (j) for each fiscal year, not more

17 than 4 percent shall be used by the Secretary for evalua18 tion, monitoring, administrative, and technical assistance

19 costs under this section.

20 ‘‘(g) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—In awarding

21 grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure an

22 equitable geographic distribution to State, local, and tribal

23 programs working in throughout the United States in

24 rural, urban, and suburban areas.
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1 ‘‘(h) UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—In awarding

2 grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

3 ‘‘(1) consider the needs of underserved popu4 lations as defined by section 2003(7) of part T of

5 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

6 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–2); and

7 ‘‘(2) from the amounts made available under

8 subsection (j), award not less than 10 percent of

9 such amounts for the funding of tribal programs as

10 defined in section 303(b)(1).

11 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL REPORTS.—An entity receiving a grant

12 under this section shall annually submit to the Secretary

13 a report that describes, at a minimum—

14 ‘‘(1) how the funds under the grant were used;

15 ‘‘(2) the extent to which underserved popu16 lations were reached;

17 ‘‘(3) the adequacy of staff training and agency

18 services to ensure that children’s needs are ad19 dressed properly;

20 ‘‘(4) the adequacy of the physical arrangements

21 for meeting children’s needs; and

22 ‘‘(5) the existence of continuing barriers the en23 tity faces to more fully addressing children’s needs.

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

2 appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000

3 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

4 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated

5 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex6 pended.’’.

7 SEC. 6. GRANTS TO COMBAT THE IMPACT OF EXPERI8 ENCING OR WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIO9 LENCE ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

10 SCHOOL CHILDREN.

11 Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Elementary

12 and Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131 et seq.) is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 4125. GRANTS TO COMBAT THE IMPACT OF EXPERI15 ENCING OR WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIO16 LENCE ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

17 SCHOOL CHILDREN.

18 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

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

20 to award grants and contracts to elementary schools

21 and secondary schools that work with experts to en22 able the elementary schools and secondary schools—

23 ‘‘(A) to provide training to school adminis24 trators, faculty, and staff, with respect to issues

25 concerning children experiencing domestic vio-
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1 lence in dating relationships and witnessing do2 mestic violence, and the impact of the violence

3 described in this subparagraph on children;

4 ‘‘(B) to provide educational programming

5 to students regarding domestic violence and the

6 impact of experiencing or witnessing domestic

7 violence on children;

8 ‘‘(C) to provide support services for stu9 dents and school personnel for the purpose of

10 developing and strengthening effective preven11 tion and intervention strategies with respect to

12 issues concerning children experiencing domes13 tic violence in dating relationships and wit14 nessing domestic violence, and the impact of the

15 violence described in this subparagraph on chil16 dren; and

17 ‘‘(D) to develop and implement school sys18 tem policies regarding appropriate, safe re19 sponses identification and referral procedures

20 for students who are experiencing or witnessing

21 domestic violence.

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

23 grants and contracts under this section—

24 ‘‘(A) on a competitive basis; and
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1 ‘‘(B) in a manner that ensures that such

2 grants and contracts are equitably distributed

3 throughout a State among elementary schools

4 and secondary schools located in rural, urban,

5 and suburban areas in the State.

6 ‘‘(3) POLICY DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary

7 shall disseminate to elementary schools and sec8 ondary schools any Department of Education policy

9 guidance regarding the prevention of domestic vio10 lence and the impact of experiencing or witnessing

11 domestic violence on children.

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

13 section may be used for the following purposes:

14 ‘‘(1) To provide training for elementary school

15 and secondary school administrators, faculty, and

16 staff that addresses issues concerning elementary

17 school and secondary school students who experience

18 domestic violence in dating relationships or witness

19 domestic violence, and the impact of such violence on

20 the students.

21 ‘‘(2) To provide education programs for elemen22 tary school and secondary school students that are

23 developmentally appropriate for the students’ grade

24 levels and are designed to meet any unique cultural
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1 and language needs of the particular student popu2 lations.

3 ‘‘(3) To develop and implement elementary

4 school and secondary school system policies regard5 ing appropriate, safe responses identification and re6 ferral procedures for students who are experiencing

7 or witnessing domestic violence.

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

9 to respond to the needs of elementary school and

10 secondary school students and personnel who are

11 faced with the issue of domestic violence, such as a

12 resource person who is either on-site or on-call, and

13 who is an expert.

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

15 educational materials to elementary schools and sec16 ondary schools that address issues concerning chil17 dren who experience domestic violence in dating rela18 tionships and witness domestic violence, and the im19 pact of the violence described in this paragraph on

20 the children.

21 ‘‘(6) To conduct evaluations to assess the im22 pact of programs and policies assisted under this

23 section in order to enhance the development of the

24 programs.
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1 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Policies, programs, train2 ing materials, and evaluations developed and implemented

3 under subsection (b) shall address issues of safety and

4 confidentiality for the victim and the victim’s family in a

5 manner consistent with applicable Federal and State laws.

6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to be award8 ed a grant or contract under this section for any fis9 cal year, an elementary school or secondary school,

10 in consultation with an expert, shall submit an appli11 cation to the Secretary at such time and in such

12 manner as the Secretary shall prescribe.

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

14 under paragraph (1) shall—

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

16 under the grant or contract and the plan for

17 implementation of any of the activities de18 scribed in subsection (b);

19 ‘‘(B) describe how the experts shall work

20 in consultation and collaboration with the ele21 mentary school or secondary school; and

22 ‘‘(C) provide measurable goals for and ex23 pected results from the use of the funds pro24 vided under the grant or contract.
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1 SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND COLLABORATION

2 AMONG CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES, DOMES3 TIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT SERV4 ICE PROVIDERS, THE COURTS AND LAW EN5 FORCEMENT AGENCIES.

6 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

7 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.), as amended by section 5, is further

8 amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 321. GRANTS FOR TRAINING AND COLLABORATION

10 AMONG CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES, DOMES11 TIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT SERV12 ICE PROVIDERS, THE COURTS, AND LAW EN13 FORCEMENT AGENCIES.

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to—

15 ‘‘(1) encourage cross training and collaboration

16 between child welfare agencies and domestic violence

17 and sexual assault service providers and, where ap18 plicable, the courts and law enforcement agencies to

19 identify, assess, and respond appropriately to domes20 tic violence or sexual assault in homes where chil21 dren are present and may be exposed to the violence,

22 to domestic violence or sexual assault in child pro23 tection cases, and to the needs of both child and

24 adult victims of domestic violence and sexual as25 sault;
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1 ‘‘(2) establish and implement policies, proce2 dures, and practices in child welfare agencies, do3 mestic violence or sexual assault service programs

4 and, where applicable, juvenile, family or other trial

5 courts with jurisdiction over child maltreatment and

6 domestic violence cases (referred to in this section as

7 the ‘courts’), and law enforcement agencies that are

8 consistent with the principles of—

9 ‘‘(A) protecting children;

10 ‘‘(B) increasing the safety and well-being

11 of children, by—

12 ‘‘(i) tending to their immediate and

13 longer term needs for treatment and sup14 port;

15 ‘‘(ii) increasing the safety of parents

16 of children who are not the perpetrators of

17 domestic violence and sexual assault (re18 ferred to in this section as the ‘nonabusing

19 parent’);

20 ‘‘(iii) supporting the autonomy, capac21 ity, and financial security of the non22 abusing parents of children who are also

23 the victims of domestic violence or sexual

24 assault (referred to in this section as ‘adult

25 victims’);
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1 ‘‘(iv) protecting the safety, security

2 and well being of the child by preventing

3 the unnecessary removal of the child from

4 the nonabusing parent; and

5 ‘‘(v) in cases where removal of the

6 child is necessary to protect the child’s

7 safety, taking the necessary steps to pro8 vide appropriate services to the child and

9 the nonabusing parent to promote the safe

10 and appropriately prompt reunification of

11 the child with the nonabusing parent;

12 ‘‘(C) recognizing—

13 ‘‘(i) the relationship between child

14 abuse and neglect, including child sexual

15 abuse, and domestic violence and sexual

16 assault in families;

17 ‘‘(ii) the impact of the perpetrator’s

18 behavior on child and adult victims of do19 mestic violence and sexual assault;

20 ‘‘(iii) the dangers posed to both child

21 and adult victims of domestic violence and

22 sexual assault;

23 ‘‘(iv) the physical, emotional, and de24 velopmental impact of domestic violence
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1 and sexual assault on child and adult vic2 tims;

3 ‘‘(v) the physical, emotional, and fi4 nancial needs of adult victims of domestic

5 violence and sexual assault; and

6 ‘‘(vi) the need to hold adult perpetra7 tors of domestic violence and sexual as8 sault accountable for their abusive behav9 iors to provide appropriate services to re10 duce risks to child and adult victims of do11 mestic violence or sexual assault;

12 ‘‘(D) in the case of training for court per13 sonnel and law enforcement, holding adult per14 petrators of domestic violence, sexual assault,

15 and child abuse and neglect, not the child and

16 adult victims of domestic violence, sexual as17 sault, and child abuse and neglect, accountable

18 for stopping abusive behaviors; and

19 ‘‘(3) increase cooperation and enhance linkages

20 between child welfare agencies, domestic violence

21 and sexual assault service providers, juvenile, family

22 or other trial courts with jurisdiction over child mal23 treatment and domestic violence cases, and law en24 forcement agencies to protect and more comprehen25 sively and effectively serve both child and adult vic-
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1 tims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and to

2 engage where necessary other entities addressing the

3 safety, health, mental health, social service, housing

4 and economic needs of child and adult victims of do5 mestic violence and sexual assault, including commu6 nity-based supports such as schools, local health cen7 ters, community action groups, and neighborhood

8 coalitions.

9 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make

11 grants to eligible entities to enable the entities to

12 jointly carry out cross training and other initiatives

13 to promote collaboration that seeks to carry out the

14 purposes of this section.

15 ‘‘(2) GRANT PERIODS.—Grants shall be award16 ed under paragraph (1) for a period of 3 years.

17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re18 ceive a grant under this section, a grant applicant

19 shall establish a partnership that—

20 ‘‘(A) shall include—

21 ‘‘(i) a State child welfare agency, an

22 Indian tribal organization that serves as a

23 child welfare agency, or a local child wel24 fare agency; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) a domestic violence or sexual as2 sault service provider, such as—

3 ‘‘(I) a State, local, or tribal do4 mestic violence or sexual assault coali5 tion; or

6 ‘‘(II) another private non-profit

7 organization such as a community8 based domestic violence or sexual as9 sault program that is concerned with

10 domestic violence or sexual assault

11 and has a documented history of ef12 fective work concerning domestic vio13 lence or sexual assault and the impact

14 domestic violence or sexual assault

15 has on children; and

16 ‘‘(B) may include—

17 ‘‘(i) a State or local juvenile, family,

18 or other trial court with jurisdiction over

19 child maltreatment and domestic violence

20 cases; or

21 ‘‘(ii) a State or local law enforcement

22 agency with responsibility for responding

23 to reports of domestic violence or sexual

24 assault or child abuse and neglect.
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1 ‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a

2 grant under this section shall use the funds made available

3 through the grant for cross-training and collaborative ef4 forts, consistent with the principles described in subsection

5 (a)(2), including—

6 ‘‘(1) to educate the staff of child welfare agen7 cies and domestic violence and sexual assault service

8 providers, and, as applicable, the staff of courts and

9 law enforcement agencies to responsibly address do10 mestic violence and sexual assault (recognizing it as

11 a serious problem that threatens both its child and

12 adult victims), and to understand—

13 ‘‘(A) domestic violence and sexual assault

14 and their effects on children and adults;

15 ‘‘(B) child abuse and neglect and its ef16 fects on children; and

17 ‘‘(C) child welfare policies that affect child

18 and adult victims of domestic violence and sex19 ual assault;

20 ‘‘(2) to ensure the effective handling of cases

21 where domestic violence or sexual assault and child

22 abuse and neglect intersect so as to—

23 ‘‘(A) assure the safety and well-being of

24 both the child and the nonabusing parent;
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1 ‘‘(B) prevent the unnecessary removal of

2 the child from the nonabusing parent, and,

3 when removal is necessary to protect the child’s

4 safety;

5 ‘‘(C) promote the delivery of appropriate

6 services to the child and to the nonabusing par7 ent; and

8 ‘‘(D) facilitate the safe and appropriately

9 prompt reunification of the child with the non10 abusing parent through the development and

11 implementation of policies, procedures, and pro12 grams that are consistent with the purposes of

13 this section;

14 ‘‘(3) to identify and assess, and respond appro15 priately to, domestic violence or sexual assault in

16 child protection cases and the needs of child victims

17 of abuse and neglect in domestic violence or sexual

18 assault cases;

19 ‘‘(4) to ensure that child welfare agencies and

20 domestic violence and sexual assault service pro21 viders will not be required to share confidential in22 formation with one another about families receiving

23 services except as required by law or with the in24 formed, written consent of the adult victim being

25 served;
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1 ‘‘(5) to provide appropriate resources in child

2 abuse and neglect cases to respond to domestic vio3 lence and sexual assault, including developing a serv4 ice plan and providing other appropriate services

5 and interventions that ensure the safety of both the

6 child and adult victims of the domestic violence and

7 sexual assault;

8 ‘‘(6) to establish and enhance linkages and col9 laboration between child welfare agencies, domestic

10 violence or sexual assault service providers and,

11 where applicable, State or local juvenile, family, or

12 other trial courts with jurisdiction over child mal13 treatment and domestic violence cases, law enforce14 ment agencies, and other entities addressing the

15 safety, health, mental health, social service, housing,

16 and economic needs of child and adult victims of do17 mestic violence and sexual assault, including commu18 nity-based supports such as schools, local health cen19 ters, community action groups, and neighborhood

20 coalitions to—

21 ‘‘(i) respond effectively and comprehen22 sively to the varying needs of child and adult

23 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault

24 to prevent child and adult victims from having

25 to turn to child welfare agencies for assistance;
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1 ‘‘(ii) include linguistically and cul2 turally appropriate services and linkages to

3 existing services; and

4 ‘‘(iii) include at least the following

5 services where appropriate:

6 ‘‘(I) Appropriate referrals to

7 community-based domestic violence

8 programs and sexual assault victim

9 service providers with the capacities to

10 support adult victims of domestic vio11 lence or sexual assault who are par12 ents of children who have been abused

13 or neglected or are at risk of being

14 abused or neglected.

15 ‘‘(II) Emergency shelter and

16 transitional housing for adult victims

17 of domestic violence or sexual assault

18 and their children.

19 ‘‘(III) Legal assistance and advo20 cacy for victims of domestic violence

21 or sexual assault including, when ap22 propriate, assistance in obtaining and

23 entering orders of protection.

24 ‘‘(IV) Support and training to

25 assist parents to help their children
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1 cope with the impact of domestic vio2 lence or sexual assault.

3 ‘‘(V) Programs to help children

4 who have been exposed to domestic vi5 olence or sexual assault.

6 ‘‘(VI) Intervention and treatment

7 for adult perpetrators of domestic vio8 lence or sexual assault whose children

9 are the subjects of child protection

10 cases to promote the safety and well11 being of the children, and appropriate

12 coordination of such treatment with

13 the juvenile, family, and criminal

14 courts, and law enforcement agencies

15 with which the perpetrators are in16 volved.

17 ‘‘(VII) Health, mental health,

18 and other necessary supportive serv19 ices.

20 ‘‘(VIII) Assistance to obtain

21 housing and necessary economic sup22 ports.

23 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

24 under this section, the entities that are members of the

25 applicant partnership described in subsection (b)(3), shall
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1 jointly submit an application to the Secretary at such

2 time, in such manner, and containing such information as

3 the Secretary may require. The application shall—

4 ‘‘(1) outline the specific training and other ac5 tivities that will be undertaken under the grant to

6 promote collaboration;

7 ‘‘(2) describe how the training and other activi8 ties described in subsection (c) will help achieve the

9 purposes of this section;

10 ‘‘(3) identify the agencies and providers that

11 will be responsible for carrying out the initiatives for

12 which the entities seek the grant;

13 ‘‘(4) include documentation from child welfare

14 agencies and domestic violence and sexual assault

15 victims service providers, and where applicable,

16 State or local juvenile, family, or other trial courts

17 with jurisdiction over child maltreatment and domes18 tic violence cases, and law enforcement agencies that

19 have been involved in the development of the appli20 cation;

21 ‘‘(5) describe the ongoing involvement of child

22 welfare and domestic violence and sexual assault vic23 tims service providers (including a description of

24 their roles as subcontractors, and documentation of

25 appropriate compensation, if relevant) and, where
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•S 1483 IS

1 applicable, courts and law enforcement agencies, in

2 the development of the training policies, procedures,

3 programs, and practices described in subsection

4 (c)(1); and

5 ‘‘(6) provide assurances that activities described

6 in subsection (c) will—

7 ‘‘(A) be provided to child welfare staff, in8 cluding line staff, supervisors, and administra9 tors, and be provided first to staff responsible

10 for investigation, follow-up, screening, intake,

11 assessment, and provision of services; and

12 ‘‘(B) be conducted jointly with child wel13 fare agency staff, staff from community-based

14 domestic violence programs and sexual assault

15 crisis centers and where applicable, courts and

16 law enforcement agencies;

17 ‘‘(C) comply with the principles described

18 in subsection (a)(2); and

19 ‘‘(D) address—

20 ‘‘(i) the dynamics and lethality of do21 mestic violence and sexual assault, the im22 pact of domestic violence and sexual as23 sault on children exposed to domestic vio24 lence and sexual assault, the impact of do25 mestic violence and sexual assault on adult
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1 victims, and the relationship of domestic

2 violence and sexual assault to child abuse

3 and neglect;

4 ‘‘(ii) screening for domestic violence

5 and sexual assault and assessing danger to

6 the child and adult victims of domestic vio7 lence and sexual assault;

8 ‘‘(iii) applicable Federal, State, and

9 local laws pertaining to child abuse and ne10 glect and domestic violence and sexual as11 sault;

12 ‘‘(iv) the safety needs of child and

13 adult victims of child abuse and neglect or

14 domestic violence, or sexual assault and

15 appropriate interventions for the child and

16 adult victims that protect their the safety,

17 including appropriate services and treat18 ment for children and the nonabusing par19 ent to prevent the unnecessary removal of

20 children from the nonabusing parent, and

21 to promote prompt reunification if removal

22 becomes necessary of both types of victims

23 and give appropriate consideration to pre24 serving the safety of family members not

25 responsible for the child abuse or neglect;
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1 ‘‘(v) appropriate interventions for

2 adult perpetrators of domestic violence to

3 reduce the risk of further violence toward

4 child and adult victims of domestic violence

5 and sexual assault which emphasize perpe6 trator accountability;

7 ‘‘(vi) appropriate supervision of child

8 welfare staff working with families in

9 which there has been domestic violence and

10 sexual assault, including supervision relat11 ing to issues involving the safety of the

12 child and adult victims and of the staff;

13 ‘‘(vii) the confidentiality needs of the

14 child and adult victims, consistent with

15 laws requiring mandatory reporting of

16 child abuse and neglect; and

17 ‘‘(viii) develop child protection case

18 plans that recognize the need to protect

19 the safety of the child and of the adult vic20 tim and to hold adult perpetrators, not vic21 tims, responsible for stopping domestic vio22 lence and sexual assault.

23 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to entities that have

25 submitted applications in partnership with State or local
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•S 1483 IS

1 juvenile, family, or other trial courts with jurisdiction over

2 child maltreatment and domestic violence cases, and law

3 enforcement agencies.

4 ‘‘(g) REPORTING, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA5 TION.—

6 ‘‘(1) REPORTS.—Each of the entities that are

7 members of the applicant partnership described in

8 subsection (b)(3), that receive a grant under this

9 section shall jointly annually prepare and submit to

10 the Secretary a report detailing the activities that

11 the entities have undertaken under the grant and

12 such additional information as the Secretary shall

13 require. At a minimum, such report shall address

14 the nature of the cross-training and other activities

15 to promote collaboration among child welfare agen16 cies, domestic violence or sexual assault service pro17 viders, and where applicable, State or local juvenile,

18 family, or other trial courts with jurisdiction over

19 child maltreatment and domestic violence cases and

20 law enforcement agencies that were undertaken with

21 such grants and examples of enhanced collaboration

22 that has occurred to better protect both child and

23 adult victims of child abuse and domestic violence or

24 sexual assault.
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1 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—Not

2 later then 9 months after the end of the grant pe3 riod under this section, the Secretary shall distribute

4 to all State child welfare agencies, domestic violence

5 or sexual assault victim service providers, and where

6 applicable, State or local juvenile, family, or other

7 trial courts with jurisdiction over child maltreatment

8 and domestic violence cases, law enforcement agen9 cies, and Congress summaries that contain informa10 tion on—

11 ‘‘(A) the activities implemented by the re12 cipients of the grants; and

13 ‘‘(B) related initiatives undertaken by the

14 Secretary to promote attention by the staff of

15 child welfare agencies, domestic violence or sex16 ual assault service providers and where applica17 ble, courts and law enforcement agencies to do18 mestic violence and sexual assault and their im19 pact on both child and adult victims.

20 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

22 $15,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2002 through 2004,

23 and $25,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2005 and 2006.’’.
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1 SEC. 8. MULTISYSTEM INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN

2 WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO DOMESTIC VI3 OLENCE.

4 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

5 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.), as amended by section 6, is further

6 amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 322. MULTISYSTEM INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN

8 WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO DOMESTIC VI9 OLENCE.

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, acting

11 through the Director of Community Services of the Ad12 ministration for Children and Families, may award grants

13 to eligible entities to enable such entities to conduct pro14 grams to encourage the development and use of multi15 system intervention models that respond to the needs of

16 children who have been exposed to domestic violence.

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive

18 a grant under this section, an entity shall—

19 ‘‘(1) be a nonprofit private organization;

20 ‘‘(2)(A) demonstrate recognized expertise in the

21 area of domestic violence and the impact of domestic

22 violence on children; or

23 ‘‘(B) have entered into a memorandum of un24 derstanding regarding the intervention program to

25 be established under the grant and the role of the

26 entity in the program with—
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•S 1483 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the appropriate State or tribal domes2 tic violence coalition; and

3 ‘‘(ii) entities carrying out domestic violence

4 programs that provide shelter or related assist5 ance in the locality in which the intervention

6 program will be operated and that have an un7 derstanding of its effects on children;

8 ‘‘(3)(A) demonstrate a recognized expertise in

9 child mental health services; or

10 ‘‘(B) have entered into a memorandum of un11 derstanding regarding the intervention program to

12 be established under the grant with providers that

13 have expertise in child mental health to ensure that

14 children of all ages have access to appropriate men15 tal health services; and

16 ‘‘(4) demonstrate a history of providing advo17 cacy, health care, mental health, or other crisis-re18 lated services to children.

19 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant

20 under this section shall use amounts provided under the

21 grant to design or replicate, and implement, multisystem

22 intervention models to respond to the needs of children

23 exposed to domestic violence. Such activities shall—

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

25 with—
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•S 1483 IS

1 ‘‘(i) local entities carrying out domestic vi2 olence programs that provide shelter or related

3 assistance or have expertise in the field of pro4 viding services to victims of domestic violence

5 and an understanding of its effects on children;

6 and

7 ‘‘(ii) other partners including courts,

8 schools, social service providers, health care

9 providers, police, early childhood agencies, enti10 ties carrying out Head Start programs under

11 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.),

12 or entities carrying out child protection, wel13 fare, job training, housing, battered women’s

14 service, or children’s mental health programs;

15 and

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

17 protocols and systems to identify, and appropriately

18 respond to the needs of children who have been ex19 posed to domestic violence and who participate in

20 programs administered by the partners;

21 ‘‘(2) establish or implement guidelines to evalu22 ate the needs of a child and make appropriate inter23 vention recommendations;

24 ‘‘(3) include the development or replication of a

25 mental health treatment model to meet the needs of
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•S 1483 IS

1 children for whom such treatment has been identi2 fied as appropriate;

3 ‘‘(4) establish or implement institutionalized

4 procedures to enhance or ensure the safety and secu5 rity of a battered parent, and as a result, the child

6 of the parent;

7 ‘‘(5) provide direct counseling and advocacy for

8 adult victims of domestic violence and their children

9 who have been exposed to domestic violence;

10 ‘‘(6) establish or implement policies and proto11 cols for maintaining the confidentiality of the bat12 tered parent and child;

13 ‘‘(7) provide community outreach and training

14 to enhance the capacity of professionals who work

15 with children to appropriately identify and respond

16 to the needs of children who have been exposed to

17 domestic violence;

18 ‘‘(8) establish procedures for documenting

19 interventions used for each child and family;

20 ‘‘(9) establish plans to perform a systematic

21 outcome evaluation to evaluate the effectiveness of

22 the interventions;

23 ‘‘(10) ensure that all services are provided in a

24 culturally competent manner; and
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•S 1483 IS

1 ‘‘(11) provide remuneration to local domestic vi2 olence services organizations who are asked to join

3 collaborations.

4 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

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

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

7 and containing such information as the Secretary may re8 quire.

9 ‘‘(e) TERM AND AMOUNT.—A grant awarded under

10 this section shall be awarded for a term of 3 years and

11 in an amount of not more than $500,000 for each such

12 year.

13 ‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 90

14 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec15 retary shall identify successful programs that provide

16 multisystem and mental health interventions to address

17 the needs of children who have been exposed to domestic

18 violence. Not later than 60 days before the Secretary solic19 its applications for grants under this section, the Sec20 retary shall enter into an agreement with 1 or more enti21 ties carrying out the identified programs to provide tech22 nical assistance to applicants and recipients of such

23 grants. The Secretary may use not more than 5 percent

24 of the amount appropriated for a fiscal year under sub25 section (g) to provide such technical assistance.
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1 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

3 appropriated to carry out this section, $15,000,000

4 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

5 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated

6 under paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex7 pended.’’.

8 SEC. 9. CRISIS NURSERY DEMONSTRATION GRANTS PRO9 GRAM.

10 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

11 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.), as amended by section 8, is further

12 amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 323. CRISIS NURSERY DEMONSTRATION GRANT PRO14 GRAMS.

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH DEMONSTRATION

16 GRANT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may establish dem17 onstration programs under which grants are awarded to

18 States to assist private nonprofit and public agencies and

19 organizations in providing crisis nurseries for children who

20 are abused and neglected, are at risk of abuse and neglect,

21 are in families experiencing domestic violence, or are in

22 families receiving child protective services.

23 ‘‘(b) ASSURANCES FOR TRAINING IN DOMESTIC VIO24 LENCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Private nonprofit and pub2 lic agencies and organizations who receive funds

3 under this section shall provide assurances to the

4 Secretary that personnel working with children and

5 families in crisis nurseries receive or have received

6 training in domestic violence, the impact of domestic

7 violence on children, appropriate procedures for

8 maintaining the safety and security of victims of do9 mestic violence and their children, and appropriate

10 procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of

11 both child and adult victims of domestic violence uti12 lizing the services of crisis nurseries.

13 ‘‘(2) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—Training re14 quired under paragraph (1) shall be conducted in

15 consultation with State, local, or tribal domestic vio16 lence coalitions or other private nonprofit organiza17 tions such as a community-based domestic violence

18 program that has a documented history of serving

19 both child and adult victims of domestic violence.

20 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—An applicant for a grant

21 under this section shall demonstrate how activities funded

22 under this section will be coordinated with other crisis

23 nursery activities funded under section 201 of the Child

24 Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.
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1 ‘‘(d) REPORTING.—A recipient of a grant under this

2 section shall annually report on the crisis nursery activi3 ties funded under this grant. At a minimum, such a report

4 shall describe—

5 ‘‘(1) the number of children and families served

6 through crisis nursery activities established under

7 the grant;

8 ‘‘(2) the nature and extent of the crisis nursery

9 activities;

10 ‘‘(3) the percentage of children served by the

11 crisis nursery activities established under the grant

12 who are from families experiencing domestic vio13 lence;

14 ‘‘(4) the type of domestic violence training pro15 vided to crisis nursery staff and the nature and ex16 tent of training coordination with local domestic vio17 lence service providers;

18 ‘‘(5) the nature and extent of other Federal and

19 State funding sources used to support the services of

20 the crisis nursery;

21 ‘‘(6) the gaps between the service needs of the

22 crisis nursery and the current capacity of crisis

23 nurseries to serve children and families; and

24 ‘‘(7) outcome evaluation data on the effective25 ness of crisis nursery activities, if available.
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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

3 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.’’.

4 SEC. 10. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION ON THE IM5 PACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON CHIL6 DREN.

7 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42

8 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.), as amended by section 9, is further

9 amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘SEC. 324. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION ON THE IM11 PACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON CHIL12 DREN.

13 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the

14 Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, may award

15 competitive grants to eligible entities to enable such enti16 ties to conduct research and data collection activities con17 cerning the impact of domestic violence on children.

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive

19 a grant under this section, an entity shall be an institution

20 of higher education or another nonprofit organization

21 (such as a research entity, hospital, or mental health insti22 tution), with documented experience with research or data

23 collection concerning the impact of domestic violence on

24 children.
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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant

2 under this section shall use amounts provided under the

3 grant to conduct new or expand current research or data

4 collection—

5 ‘‘(1) on the prevalence of childhood exposure to

6 domestic violence and the effects of the exposure in

7 child and adult victims;

8 ‘‘(2) on the co-occurrence of domestic violence,

9 and child abuse or neglect;

10 ‘‘(3) on linkages between children’s exposure to

11 domestic violence and violent behavior in youth and

12 adults;

13 ‘‘(4) that evaluates new or existing treatments

14 aimed at children exposed to domestic violence;

15 ‘‘(5) on the prevalence of childhood exposure to

16 domestic violence for Native American children;

17 ‘‘(6) on the effects and benefits of keeping chil18 dren with their nonabusive parent and providing co19 ordinated services to both;

20 ‘‘(7) on the role of children’s resilience and

21 other factors that help mitigate the effects of expo22 sure to domestic violence; and

23 ‘‘(8) on related matters, if the research or data

24 collection directly addresses the impact of domestic

25 violence on children.
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1 ‘‘(d) TERM AND AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall

2 award grants under this section for terms of 3 years and

3 in amount of not more than $500,000 for each such year.

4 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

6 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2004,

7 and $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 and 2006.’’.

Æ