I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6097 

To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to authorize 

grants to ensure access for victims of family violence, domestic violence, 

and dating violence to substance use disorder treatment that allows 

parents (or legal guardians) and their children, stepchildren, or other 

dependents to remain together throughout the course of treatment, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 26, 2023 

Mr. MRVAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act 

to authorize grants to ensure access for victims of family 

violence, domestic violence, and dating violence to substance use disorder treatment that allows parents (or 

legal guardians) and their children, stepchildren, or other 

dependents to remain together throughout the course 

of treatment, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. GRANTS FOR SAFE RECOVERY TOGETHER. 

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

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

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 315. GRANTS FOR SAFE RECOVERY TOGETHER. 

6 ‘‘(a) SAFE RECOVERY TOGETHER.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro8 priated under section 303(e) and available to carry 

9 out this subsection for any fiscal year, the Secretary 

10 may award grants to eligible entities to develop, im11 plement, and improve programs for ensuring access 

12 for victims of family violence, domestic violence, and 

13 dating violence to substance use disorder treatment 

14 that allows parents (or legal guardians) and their 

15 children, stepchildren, or other dependents to remain 

16 together throughout the course of treatment. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re18 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall 

19 be— 

20 ‘‘(A) a State; 

21 ‘‘(B) a State Domestic Violence Coalition; 

22 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit entity, including a Tribal, 

23 culturally specific organization, or community24 based organization, with a history of effective 

25 work in the fields of family violence, domestic 

26 violence, or dating violence and substance use 


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1 disorder treatment, prevention, and recovery 

2 support; or 

3 ‘‘(D) a local or State department (or other 

4 division) of health (including mental health, be5 havioral health, or substance abuse agencies), a 

6 State Domestic Violence Coalition or victim 

7 service provider, or any other nonprofit, non8 governmental organization with a history of ef9 fective work in the fields of family violence, do10 mestic violence, or dating violence and sub11 stance use disorder treatment, prevention, and 

12 recovery support. 

13 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall 

15 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

16 in such manner, and containing such information as 

17 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re20 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall, di21 rectly or through subgrants or contracts, de22 velop and implement a program for ensuring 

23 access for victims of family violence, domestic 

24 violence, and dating violence to substance use 

25 disorder treatment that allows parents (or legal 


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1 guardians) and their children, stepchildren, or 

2 other dependents to remain together throughout 

3 the course of treatment by carrying out one or 

4 more of the authorized activities described in 

5 subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES DE7 SCRIBED.—The authorized activities described 

8 in this subparagraph include the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) The provision of residential and 

10 nonresidential substance use disorder 

11 treatment services. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding section 

13 308(d)(1), the provision or expansion of 

14 transitional housing, temporary rental as15 sistance, and other supportive housing sta16 bility services, including direct cash assist17 ance. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The provision of services that— 

19 ‘‘(I) support victims of family vi20 olence, domestic violence, and dating 

21 violence while receiving substance use 

22 disorder treatment services, including 

23 recovery and harm reduction; and 

24 ‘‘(II) enable parents (or legal 

25 guardians) and their children, stepVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Nov 02, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6097.IH H6097

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1 children, or other dependents to re2 main together throughout the course 

3 of treatment, including— 

4 ‘‘(aa) supportive services, in5 cluding advocacy, case manage6 ment, and information and refer7 ral services; 

8 ‘‘(bb) health care services, 

9 including prenatal wellness serv10 ices, and support services for 

11 pregnant and postpartum vic12 tims; and 

13 ‘‘(cc) services for children 

14 and youth that are exposed to 

15 family violence, domestic violence, 

16 and dating violence, including 

17 age-appropriate confidential 

18 counseling and supportive serv19 ices. 

20 ‘‘(iv) The cultivation of partnerships 

21 between State, local, and Tribal policy22 makers in order to develop and implement 

23 service and policy changes for victims of 

24 family violence, domestic violence, and dat25 ing violence with substance use disorders 


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1 that ensure the safety of victims, and re2 duce barriers for victims disproportionately 

3 affected by family violence. 

4 ‘‘(v) The provision of training for 

5 staff associated with delivering services to 

6 ensure that each program developed using 

7 a grant received under this subsection in8 cludes procedures that protect the safety, 

9 privacy, and confidentiality of parents (or 

10 legal guardians) and their children, step11 children, or other dependents in a manner 

12 consistent with subparagraph (F). 

13 ‘‘(vi) Such other activities as the Sec14 retary determines appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(C) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INFORMATION

16 DISCLOSURE.—If the release of information is 

17 compelled by statutory or court mandate, an eli18 gible entity receiving a grant under this section 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) provide advance notice to victims 

21 affected by the release of such information 

22 about the circumstances compelling the re23 lease of such information, such as manda24 tory reporting laws; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) give victims the option to receive 

2 information and referrals without affirma3 tively disclosing abuse. 

4 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL

5 ASSISTANCE.—Each eligible entity that receives 

6 a grant under this subsection may use— 

7 ‘‘(i) up to 6 percent of the grant 

8 amount to procure technical assistance, in9 cluding technical assistance provided by 

10 the National Capacity Building Center to 

11 Prevent Substance Use Coercion estab12 lished under subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) up to 5 percent of the grant 

14 amount for evaluation, monitoring, staff 

15 training, and other administrative costs 

16 under this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(E) REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.—Each 

18 eligible entity receiving a grant under this sub19 section shall submit to the Secretary at such 

20 time as shall be reasonably required by the Sec21 retary, a report that— 

22 ‘‘(i) describes the activities that have 

23 been carried out with such grant funds; 

24 ‘‘(ii) includes an evaluation of the ef25 fectiveness of such activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) provides such additional infor2 mation as the Secretary determines appro3 priate. 

4 ‘‘(F) PRIVACY.—Each eligible entity re5 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall en6 sure that each program developed or imple7 mented with such grant protects victim privacy, 

8 confidentiality, and safety in compliance with 

9 applicable confidentiality, privacy, and non10 disclosure requirements of this Act. 

11 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING CENTER TO

12 PREVENT SUBSTANCE USE COERCION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro14 priated under section 303(e) and available to carry 

15 out this subsection for any fiscal year, the Secretary 

16 may award a grant to an eligible entity for the es17 tablishment and maintenance of a National Capacity 

18 Building Center to Prevent Substance Use Coercion 

19 that will undertake the activities described in para20 graph (3). 

21 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re22 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible enti23 ty— 

24 ‘‘(A) shall be a nonprofit private organiza25 tion that focuses primarily on domestic violence; 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall provide documentation to the 

2 Secretary demonstrating experience working di3 rectly on issues of domestic violence; 

4 ‘‘(C) shall provide documentation to the 

5 Secretary demonstrating experience working di6 rectly on the intersection of domestic violence, 

7 substance use, and substance use coercion; 

8 ‘‘(D) shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) include on the entity’s advisory 

10 board representatives who are from domes11 tic violence service programs and who are 

12 geographically and culturally diverse; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) procure equivalent involvement 

14 of, and feedback from, individuals who 

15 have such qualifications, if the entity does 

16 not have an advisory board; and 

17 ‘‘(E) shall demonstrate the strong support 

18 of domestic violence service programs from 

19 across the Nation for the entity’s demonstrated 

20 history in providing training and technical as21 sistance on the intersection of domestic vio22 lence, substance misuse, and substance use co23 ercion. 

24 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—The eligible 

25 entity awarded a grant under this subsection, 


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1 through the National Capacity Building Center to 

2 Prevent Substance Use Coercion, shall use the 

3 grant— 

4 ‘‘(A) to provide training and technical as5 sistance to entities receiving grants under sub6 section (a) in the implementation of programs 

7 funded under such subsection; 

8 ‘‘(B) to conduct evaluations of programs 

9 funded under subsection (a); 

10 ‘‘(C) to identify and disseminate best prac11 tices that emerge from programs funded under 

12 subsection (a); and 

13 ‘‘(D) to carry out such other activities as 

14 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—From the sums 

16 appropriated under section 303(e) for any fiscal year, not 

17 more than $4,000,000 for such fiscal year may be used 

18 by the Secretary for evaluation, monitoring, and other ad19 ministrative expenses. 

20 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) SUBSTANCE USE COERCION.—The term 

22 ‘substance use coercion’ means any act, threatened 

23 act, or pattern of acts of physical or sexual violence, 

24 or any other form of abuse involving substance mis25 use through the use of force, threat, or coercion, 


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1 that results in, or exacerbates, a substance use dis2 order, a substance-induced mental disorder, or any 

3 other form of substance dependance, directed 

4 against— 

5 ‘‘(A) a dating partner or other person 

6 similarly situated to a dating partner under the 

7 laws of the jurisdiction where such an act oc8 curs; 

9 ‘‘(B) a person who is cohabitating with or 

10 has cohabitated with the person committing 

11 such an act; 

12 ‘‘(C) a current or former spouse or other 

13 person similarly situated to a current or former 

14 spouse under the laws of the jurisdiction where 

15 such an act occurs; 

16 ‘‘(D) a person who shares a child, step17 child, or other dependent in common with the 

18 person committing such an act; 

19 ‘‘(E) a person who is related by marriage, 

20 blood, or is otherwise legally related; or 

21 ‘‘(F) any other person who is protected 

22 from any such act under the domestic or family 

23 violence laws, policies, or regulations of the ju24 risdiction where the act occurs. 


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1 ‘‘(2) VICTIM.—The term ‘victim’ means an indi2 vidual against whom an act of domestic violence, 

3 dating violence, or family violence is carried out.’’. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

5 303 of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 10403) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(e) SAFE RECOVERY TOGETHER GRANTS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 315 

10 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.’’. 

Æ 


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