II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1809

To provide grants for mental health and substance abuse services for women 

and children who have been victims of domestic or sexual violence. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2003

Mr. DASCHLE (for Mr. EDWARDS) introduced the following bill; which was 

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

and Pensions 

A BILL

To provide grants for mental health and substance abuse 

services for women and children who have been victims 

of domestic or sexual violence.

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 ‘‘Counseling in Shelters 

5 Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Nearly 1 1 ⁄3 of American women report being 

2 physically or sexually abused by a husband or boy3 friend at some point in their lives. 

4 (2) Fifty-six percent of women who experience 

5 any partner violence are diagnosed with a psy6 chiatric disorder. Twenty-nine percent of all women 

7 who attempt suicide were battered, 37 percent of 

8 battered women have symptoms of depression, 46 

9 percent have symptoms of anxiety disorder, and 45 

10 percent experience post-traumatic stress disorder. 

11 (3) Children who witness domestic violence are 

12 more likely to exhibit behavioral and physical health 

13 problems including depression, anxiety, and violence 

14 toward peers. They are also more likely to attempt 

15 suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from 

16 home, engage in teenage prostitution, and commit 

17 sexual assault crimes. 

18 (4) Each year, at least 6 percent of all preg19 nant women, equal to about 240,000 pregnant 

20 women, are battered by the men in their lives. 

21 (5) Complications of pregnancy, including low 

22 weight gain, anemia, and first and second trimester 

23 bleeding are significantly higher for abused women, 

24 as are maternal rates of depression, suicide at25 tempts, tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. 
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1 (6) A major domestic violence program in St. 

2 Petersburg, Florida, reports that 70 percent of the 

3 families that come to their shelter have substance 

4 abuse in their family—either the woman, her chil5 dren, or her batterer. One study of a low-income 

6 Chicago neighborhood found that 42 percent of 

7 women experiencing severe abuse in the past 12 

8 months reported depression. 

9 SEC. 3. SHELTER GRANTS. 

10 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services (in this section referred to as the 

13 ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary 

14 for the Administration on Children, Youth, and 

15 Families, shall make grants to eligible entities for 

16 the purpose of providing on site mental health and 

17 substance abuse counseling and referral services. 

18 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

20 entity’’ means a public or nonprofit private do21 mestic or sexual violence program or other com22 munity-based entity including an Indian tribe 

23 or tribal organization that primarily serves vic24 tims of domestic violence. 
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1 (B) LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH PROFES2 SIONAL.—The term ‘‘licensed mental health 

3 professional’’ includes a psychiatrist, psycholo4 gist, clinical social worker, licensed or certified 

5 alcohol and drug addictions professional, or an 

6 otherwise qualified individual who has appro7 priate training in the diagnosis or treatment of 

8 mental health or substance abuse problems with 

9 expertise in the dynamics of domestic or sexual 

10 violence. 

11 (3) DURATION OF AWARDS.—The Secretary 

12 shall award grants under this section for a period 

13 not to exceed 5 years. Such grants may be renewed. 

14 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity awarded a grant pur15 suant to subsection (a) shall— 

16 (1) hire licensed mental health professionals to 

17 provide on site mental health and substance abuse 

18 counseling to women and children who have been 

19 subjected to domestic or sexual violence; 

20 (2) hire dedicated staff qualified to coordinate 

21 the mental health and substance abuse services for 

22 victims of domestic and sexual violence and their 

23 children including linking them with more com24 prehensive treatment programs in their local com25 munities; and 
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1 (3) provide training in the dynamics of domes2 tic violence and sexual assault, including safety risk, 

3 potential lethality, and appropriate interventions, to 

4 those mental health and substance abuse profes5 sionals hired to provide services to these women and 

6 their children. 

7 (c) APPLICATION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that de9 sires to receive a grant under this section shall sub10 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

11 such manner, and containing such information as 

12 the Secretary may require. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

14 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall contain a plan for 

15 the rigorous evaluation of the activities funded under 

16 this section, including process and outcome evalua17 tion, and the submission of an evaluation at the end 

18 of the project period. 

19 (d) GRANTMAKING CONSIDERATIONS.— The Sec20 retary, in awarding grants under this section shall—

21 (1) ensure that such grants are distributed eq22 uitably among the regions of the country and among 

23 urban and rural areas; and 
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1 (2) give preference to applicants with strong 

2 ties to minority communities and those that dem3 onstrate high levels of cultural competence. 

4 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Assistant Secretary for the Administration on 

6 Children, Youth, and Families, shall provide technical as7 sistance to grant recipients with respect to the implemen8 tation of programs to provide on site mental health and 

9 substance abuse counseling and referral services. 

10 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

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

12 such sums as may be necessary.

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