II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3956 

To create a grant program for collaboration programs that ensure coordination among criminal justice agencies, adult protective services agencies, 

victim assistance programs, and other agencies or organizations providing 

services to individuals with disabilities in the investigation and response 

to abuse of or crimes committed against such individuals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 

Mr. DEWINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To create a grant program for collaboration programs that 

ensure coordination among criminal justice agencies, 

adult protective services agencies, victim assistance programs, and other agencies or organizations providing 

services to individuals with disabilities in the investigation and response to abuse of or crimes committed 

against such individuals. 

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 ‘‘Crime Victims with 

5 Disabilities Act of 2006’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Adults with disabilities experience violence 

4 or abuse at least twice as often as people without 

5 disabilities. 

6 (2) Women with disabilities are more likely to 

7 be victimized, to experience more severe and pro8 longed violence, and to suffer more serious and 

9 chronic effects from that violence, than women with10 out such disabilities. 

11 (3) An estimated 5,000,000 crimes are com12 mitted against individuals with developmental dis13 abilities annually. 

14 (4) Over 70 percent of crimes committed 

15 against individuals with developmental disabilities 

16 are not reported. 

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The purpose of this Act is to in19 crease the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and pre20 vention of crimes against individuals with a disability, in21 cluding developmental disabilities, and improve services to 

22 those who are victimized, by facilitating collaboration 

23 among the criminal justice system and a range of agencies 

24 and other organizations that provide services to individ25 uals with disabilities. 


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1 (b) NEED FOR COLLABORATION.—Collaboration 

2 among the criminal justice system and agencies and other 

3 organizations that provide services to individuals with dis4 abilities is needed to— 

5 (1) protect individuals with disabilities by en6 suring that crimes are reported, and that reported 

7 crimes are actively investigated by both law enforce8 ment agencies and agencies and other organizations 

9 that provide services to individuals with disabilities; 

10 (2) provide prosecutors with adequate training 

11 to ensure that crimes against individuals with dis12 abilities are appropriately and effectively addressed 

13 in court; and 

14 (3) promote communication among criminal 

15 justice agencies, and agencies and other organiza16 tions that provide services to individuals with dis17 abilities, including Victim Assistance Organizations, 

18 to ensure that the needs of crime victims with dis19 abilities are met. 

20 SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CRIME VICTIMS WITH 

21 DISABILITIES COLLABORATION PROGRAM. 

22 The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

23 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

24 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART JJ—GRANTS TO RESPOND TO CRIMES 

2 AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES 

3 ‘‘SEC. 3001. CRIME VICTIMS WITH DISABILITIES COLLABO4 RATION PROGRAM GRANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

7 a State, unit of local government, Indian tribe, or 

8 tribal organization that applies for a grant under 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION PROGRAM.—The term 

11 ‘collaboration program’ means a program to ensure 

12 coordination between or among a criminal justice 

13 agency, an adult protective services agency, a victim 

14 assistance organization, and an agency or other or15 ganization that provides services to individuals with 

16 disabilities, including but not limited to individuals 

17 with developmental disabilities, to address crimes 

18 committed against individuals with disabilities and 

19 to provide services to individuals with disabilities 

20 who are victims of crimes. 

21 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘criminal justice agency’ means an agency of a 

23 State, unit of local government, Indian tribe, or trib24 al organization that is responsible for detection, in25 vestigation, arrest, enforcement, adjudication, or in26 carceration relating to the violation of the criminal 


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1 laws of that State, unit of local government, Indian 

2 tribe, or tribal organization, or an agency contracted 

3 to provide such services. 

4 ‘‘(4) ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES AGENCY.— 

5 The term ‘adult protective services agency’ means an 

6 agency that provides adult protective services to 

7 adults with disabilities, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) receiving reports of abuse, neglect, or 

9 exploitation; 

10 ‘‘(B) investigating the reports described in 

11 subparagraph (A); 

12 ‘‘(C) case planning, monitoring, evaluation, 

13 and other casework and services; and 

14 ‘‘(D) providing, arranging for, or facili15 tating the provision of medical, social service, 

16 economic, legal, housing, law enforcement, or 

17 other protective, emergency, or support services 

18 for adults with disabilities. 

19 ‘‘(5) DAY PROGRAM.—The term ‘day program’ 

20 means a government or privately funded program 

21 that provides care, supervision, social opportunities, 

22 or jobs to individuals with disabilities. 

23 ‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘im24 plementation grant’ means a grant under subsection 

25 (e). 


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1 ‘‘(7) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—The 

2 term ‘individuals with disabilities’ means individ3 uals— 

4 ‘‘(A) 18 years of age or older; and 

5 ‘‘(B) whose ability to provide for their own 

6 health, safety, or welfare is compromised be7 cause of— 

8 ‘‘(i) a developmental, cognitive, phys9 ical, or other disability; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a lack of sufficient under11 standing or capacity to make or commu12 nicate responsible decisions concerning 

13 their person or affairs. 

14 ‘‘(8) PLANNING GRANT.—The term ‘planning 

15 grant’ means a grant under subsection (f). 

16 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

17 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

18 ‘‘(10) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The 

19 term ‘unit of local government’ means any city, 

20 county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or 

21 other general purpose political subdivision of a 

22 State. 

23 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—In consultation with the Sec24 retary, the Attorney General may make grants to appliVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:41 Sep 28, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3956.IS S3956

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1 cants to prepare a comprehensive plan for or to implement 

2 a collaboration program that provides for— 

3 ‘‘(1) the investigation and remediation of in4 stances of abuse of or crimes committed against in5 dividuals with disabilities; or 

6 ‘‘(2) the provision of services to individuals with 

7 disabilities who are the victims of a crime or abuse. 

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant under this section 

9 shall be used for a collaborative program that— 

10 ‘‘(1) receives reports of abuse of individuals 

11 with disabilities or crimes committed against such 

12 individuals; 

13 ‘‘(2) investigates and evaluates reports of abuse 

14 of or crimes committed against individuals with dis15 abilities; 

16 ‘‘(3) visits the homes or other locations of 

17 abuse, and, if applicable, the day programs of indi18 viduals with disabilities who have been victims of 

19 abuse or a crime for purposes of, among other 

20 things, assessing the scene of the abuse and evalu21 ating the condition and needs of the victim; 

22 ‘‘(4) identifies the individuals responsible for 

23 the abuse of or crimes committed against individuals 

24 with disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(5) remedies issues identified during an inves2 tigation described in paragraph (2); 

3 ‘‘(6) prosecutes the perpetrator, where appro4 priate, of any crime identified during an investiga5 tion described in paragraph (2); and 

6 ‘‘(7) provides services to and enforces statutory 

7 rights of individuals with disabilities who are the vic8 tims of a crime. 

9 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a planning grant 

11 or an implementation grant, an applicant shall sub12 mit an application to the Attorney General at such 

13 time, in such manner, and containing such informa14 tion as the Attorney General, in consultation with 

15 the Secretary, may reasonably require, in addition to 

16 the information required by subsection (e)(1) or 

17 (f)(1), respectively. 

18 ‘‘(2) COMBINED PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTA19 TION GRANT APPLICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, 

21 in consultation with the Secretary, shall develop 

22 a procedure allowing an applicant to submit a 

23 single application requesting both a planning 

24 grant and an implementation grant. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONDITIONAL GRANT.—The award of 

2 an implementation grant to an applicant sub3 mitting an application under subparagraph (A) 

4 shall be conditioned on successful completion of 

5 the activities funded under the planning grant, 

6 if applicable. 

7 ‘‘(e) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—An application for a 

9 planning grant shall include, at a minimum— 

10 ‘‘(A) a budget; 

11 ‘‘(B) a budget justification; 

12 ‘‘(C) a description of the outcome meas13 ures that will be used to measure the effective14 ness of the program; 

15 ‘‘(D) a schedule for completing the activi16 ties proposed in the application; and 

17 ‘‘(E) a description of the personnel nec18 essary to complete activities proposed in the ap19 plication. 

20 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A planning grant 

21 shall be made for a period of 1 year, beginning on 

22 the first day of the month in which the planning 

23 grant is made. 

24 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The amount of planning grant 

25 shall not exceed $50,000, except that the Attorney 


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1 General may, for good cause, approve a grant in a 

2 higher amount. 

3 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON NUMBER.—The Attorney Gen4 eral, in consultation with the Secretary, shall not 

5 make more than 1 such planning grant to any State, 

6 unit of local government, Indian tribe, or tribal orga7 nization. 

8 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT APPLICA10 TIONS.—An application for an implementation grant 

11 shall include the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) COLLABORATION.—An application for 

13 an implementation grant shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) identify not fewer than 1 criminal 

15 justice enforcement agency or adult protec16 tive services organization and not fewer 

17 than 1 agency, crime victim assistance pro18 gram, or other organization that provides 

19 services to individuals with disabilities that 

20 will participate in the collaborative pro21 gram; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) describe the responsibilities of 

23 each participating agency or organization, 

24 including how each agency or organization 

25 will use grant funds to facilitate improved 


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1 responses to reports of abuse and crimes 

2 committed against individuals with disabil3 ities. 

4 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES.—An application for an 

5 implementation grant shall describe the guide6 lines that will be developed for personnel of a 

7 criminal justice agency, adult protective services 

8 organization, crime victim assistance program, 

9 and agencies or other organizations responsible 

10 for services provided to individuals with disabil11 ities to carry out the goals of the collaborative 

12 program. 

13 ‘‘(C) FINANCIAL.—An application for an 

14 implementation grant shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) explain why the applicant is un16 able to fund the collaboration program 

17 adequately without Federal funds; 

18 ‘‘(ii) specify how the Federal funds 

19 provided will be used to supplement, and 

20 not supplant, the funding that would oth21 erwise be available from the State, unit of 

22 local government, Indian tribe, or tribal or23 ganization; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) outline plans for obtaining nec25 essary support and continuing the proVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:41 Sep 28, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3956.IS S3956

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1 posed collaboration program following the 

2 conclusion of the grant under this section. 

3 ‘‘(D) OUTCOMES.—An application for an 

4 implementation grant shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) identify the methodology and out6 come measures, as required by the Attor7 ney General, in consultation with the Sec8 retary, for evaluating the effectiveness of 

9 the collaboration program, which may in10 clude— 

11 ‘‘(I) the number and type of 

12 agencies participating in the collabo13 ration; 

14 ‘‘(II) any trends in the number 

15 and type of cases referred for multi16 disciplinary case review; 

17 ‘‘(III) any trends in the timeli18 ness of law enforcement review of re19 ported cases of violence against indi20 viduals with a disability; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the number of persons re22 ceiving training by type of agency; 

23 ‘‘(ii) describe the mechanisms of any 

24 existing system to capture data necessary 

25 to evaluate the effectiveness of the collaboVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:41 Sep 28, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3956.IS S3956

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1 ration program, consistent with the meth2 odology and outcome measures described 

3 in clause (i) and including, where possible, 

4 data regarding— 

5 ‘‘(I) the number of cases referred 

6 by the adult protective services agen7 cy, or other relevant agency, to law 

8 enforcement for review; 

9 ‘‘(II) the number of charges filed 

10 and percentage of cases with charges 

11 filed as a result of such referrals; and 

12 ‘‘(III) the period of time between 

13 reports of violence against individuals 

14 with disabilities and law enforcement 

15 review; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) include an agreement from any 

17 participating or affected agency or organi18 zation to provide the data described in 

19 clause (ii). 

20 ‘‘(E) FORM OF DATA.—The Attorney Gen21 eral, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 

22 promulgate and supply a common electronic re23 porting form or other standardized mechanism 

24 for reporting of data required under this sec25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(F) COLLABORATION SET ASIDE.—Not 

2 less than 5 percent and not more than 10 per3 cent of the funds provided under an implemen4 tation grant shall be set aside to procure tech5 nical assistance from any recognized State 

6 model program or from a recognized national 

7 organization, as determined by the Attorney 

8 General (in consultation with the Secretary), in9 cluding the National District Attorneys Associa10 tion and the National Adult Protective Services 

11 Association. 

12 ‘‘(G) OTHER PROGRAMS.—An applicant for 

13 an implementation grant shall describe the rela14 tionship of the collaboration program to any 

15 other program of a criminal justice agency or 

16 other agencies or organizations providing serv17 ices to individuals with disabilities of the State, 

18 unit of local government, Indian tribe, or tribal 

19 organization applying for an implementation 

20 grant. 

21 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF GRANT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An implementation 

23 grant shall be made for a period of 2 years, be24 ginning on the first day of the month in which 

25 the implementation grant is made. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—An implementation 

2 grant may be renewed for 1 additional period of 

3 2 years, if the applicant submits to the Attor4 ney General and the Secretary a detailed expla5 nation of why additional funds are necessary. 

6 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—An implementation grant shall 

7 not exceed $300,000. 

8 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION OF PROGRAM EFFICACY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General, 

10 in consultation with the Secretary, shall establish a 

11 national center to evaluate the overall effectiveness 

12 of the collaboration programs funded under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The national center 

15 established under paragraph (1) shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) analyze information and data sup17 plied by grantees under this section; and 

18 ‘‘(B) submit an annual report to the Attor19 ney General and the Secretary that evaluates 

20 the number and rate of change of reporting, in21 vestigation, and prosecution of charges of a 

22 crime or abuse against individuals with disabil23 ities. 

24 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General 

25 may use not more than $500,000 of amounts made 


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1 available under subsection (h) to carry out this sub2 section. 

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

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 

5 Justice to carry out this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

7 ‘‘(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fis8 cal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

Æ 


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