HEALS Act

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to improve services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Help End Abusive Living Situations Act HEALS Act 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term domestic violence 42 U.S.C. 13925(a) (2) the term domestic violence project (3) the term homeless individual 42 U.S.C. 11302 (4) the terms homeless individual with a disability permanent housing tenant-based transitional housing victim service provider 42 U.S.C. 11360 (5) the term rapid re-housing project (6) the term Secretary 3. Strengthening housing resources protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall take the following measures to improve services provided to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking: (1) Strategic plan The Secretary shall create a section in the next strategic plan of the Department of Housing and Urban Development required under section 306 of title 5, United States Code, that— (A) outlines a thorough response to the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and their families; (B) provides that, for purposes of scoring applicants in the notice of funding availability for the Continuum of Care program authorized under subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11381 (i) rapid re-housing projects; (ii) projects that provide permanent supportive housing; and (iii) domestic violence projects that maximize client choice, including transitional housing; (C) authorizes any defunded transitional housing project to reapply for funding; and (D) authorizes rapid re-rehousing projects to provide not less than 6 months and not more than 24 months of assistance. (2) Evaluation The Secretary shall develop— (A) measurable criteria upon which applicants are evaluated to demonstrate their collaboration with victim service providers to develop local policy priorities focused on survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including survivor-centered coordinated entry processes that appropriately assess and prioritize those survivors and take into account the safety and confidentiality needs of those survivors; and (B) mechanisms that promote the provision of technical assistance and support for programs to improve outcomes instead of reallocating or not awarding funds. (3) Research agenda The Secretary shall develop a research agenda that focuses on survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and the housing modalities that best support them, especially the critical safety concerns and the link between trauma and residential stability. 4. Increasing access to safe housing for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking Section 427(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11386a(b) (1) in paragraph (1)(F)— (A) in clause (i), by striking or (B) in clause (ii), by striking and or (C) by adding at the end the following: (iii) success in meeting the safety and trauma needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including access to safe housing; and ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (4) Criteria for victim services providers With respect to recipients that are victim service providers, the Secretary shall evaluate the provider based on the ability to meet the safety and trauma needs of victims served by the provider, including access to safe housing. . 5. Report to Congress Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on— (1) the trends in allocating resources beginning after the date of enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 ( Public Law 111–22 (2) the increase in the allocation of resources for domestic violence projects beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.

Summary: Help End Abusive Living Situations Act or the HEALS Act This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take specified measures to improve services provided to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including by promoting the provision of technical assistance and support for programs to improve outcomes for such survivors.