I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4860
To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to establish a national
domestic violence victim notification system.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 20, 1998
Mr. BAESLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to
establish a national domestic violence victim notification
system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Domestic Vio-
lence Victim Notification Act’’.
SEC. 2. VICTIM NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle A of the Violence
Against Women Act of 1994 is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘CHAPTER 6—VICTIM NOTIFICATION
SYSTEM
‘‘SEC. 40161. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may make
a grant to a private non-profit entity to create and operate
a national victim notification system (referred to in this
section as a ‘VINE system’). A VINE system shall be a
comprehensive community and individual awareness pro-
gram that connects communities and victims of domestic
violence with vital criminal justice information about indi-
viduals who have been charged with a domestic violence
crime and prison inmates.
‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The VINE system shall
have a system whereby information about such indi-
viduals and inmates, including the status of the
prosecution of such individuals, the correctional sta-
tus of such inmates, the availability of assistance
from local law enforcement agencies and civil re-
straining orders upon the release of such inmates,
the location of the nearest domestic violence center,
and any information obtained in the course of a sex-
ual offender registration, shall be available to indi-
viduals who contact the system.
‘‘(2) SPECIFIC COMPONENTS.— Such a system
shall include—
‘‘(A) information on the trail date for an
individual charged with a domestic violence
crime, the release date of a prison inmate, the
location of the prison, if the inmate has not
been released, the parole eligibility dates of the
inmate, the date the imprisonment sentence ex-
pires, and any other relevant data respecting
such inmate as may be developed under data-
bases under State sexual offender registration
programs under section 170101 of the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of
1994;
‘‘(B) referrals of victims to appropriate law
enforcement or victim service organizations;
‘‘(C) a toll free number which operates 24
hours a day, 365 days a year which a victim of
domestic violence may use to receive the infor-
mation described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B);
‘‘(D) a procedure under which a victim
may register with the system to receive auto-
matic telephone notification when the inmate
involved has a change in custody or other
change, including court appointments, which
may involve or threaten the victim; and
‘‘(E) the safeguards of the system to pro-
tect the confidentiality of victims calling the toll
free number or receiving inmate information.’’.
‘‘(d) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—In establishing and oper-
ating a VINE system, the entity involved shall—
‘‘(1) establish a procedure whereby the VINE
system is to receive on a regular basis information
from the courts, corrections institutions, and law en-
forcement agencies, including law enforcement agen-
cies which have information from a State program
for the registration of sexual offenders, about indi-
viduals charged with domestic violence crimes and
prison inmates;
‘‘(2) work collaboratively with the National Do-
mestic Violence Hotline authorized under section
40211 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994
(42 U.S.C. 10416) to create a system of automatic
referral to the National Domestic Violence Hotline
for information on the availability of shelters and
services that support battered women in the caller’s
area ; and
‘‘(3) in connection with the National Domestic
Violence Hotline, employ, train, and supervise per-
sonnel to answer incoming calls and provide counsel-
ing and referral services to callers on a 24 hour-a-
day basis;
‘‘(4) publicize the National Domestic Violence
Hotline to potential users throughout the area the
system is to serve.
‘‘(e) GRANTS.—To be approved for a grant under
subsection (a), an application for such grant shall—
(1) contain such agreements, assurances, and
information, be in such form and be submitted in
such manner as the Attorney General shall prescribe
through notice in the Federal Register;
(2) include a complete description of the appli-
cant’s plan for its operation in connection with the
National Domestic Violence Hotline, including de-
scriptions of—
‘‘(A) the training program for hotline per-
sonnel;
‘‘(B) the hiring criteria for hotline person-
nel;
‘‘(C) the methods for the creation, mainte-
nance, and updating of a resource database;
‘‘(D) a plan for publicizing the availability
of the hotline;
‘‘(E) a plan for providing service to non-
English speaking callers; and
‘‘(F) a plan for facilitating access to the
hotline by persons with hearing impairments;
‘‘(3) demonstrate that the applicant has nation-
ally recognized expertise in the area of domestic vio-
lence and a record of high quality service to victims
of domestic violence;
‘‘(4) demonstrate that the applicant has a com-
mitment to the provision of services to ethnic, racial,
and non-English speaking minorities, older individ-
uals, and individuals with disabilities; and
‘‘(5) contain such other information as the At-
torney General may require.
‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this chapter, the
term ‘prison inmate’ means a person who has been impris-
oned for conviction of a crime involving domestic vio-
lence.’’.
SEC. 3. STUDY.
The Attorney General shall conduct a study about the
integration of a national victim notification system with
the National Domestic Violence Hotline, databases devel-
oped under State sexual offender registration programs
under section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the National Crime
Information Center. The Attorney General shall report the
result of such study to Congress along with any rec-
ommendation for legislation arising from such study.
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