I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5702 
To amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
to ensure that healthcare providers can assist survivors of domestic 
violence, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2025 
Mrs. SYKES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
Act of 1994 to ensure that healthcare providers can 
assist survivors of domestic violence, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 or the ‘‘Better Care 
For Domestic Violence Survivors Act’’. 
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SEC. 
2. 
DEMONSTRATION 
PROGRAM 
ON 
TRAUMA-IN-
FORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED TRAINING FOR 
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle Q of title IV of the Vio-
lent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 
U.S.C. 12513 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 41702. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON TRAUMA-IN-
FORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED TRAINING FOR 
HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘Attorney General’ means the At-
torney General, acting through the Director of the 
Office on Violence Against Women; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 
of the Department of Health and Human Services; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in-
dividual who interfaces with victims of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, 
including— 
‘‘(A) an individual working for or on behalf 
of an eligible entity; 
‘‘(B) an administrator or personnel of a 
school, university, or other educational program 
or activity (including a campus police officer or 
a school resource officer); and 
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‘‘(C) an emergency services employee; 
‘‘(4) the term ‘eligible entity’ means a facility 
as described in paragraph (1), (2), (4), (5), or (6) 
of section 1624 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300s–3); and 
‘‘(5) the term ‘mandatory partner’ means a na-
tional, regional, or local victim services organization 
or agency working in collaboration with a facility de-
scribed in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary, shall award grants 
on a competitive basis to eligible entities to collabo-
rate with their mandatory partners to carry out the 
demonstration program under this section by imple-
menting evidence-based or promising investigative 
policies and practices to incorporate trauma-in-
formed, victim-centered techniques designed to— 
‘‘(A) prevent re-traumatization of the vic-
tim; 
‘‘(B) ensure that covered individuals use 
evidence-based practices to identify, respond to, 
and treat cases of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, and stalking; 
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‘‘(C) increase collaboration among stake-
holders who are part of the coordinated commu-
nity response to domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, and stalking; and 
‘‘(D) evaluate the effectiveness of the 
training process and content. 
‘‘(2) AWARD BASIS.—The Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary, shall award grants 
under this section to multiple eligible entities for use 
in a variety of settings and communities, including— 
‘‘(A) urban, suburban, Tribal, remote, and 
rural areas; 
‘‘(B) college campuses; or 
‘‘(C) traditionally underserved commu-
nities. 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section shall use the grant to— 
‘‘(1) train covered individuals associated with 
the eligible entity to use evidence-based, trauma-in-
formed, and victim-centered techniques to identify 
and treat individuals who have experienced domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, 
including by— 
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‘‘(A) customizing treatment approaches to 
ensure a culturally and linguistically appro-
priate approach to the community being served; 
‘‘(B) becoming proficient in understanding 
and responding to complex cases, including 
cases of domestic violence, dating violence, sex-
ual assault, or stalking— 
‘‘(i) facilitated by alcohol or drugs; 
‘‘(ii) involving strangulation; 
‘‘(iii) committed by a non-stranger; 
‘‘(iv) committed by an individual of 
the same sex as the victim; 
‘‘(v) involving a victim with a dis-
ability; 
‘‘(vi) involving a male victim; or 
‘‘(vii) involving a lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, or transgender (commonly referred to 
as ‘LGBT’) victim; 
‘‘(C) developing collaborative relationships 
between— 
‘‘(i) healthcare providers, law enforce-
ment officers, and other members of the 
response team; and 
‘‘(ii) the community being served; and 
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‘‘(D) developing an understanding of how 
to define, identify, and correctly classify a re-
port of domestic violence, dating violence, sex-
ual assault, or stalking; and 
‘‘(2) promote the efforts of the eligible entity to 
improve the response of covered individuals to do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 
stalking through various communication channels, 
such as the website of the eligible entity, social 
media, print materials, and community meetings, in 
order to ensure that all covered individuals associ-
ated with the eligible entity are aware of those ef-
forts and included in trainings, to the extent prac-
ticable. 
‘‘(d) DEMONSTRATION
PROGRAM
TRAININGS
ON 
TRAUMA-INFORMED, VICTIM-CENTERED APPROACHES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary, shall identify 
trainings for covered individuals, in existence as of 
the date on which the Attorney General begins to so-
licit applications for grants under this section, 
that— 
‘‘(A) employ a trauma-informed, victim- 
centered approach to domestic violence, dating 
violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and 
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‘‘(B) focus on the fundamentals of— 
‘‘(i) trauma responses; 
‘‘(ii) the impact of trauma on victims 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sex-
ual assault, and stalking; and 
‘‘(iii) techniques for effectively treat-
ing the medical consequences of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
and stalking. 
‘‘(2) SELECTION.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall select one or 
more of the approaches employed by a training iden-
tified under paragraph (1) to test at the eligible en-
tity. 
‘‘(e) EVALUATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General and 
the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 
the National Institute of Justice, shall require each 
eligible entity that receives a grant under this sec-
tion to identify a research partner, preferably a local 
research partner, to— 
‘‘(A) design a system for generating and 
collecting the appropriate data to facilitate an 
independent process or impact evaluation of the 
use of the grant funds; 
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