841
nity-based supports such as schools, local health cen-
ters, community action groups, and neighborhood 
coalitions. 
‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
grants to eligible entities to enable the entities to 
jointly carry out cross training and other initiatives 
to promote collaboration that seeks to carry out the 
purposes of this section. 
‘‘(2) GRANT PERIODS.—Grants shall be award-
ed under paragraph (1) for a period of 3 years. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section, a grant applicant 
shall establish a partnership that—
‘‘(A) shall include— 
‘‘(i) a State child welfare agency, an 
Indian tribal organization that serves as a 
child welfare agency, or a local child wel-
fare agency; and 
‘‘(ii) a domestic violence or sexual as-
sault service provider, such as—
‘‘(I) a State, local, or tribal do-
mestic violence or sexual assault coali-
tion; or
842
‘‘(II) another private non-profit 
organization such as a community-
based domestic violence or sexual as-
sault program that is concerned with 
domestic violence or sexual assault 
and has a documented history of ef-
fective work concerning domestic vio-
lence or sexual assault and the impact 
domestic violence or sexual assault 
has on children; and 
‘‘(B) may include— 
‘‘(i) a State or local juvenile, family, 
or other trial court with jurisdiction over 
child maltreatment and domestic violence 
cases; or 
‘‘(ii) a State or local law enforcement 
agency with responsibility for responding 
to reports of domestic violence or sexual 
assault or child abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 
grant under this section shall use the funds made available 
through the grant for cross-training and collaborative ef-
forts, consistent with the principles described in subsection 
(a)(2), including—
843
‘‘(1) to educate the staff of child welfare agen-
cies and domestic violence and sexual assault service 
providers, and, as applicable, the staff of courts and 
law enforcement agencies to responsibly address do-
mestic violence and sexual assault (recognizing it as 
a serious problem that threatens both its child and 
adult victims), and to understand—
‘‘(A) domestic violence and sexual assault 
and their effects on children and adults; 
‘‘(B) child abuse and neglect and its ef-
fects on children; and 
‘‘(C) child welfare policies that affect child 
and adult victims of domestic violence and sex-
ual assault; 
‘‘(2) to ensure the effective handling of cases 
where domestic violence or sexual assault and child 
abuse and neglect intersect so as to—
‘‘(A) assure the safety and well-being of 
both the child and the nonabusing parent; 
‘‘(B) prevent the unnecessary removal of 
the child from the nonabusing parent, and, 
when removal is necessary to protect the child’s 
safety;
844
‘‘(C) promote the delivery of appropriate 
services to the child and to the nonabusing par-
ent; and 
‘‘(D) facilitate the safe and appropriately 
prompt reunification of the child with the non-
abusing parent through the development and 
implementation of policies, procedures, and pro-
grams that are consistent with the purposes of 
this section; 
‘‘(3) to identify and assess, and respond appro-
priately to, domestic violence or sexual assault in 
child protection cases and the needs of child victims 
of abuse and neglect in domestic violence or sexual 
assault cases; 
‘‘(4) to ensure that child welfare agencies and 
domestic violence and sexual assault service pro-
viders will not be required to share confidential in-
formation with one another about families receiving 
services except as required by law or with the in-
formed, written consent of the adult victim being 
served;
‘‘(5) to provide appropriate resources in child 
abuse and neglect cases to respond to domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault, including developing a serv-
ice plan and providing other appropriate services
845
and interventions that ensure the safety of both the 
child and adult victims of the domestic violence and 
sexual assault; 
‘‘(6) to establish and enhance linkages and col-
laboration between child welfare agencies, domestic 
violence or sexual assault service providers and, 
where applicable, State or local juvenile, family, or 
other trial courts with jurisdiction over child mal-
treatment and domestic violence cases, law enforce-
ment agencies, and other entities addressing the 
safety, health, mental health, social service, housing, 
and economic needs of child and adult victims of do-
mestic violence and sexual assault, including commu-
nity-based supports such as schools, local health cen-
ters, community action groups, and neighborhood 
coalitions to—
‘‘(A) respond effectively and comprehen-
sively to the varying needs of child and adult 
victims of domestic violence and sexual assault 
to prevent child and adult victims from having 
to turn to child welfare agencies for assistance; 
‘‘(B) include linguistically and culturally 
appropriate services and linkages to existing 
services; and
846
‘‘(C) include at least the following services 
where appropriate: 
‘‘(i) Appropriate referrals to commu-
nity-based domestic violence programs and 
sexual assault victim service providers with 
the capacities to support adult victims of 
domestic violence or sexual assault who are 
parents of children who have been abused 
or neglected or are at risk of being abused 
or neglected. 
‘‘(ii) Emergency shelter and transi-
tional housing for adult victims of domestic 
violence or sexual assault and their chil-
dren. 
‘‘(iii) Legal assistance and advocacy 
for victims of domestic violence or sexual 
assault including, when appropriate, assist-
ance in obtaining and entering orders of 
protection. 
‘‘(iv) Support and training to assist 
parents to help their children cope with the 
impact of domestic violence or sexual as-
sault.
847
‘‘(v) Programs to help children who 
have been exposed to domestic violence or 
sexual assault. 
‘‘(vi) Intervention and treatment for 
adult perpetrators of domestic violence or 
sexual assault whose children are the sub-
jects of child protection cases to promote 
the safety and well-being of the children, 
and appropriate coordination of such treat-
ment with the juvenile, family, and crimi-
nal courts, and law enforcement agencies 
with which the perpetrators are involved. 
‘‘(vii) Health, mental health, and 
other necessary supportive services. 
‘‘(viii) Assistance to obtain housing 
and necessary economic supports. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, the entities that are members of the 
applicant partnership described in subsection (b)(3), shall 
jointly submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. The application shall—
‘‘(1) outline the specific training and other ac-
tivities that will be undertaken under the grant to 
promote collaboration;
848
‘‘(2) describe how the training and other activi-
ties described in subsection (c) will help achieve the 
purposes of this section; 
‘‘(3) identify the agencies and providers that 
will be responsible for carrying out the initiatives for 
which the entities seek the grant; 
‘‘(4) include documentation from child welfare 
agencies and domestic violence and sexual assault 
victims service providers, and where applicable, 
State or local juvenile, family, or other trial courts 
with jurisdiction over child maltreatment and domes-
tic violence cases, and law enforcement agencies that 
have been involved in the development of the appli-
cation; 
‘‘(5) describe the ongoing involvement of child 
welfare and domestic violence and sexual assault vic-
tims service providers (including a description of 
their roles as subcontractors, and documentation of 
appropriate compensation, if relevant) and, where 
applicable, courts and law enforcement agencies, in 
the development of the training policies, procedures, 
programs, and practices described in subsection 
(c)(1); and 
‘‘(6) provide assurances that activities described 
in subsection (c) will—
849
‘‘(A) be provided to child welfare staff, in-
cluding line staff, supervisors, and administra-
tors, and be provided first to staff responsible 
for investigation, follow-up, screening, intake, 
assessment, and provision of services; and 
‘‘(B) be conducted jointly with child wel-
fare agency staff, staff from community-based 
domestic violence programs and sexual assault 
crisis centers and where applicable, courts and 
law enforcement agencies; 
‘‘(C) comply with the principles described 
in subsection (a)(2); and 
‘‘(D) address—
‘‘(i) the dynamics and lethality of do-
mestic violence and sexual assault, the im-
pact of domestic violence and sexual as-
sault on children exposed to domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault, the impact of do-
mestic violence and sexual assault on adult 
victims, and the relationship of domestic 
violence and sexual assault to child abuse 
and neglect; 
‘‘(ii) screening for domestic violence 
and sexual assault and assessing danger to
850
the child and adult victims of domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault; 
‘‘(iii) applicable Federal, State, and 
local laws pertaining to child abuse and ne-
glect and domestic violence and sexual as-
sault; 
‘‘(iv) the safety needs of child and 
adult victims of child abuse and neglect or 
domestic violence, or sexual assault and 
appropriate interventions for the child and 
adult victims that protect their the safety, 
including appropriate services and treat-
ment for children and the nonabusing par-
ent to prevent the unnecessary removal of 
children from the nonabusing parent, and 
to promote prompt reunification if removal 
becomes necessary of both types of victims 
and give appropriate consideration to pre-
serving the safety of family members not 
responsible for the child abuse or neglect;
‘‘(v) appropriate interventions for 
adult perpetrators of domestic violence to 
reduce the risk of further violence toward 
child and adult victims of domestic violence
851
and sexual assault which emphasize perpe-
trator accountability; 
‘‘(vi) appropriate supervision of child 
welfare staff working with families in 
which there has been domestic violence and 
sexual assault, including supervision relat-
ing to issues involving the safety of the 
child and adult victims and of the staff; 
‘‘(vii) the confidentiality needs of the 
child and adult victims, consistent with 
laws requiring mandatory reporting of 
child abuse and neglect; and 
‘‘(viii) develop child protection case 
plans that recognize the need to protect 
the safety of the child and of the adult vic-
tim and to hold adult perpetrators, not vic-
tims, responsible for stopping domestic vio-
lence and sexual assault. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to entities that have 
submitted applications in partnership with State or local 
juvenile, family, or other trial courts with jurisdiction over 
child maltreatment and domestic violence cases, and law 
enforcement agencies.
852
‘‘(f) REPORTING, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA-
TION.—
‘‘(1) REPORTS.—Each of the entities that are 
members of the applicant partnership described in 
subsection (b)(3), that receive a grant under this 
section shall jointly annually prepare and submit to 
the Secretary a report detailing the activities that 
the entities have undertaken under the grant and 
such additional information as the Secretary shall 
require. At a minimum, such report shall address 
the nature of the cross-training and other activities 
to promote collaboration among child welfare agen-
cies, domestic violence or sexual assault service pro-
viders, and where applicable, State or local juvenile, 
family, or other trial courts with jurisdiction over 
child maltreatment and domestic violence cases and 
law enforcement agencies that were undertaken with 
such grants and examples of enhanced collaboration 
that has occurred to better protect both child and 
adult victims of child abuse and domestic violence or 
sexual assault. 
‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION
OF
INFORMATION.—Not 
later then 9 months after the end of the grant pe-
riod under this section, the Secretary shall distribute 
to all State child welfare agencies, domestic violence