I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3665
To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to improve and
strengthen certain provisions.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 1, 1998
Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act
to improve and strengthen certain provisions.
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 ‘‘Battered Women’s
Shelters and Services Act’’.
SEC. 2. FVPSA IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) 
STATE
DEMONSTRATION
GRANTS.—Section
303(a)(2) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services
Act (42 U.S.C. 10402(a)(2)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub-
paragraph (H); and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(G) provide documentation, including memo-
randa of understanding, of the specific involvement
of the State domestic violence coalition and other
knowledgeable individuals and interested organiza-
tions, in the development of the application; and’’.
(b) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—Section 304(a) of the
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C.
10403(a)) is amended—
(1) by inserting after ‘‘grant authorized under
section 303(a)’’ the following: ‘‘$500,000, with the
remaining sums to be allotted to each State in’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘except that—’’ and all that fol-
lows and inserting the following: ‘‘except that Guam,
American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern
Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pa-
cific Islands shall each be allotted not less than one-
eighth of 1 percent of the amounts available for
grants under section 303(a) for the fiscal year for
which the allotment is made.’’.
(c) REALLOTMENT.—Section 304(d) of the Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C.
10403(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting after ‘‘to such State in
grants under section 303(a)’’ the following: ‘‘or
to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or other
entities under section 303(b)’’;
(B) by inserting after ‘‘failure of such
State’’ the following: ‘‘and Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, and other entities’’;
(C) by inserting after ‘‘such amount to
States’’ the following: ‘‘or Indian tribes, tribal
organizations, or other entities’’; and
(D) by inserting after ‘‘which meet such
requirements’’ the following: ‘‘in proportion to
the original allocation made under subsection
(a) or (b) of section 303, respectively’’; and
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3) and inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(2) If, at the end of the sixth month of any fiscal
year for which sums are appropriated under section 310,
the amount allotted to an entity has not been made avail-
able to such entity in grants under section 308 or 311
and training initiatives on the subject identified in
subsection (c), if such initiatives do not duplicate the
work of the entities funded under subsection (c) and
if the total amount awarded for such initiatives does
not exceed $500,000.’’
(f) SPECIAL ISSUE RESOURCE CENTERS.—Section
308(c) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act
(42 U.S.C. 10407(c)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘service providers,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘service providers on emerging issues in domes-
tic violence service, prevention, or law,’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘areas of domestic violence serv-
ice, prevention, or law:’’ and inserting ‘‘areas:’’;
(3) by adding the end the following new para-
graphs:
‘‘(8) Providing technical assistance and training
to local domestic violence programs that provide
shelter or related assistance.
‘‘(9) Improving access to services, information,
and training within Indian tribes and tribal organi-
zations.
‘‘(10) Responding to emerging issues in the
field of domestic violence that the Secretary may
identify in consultation with advocates representing
local programs providing shelter or related assist-
ance, State domestic violence coalitions, and national
domestic violence organizations.’’; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (10), as added
by paragraph (3), the following:
‘‘Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from
making multiple grants to any nonprofit, nongovernmental
entity to fulfill the purposes of this section.’’.
(g) REPORTING.—Section 308(e) of the Family Vio-
lence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10407(e))
is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Not later
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Bat-
tered Women’s Shelters and Services Act, each entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section shall prepare and submit
a report to the Secretary that evaluates the effectiveness
of the use of amounts received under the grants by the
entity and containing such other information as the Sec-
retary may prescribe. The Secretary shall publish any such
reports and provide at least 90 days for notice and oppor-
tunity for public comment prior to awarding or renewing
any such grant.’’.
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS
FOR
GRANTS UNDER SECTION 308.—Section 310(c) of the
Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C.
10409(c)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘for each fiscal
year,’’ the following: ‘‘the lesser of $7,500,000 or’’.
(i) GRANTS
FOR
STATE
COALITIONS.—Section
310(d) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act
(42 U.S.C. 10409(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘not less than’’ and inserting
‘‘the lesser of $22,000,000 or’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘At
such time as the appropriation under this subsection
exceeds $11,000,000, the Secretary shall designate
that of the amounts appropriated under this sub-
section up to 20 percent of such funds shall be made
available in the amounts necessary to State domestic
violence coalitions for the specific purpose of provid-
ing technical assistance, training, and direct assist-
ance in the areas specified in section ll or for
such other priorities that may be determined by the
Secretary in consultation with State domestic vio-
lence coalitions and programs that provide shelter or
related assistance.’’.
(j) GRANTS FOR STATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COALI-
TIONS.—Section 311 of the Family Violence Prevention
and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10410) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(i) MODEL LEADERSHIP GRANTS; DIRECT EMER-
GENCY
ASSISTANCE; 
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
AND
TRAINING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For any fiscal year for
which the amount made available to carry out this
section exceeds $11,000,000, the Secretary shall use
not more than 20 percent of such available amount
to award grants to State domestic violence coali-
tions, consistent with paragraphs (2) through (4), or
in accordance with such other requirements and pri-
orities as may be determined by the Secretary in
consultation with State domestic violence coalitions
and programs that provide shelter or related assist-
ance.
‘‘(2) MODEL LEADERSHIP GRANTS FOR DOMES-
TIC
VIOLENCE
INTERVENTION
IN
UNDERSERVED
COMMUNITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may
award grants for up to 3 years to not more
than 10 State domestic violence coalitions, and
not more than 10 local domestic violence pro-
grams providing shelter or related assistance, to
develop model strategies to address domestic vi-
olence in underserved populations (as that term
is defined in section 2003 of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
(42 U.S.C. 3796gg–2)). Such grants shall be
used to assess the needs of underserved popu-
lations in the State, build collaborative relation-
ships with community-based organizations serv-
ing underserved populations, and develop and
implement model community intervention strat-
egies to decrease the incidence of domestic vio-
lence in underserved populations.
‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 1-
year model leadership grant under this para-
graph, an applicant shall demonstrate—
‘‘(i) a plan for assessing the needs of
underserved populations and identifying a
specific population for development of an
intervention strategy in year 1 of the
grant; and
‘‘(ii) inclusion of representatives from
community-based organizations in under-
served communities in planning, designing,
and disseminating the needs assessment
instruments.
‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY FOR CONTINUED FUND-
ING.—To be eligible for continued funding of
up to 2 additional years, an applicant shall pro-
vide—
‘‘(i) a plan for implementing the
model strategies which includes collabo-
rative partnerships with community-based
organizations within the underserved popu-
lations identified; and
‘‘(ii) a plan for disseminating the
model strategy throughout the State or to
other States during year 3 of the grant.
‘‘(D) 
PRIORITY
FOR
COLLABORATIVE
FUNDING.—In awarding grants under this
paragraph, the Secretary shall give preference
to State domestic violence coalitions and local
domestic violence shelters and programs that
submit applications in collaboration with com-
munity-based organizations serving underserved
populations. A grant may not be made under
this subparagraph in an amount less than
$100,000 for each fiscal year.
‘‘(3) DIRECT EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO VIC-
TIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may
award grants to each State domestic violence
coalition for the purpose of administering an
emergency assistance fund for victims of domes-
tic violence. Funds received under this para-
graph may be used only to provide emergency
assistance directly to victims of domestic vio-