I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7208 
To reduce and prevent teen dating violence, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. POE) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To reduce and prevent teen dating violence, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Teen Dating Violence 
Prevention Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to establish Federal 
grant programs that prevent and reduce verbal, mental, 
emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in youth dating rela-
tionships and to improve coordination, collaboration, and 
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cross-training among Federal, State, and local agencies 
and nonprofit entities that serve or interact with offenders 
and victims of youth dating violence. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) 
Violence 
is 
cyclical; 
violent 
juvenile 
delinquents are four times more likely than other 
youths to come from homes in which their fathers 
beat their mothers. 
(2) Technological advancements can enhance 
stalking, verbal, emotional, and social abuse while 
avoiding parental and adult intervention in abusive 
teen dating relationships. 
(3) Girls between the ages of 16 and 24 are 
most likely to experience domestic and dating vio-
lence. 
(4) Teen dating violence is prevalent regardless 
of race, gender, or socio-economic status. 
(5) More than half of all rape victims are as-
saulted between the ages of 12 and 24. 
(6) Approximately, 1 in 3 teens reports some 
kind of abuse in a romantic relationship, including 
emotional and verbal abuse. 
(7) Nearly 50 percent of all adult sex offenders 
report committing their first offense prior to age 18. 
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(8) Abusive dating partners isolate teens from 
their families and tend to intentionally create family 
discord. 
(9) Teens involved in abusive relationships are 
also more likely to face legal and drug problems, 
pregnancy, and other issues. 
(10) Most parents are unaware of teen dating 
violence and have not discussed teen dating violence 
with their children. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A TEEN DATING VIOLENCE 
PROGRAM. 
(a) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may award 
grants to eligible grant entities for the purposes of— 
(1) designing and implementing programs and 
services targeting runaway and homeless youth, 
youth in the foster care system, or youth in the juve-
nile justice system who are victims of domestic or 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 
(2) designing and implementing violence pre-
vention programs to provide education, awareness, 
and counseling to deter abusive behaviors and traits 
in youth dating relationships; 
(3) assessing and analyzing available services 
for youth victims of dating violence, determining 
barriers to such services, and developing community- 
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based, collaborative strategies to address such vio-
lence; and 
(4) providing preventative, rehabilitative, and 
other counseling services to youth victims and youth 
offenders of domestic violence, dating violence, sex-
ual assault, or stalking. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each recipient of a grant 
under this Act— 
(1) shall use funds provided by such grant to 
ensure that program services developed, modified, 
and provided to youth victims and youth offenders 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
or stalking are developed, modified, and provided 
with an understanding of and sensitivity to the lin-
guistic, cultural, social, racial, geographic, and eco-
nomic backgrounds of such youth; 
(2) shall ensure that victim services organiza-
tions, schools, and families impacted by youth dating 
violence are consulted in the development of the pro-
gram and activities to be carried out with such 
grant, and that such organizations, schools, and 
families have a significant role in evaluating the re-
sults of the program; 
(3) shall develop programs that exhibit collabo-
rative activities and training models to provide ap-
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propriate resources, protection, and support to 
youth, and to their families, as needed; 
(4) may include mental health services for 
youth who have experienced domestic violence, dat-
ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 
(5) may include legal assistance and counseling 
for youth victims of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking; and 
(6) shall not use more than 30 percent of the 
funds provided by such grant to provide childcare, 
transportation, educational support, respite care, 
and other indirect support services (excluding the 
services described in paragraphs (4) and (5)) to 
youth victims and youth offenders of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 
(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this Act, 
the Attorney General shall give priority to eligible grant 
entities that have submitted applications in partnership 
with other community organizations and service providers 
that work primarily with youth, especially teens, and eligi-
ble grant entities that have demonstrated a commitment 
to coalition building and cooperative problem solving in 
dealing with problems of dating violence, domestic vio-
lence, sexual assault, and stalking in youth populations. 
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(d) GRANTEE REQUIREMENTS.—For the purpose of 
this Act, an eligible grant entity includes— 
(1) State, local, or tribal governments or agen-
cies focusing on at-risk youth; 
(2) nonprofit organizations providing services 
for runaway, homeless, or foster care youth, or 
youth in the juvenile justice system who have been 
victims of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual 
assault, or stalking; 
(3) nonprofit, community-based victim services 
organizations specializing in intervention or violence 
prevention services, youth batterer and offender 
treatment programs, teen parenting, or health and 
sex education services targeting youth; 
(4) faith-based organizations that focus on 
youth counseling and crime prevention; and 
(5) community-based, nonprofit organizations 
serving marginalized and at-risk youth. 
(e) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—Each year for 
which an entity receives a grant under this Act, the entity 
shall submit to the Attorney General an annual report de-
tailing the activities carried out with such grant, including 
any additional information the Attorney General may re-
quire. 
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SEC. 5. REPORTING. 
For each fiscal year for which amounts are appro-
priated to carry out this Act, the Attorney General shall 
submit to the appropriate Congressional committees and 
make widely available, including through electronic means, 
summaries of the activities carried out by the entities re-
ceiving grants under this Act. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘dating vio-
lence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
(42 U.S.C. 13925). 
(2) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘domestic 
violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
(42 U.S.C. 13925). 
(3) STALKING.—The term ‘‘stalking’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 40002 of the Vio-
lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
13925). 
(4) VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING 
VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.—The 
term ‘‘victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, or stalking’’ includes— 
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(A) a person who has been a victim of do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
or stalking; and 
(B) a person whose family member or 
household member has been a victim of domes-
tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking. 
(5) VICTIM
SERVICES
ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘victim services organization’’ means a non-
profit, nongovernmental organization that provides 
assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking, or to advocates for 
such victims, including a rape crisis center, an orga-
nization carrying out a domestic violence program, 
an organization operating a shelter or providing 
counseling services, or an organization providing as-
sistance through the legal process. 
(6) YOUTH.—The term ‘‘youth’’ means any in-
dividual age 11 to 25. 
(7) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate Congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate. 
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SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act, $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 
through 2015. Not more than 10 percent of funds appro-
priated to carry out this Act may be used for administra-
tion, monitoring and evaluation, or technical assistance. 
Æ 
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