Democratic Women’s Caucus Supports House Passage of Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act

October 26, 2021
Press Release
CONTACT: Michelle Moreno-Silva
 
Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Co-Chairs Congresswomen Lois Frankel (FL-21), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), and Jackie Speier (CA-14), and Vice Chairs Congresswomen Veronica Escobar (TX-16) and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) issued the following statement on the House of Representatives passage of H.R. 2119, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA), introduced by DWC Member Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-6).
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus hasn’t been the only threat to lives. The explosion in domestic violence rates has further underscored the urgent need for dedicated funding for domestic violence prevention services and programs to protect survivors,” said DWC Leadership. “Women have paid the steepest price of domestic violence in this country for far too long. The isolation brought on by the pandemic left even more women suffering degradation and abuse while shouldering the burden of caring for their families. By investing in community prevention and culturally specific programs, we are ensuring that all survivors have the resources they need and deserve to live safely and free from abuse.”
 
"The anguish of far too many survivors of domestic violence during this pandemic has been a painful and unshakeable reminder of our fundamental need to put an end to it," said Congresswoman McBath. "I am proud we were able to pass legislation that funds shelters, state domestic violence coalitions, a national domestic violence hotline, and national resource centers— this bill helps provide survivors a way up, a way out, and a way forward."
 
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act, expands resources for survivors and initiatives to end domestic violence by:
  • Increasing the funding authorization level to $270 million to respond to very low per-program funding levels and provide access to FVPSA funds for programs not currently funded.
  • Expanding support for and access to culturally-specific programs.
    • Culturally-specific organizations are better equipped to address the complex, multi-layered challenges facing victims from racial and ethnic minority populations as they seek services and protections from abuse.
    • Culturally-specific programs often have challenges accessing FVPSA funding at the state and local levels due to the limited funding available and robust competition. This bill authorizes a new culturally-specific program to address these needs and incorporates related funding into the formula itself.
  • Strengthening the capacity of Indian Tribes to exercise their sovereign authority to more fully respond to domestic violence in their communities and authorizes funding for tribal coalitions and the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center.
  • Meaningfully investing in prevention. Brings evidence-informed, community-based prevention initiatives to more communities.
  • Strengthening and updating the National Domestic Violence Hotline and hotline services for underrepresented populations, including American Indians, Alaskan Natives and Deaf victims of domestic and dating violence.
  • Creating a new underserved populations grant program.
    • The lack of resources and severity of violence is often heightened for survivors living at the margins, such as those living in rural communities, individuals with disabilities, older adults, those identifying with faith-based communities, youth and others. These underserved populations are often reluctant to seek assistance, and when they do, they frequently look for services and support in their immediate communities. This bill creates a grant program for family centers, youth centers, senior centers, community-based organizations or vocational organizations to meet the needs of these survivors.
  • Continuing to support national technical assistance centers, including the Alaskan Native Tribal Resource Center on Domestic Violence, and their work to develop effective policy, practice, research and cross-system collaborations.
  • Updating provisions and definitions to ensure access to services for all survivors, better align with related programs and reflect evolving practices in order to provide uniform guidance to those working to end domestic violence.
    • Updates language to reflect current practices and provide a reference to other statutes to ensure common understanding across different federal programs.
H.R. 2119 passed the House of Representatives on October 26, 2021, by a vote of 228-200.
 
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