[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5785 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5785
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to improve
services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking and their families.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 28, 2021
Mr. O'Halleran (for himself and Mrs. Wagner) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to improve
services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking and their families.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Help End Abusive Living Situations
Act'' or the ``HEALS Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the terms ``dating violence'', ``domestic violence'',
``sexual assault'', and ``stalking'' have the meanings given
those terms in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a));
(2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development;
(3) the term ``victim service provider'' has the meaning
given the term in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360); and
(4) the term ``victim service provider project'' means a
project administered by a victim service provider designed to
meet the needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their families.
SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING HOUSING RESOURCES PROTECTIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR
STALKING.
(a) Notice of Funding Availability.--Subtitle C of title IV of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382)--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and
inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--The Secretary''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Scoring.--For purposes of scoring applicants in the
notice of funding availability, the Secretary shall neither
prioritize nor deprioritize the following categories of
projects solely on the basis of the category:
``(A) Rapid re-housing.
``(B) Permanent supportive housing.
``(C) Transitional housing.
``(D) Short-term emergency shelter.''; and
(2) in section 428(d)(2) (42 U.S.C. 11386b(d)(2))--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (D); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the
following:
``(C) transitional housing for various populations,
including, for survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their
families, projects providing transitional or permanent
housing that provide trauma-informed services, maximize
client choice, and address the special needs of those
survivors; and''.
(b) Strategic Plan.--In the next strategic plan required after the
date of enactment of this Act under section 306 of title 5, United
States Code, the Secretary shall include as a goal or objective--
(1) responding, including allocating appropriate resources,
to the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their families; and
(2) collaborating with the Office of Violence Against Women
of the Department of Justice to ensure that there is no
conflict between the rapid re-housing requirements of that
Office and of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(c) Evaluation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop--
(1) in accordance with the selection criteria under section
427(b)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11386a(b)(1)), as amended by section 4, measurable
criteria upon which applicants for a grant under section
subtitle C of title IV of that Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.)
are evaluated to demonstrate their local policy priorities
focused on survivors of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, or stalking and their families, including
survivor-centered coordinated entry processes that
appropriately assess and prioritize those survivors and take
into account the safety and confidentiality needs of those
survivors and their families; and
(2) mechanisms that promote the provision of technical
assistance and support for programs to improve outcomes and
maintain grant funding.
(d) Research Agenda.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a research agenda
that--
(1) works and collaborates with the Family Violence
Prevention and Services Program of the Department of Health and
Human Services and the Office of Violence Against Women of the
Department of Justice; and
(2) focuses on survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their families,
concentrating on the housing modalities that best support them
and the mechanisms that best facilitate their efforts to secure
housing, while also paying attention to the critical safety
concerns and the link between trauma and residential stability.
SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO SAFE SHELTER FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING.
Section 427 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11386a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iv)(I), by inserting ``,
including survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their
families'' after ``subpopulations'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) in clause (iv), by adding ``and'' at
the end; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) meets the safety and trauma needs of
survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their
families, including access to safe shelter;'';
(C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as
subparagraph (H); and
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the
following:
``(G) the extent to which the assistance to be
provided within the geographic area will meet the
safety and trauma needs of survivors of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
and their families, including access to safe shelter;
and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Equal Consideration of Transitional Housing Projects.--In
awarding funds to recipients under this subtitle, the Secretary shall
consider transitional housing projects on an even basis with any other
project of a qualified applicant.''.
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on--
(1) the trends in allocating resources beginning after the
date of enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and
Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-22; 123
Stat. 1663) to address the housing needs of survivors of
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking
and their families; and
(2) the increase in the effectiveness of those resources
for promoting self-sufficiency and assisting survivors in
finding employment beginning after the date of enactment of
this Act.
<all>