[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2779 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2779

   To provide grants to establish and operate supervised visitation 
   centers for the purposes of facilitating supervised visitation of 
                   children and visitation exchange.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 1997

 Mrs. Morella (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, 
Mr. Davis of Virginia, Ms. Furse, Ms. Carson, Mr. Vento, Mr. Stark, Mr. 
    Frost, Mr. Payne, Mr. Hinchey, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide grants to establish and operate supervised visitation 
   centers for the purposes of facilitating supervised visitation of 
                   children and visitation exchange.

    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 ``Safe Havens for Children Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Family violence does not necessarily cease when family 
        victims are legally separated by divorce or otherwise not 
        sharing a household.
            (2) According to a 1996 report by the American 
        Psychological Association, custody and visitation disputes are 
        more frequent when there is a history of domestic violence.
            (3) Family violence often escalates following separation 
        and divorce, and child custody and visitation arrangements 
        become the new forum for the continuation of abuse.
            (4) According to a 1996 report by the American 
        Psychological Association, fathers who batter mothers are twice 
        as likely to seek sole custody of their children. In these 
        circumstances, if the abusive father loses custody he is more 
        likely to continue the threats to the mother through other 
        legal actions.
            (5) Some perpetrators of violence use the children as pawns 
        to control the abused party and to commit more violence during 
        separation or divorce. In one study, 34 percent of women in 
        shelters and callers to hotlines reported threats of 
        kidnapping, 11 percent reported that the batterer had kidnapped 
        the child for some period, and 21 percent reported that threats 
        of kidnapping forced the victim to return to the batterer.
            (6) Approximately 90 percent of children in homes in which 
        their mothers are abused witness the abuse. Children who 
        witness domestic violence may exhibit more aggressive, 
        antisocial, fearful, and inhibited behaviors. Such children 
        display more anxiety, aggression and temperamental problems.
            (7) Women and children are at an elevated risk of violence 
        during the process of separation or divorce.
            (8) Fifty to 70 percent of men who abuse their spouses or 
        partners also physically abuse their children.
            (9) Up to 75 percent of all domestic assaults reported to 
        law enforcement agencies were inflicted after the separation of 
        the couple.
            (10) In one study of spousal homicide, over \1/2\ of the 
        male defendants were separated from their victims.
            (11) Seventy-three percent of battered women seeking 
        emergency medical services do so after separation.
            (12) The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court 
        Judges includes the option of visitation centers in their Model 
        Code on Domestic and Family Violence.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of section 2 are--
            (1) to protect children from the trauma of witnessing or 
        experiencing violence, sexual abuse, neglect, abduction, rape, 
        or death during parent and child visitation and visitation 
        exchanges;
            (2) to protect victims of domestic violence from 
        experiencing further violence, abuse, and threats during child 
        visitation or visitation exchanges; and
            (3) to provide an ongoing safe haven for parents and 
        children during visitation or visitation exchanges to promote 
        continuity and stability.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROVIDE FOR SUPERVISED VISITATION CENTERS.

    (a) Grants to States.--The Attorney General may award grants to 
States to enable States to enter into contracts and cooperative 
agreements with public or private nonprofit entities to assist such 
entities in establishing and operating supervised visitation centers 
for the purposes of facilitating supervised visitation and visitation 
exchange. At least 50 percent of all grants awarded under this 
subsection shall be used by State grantees for contracts and 
cooperative agreements with nonprofit, nongovernmental entities.
    (b) Considerations.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the 
Attorney General shall take into account and in awarding contracts and 
cooperative agreements a State which received such a grant shall take 
into account--
            (1) the number of families to be served by the proposed 
        visitation center to be established under the grant;
            (2) the extent to which supervised visitation centers serve 
        underserved populations as that term is defined in section 
        2003(7) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
        1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-2(7));
            (3) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates 
        cooperation and collaboration with nonprofit, nongovernmental 
        entities in the local community served, including the State 
        domestic violence coalition centers and other local shelters 
        and programs for domestic violence victims, including programs 
        providing legal assistance to domestic violence victims; and
            (4) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates 
        coordination or collaboration with State and local court 
        systems, including mechanisms for communication and referral.
    (c) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Amounts provided under a grant under 
        subsection (a) or provided by a State grantee under a contract 
        or cooperative agreement shall be used to establish supervised 
        visitation centers and for the purposes described in section 
        1(b). In using such amounts, grantees and persons awarded a 
        contract or cooperative agreement shall target the economically 
        disadvantaged and those individuals who could not otherwise 
        afford such visitation services. Individuals shall be permitted 
        to use the services provided by the center on a sliding fee 
        basis.
            (2) Regulations and applicant requirements.--The Attorney 
        General shall award grants to States and States shall enter 
        into contracts and cooperative agreements under such grants in 
        accordance with such regulations as the Attorney General may 
        promulgate. The Attorney General shall give priority in 
        awarding grants and States shall give priority in awarding 
        contracts and cooperative agreements under such grants to 
        States that consider domestic violence in making a custody 
        decision. An applicant awarded a grant from the Attorney 
        General or an applicant awarded a contract or cooperative 
        agreement by a State grantee shall--
                    (A) demonstrate recognized expertise in the area of 
                family violence and a record of high quality service to 
                victims of domestic violence;
                    (B) demonstrate collaboration with and support of 
                the State domestic violence coalition and local 
                domestic violence shelter or program in the locality in 
                which the supervised visitation center will be 
                operated; and
                    (C) provide long-term supervised visitation and 
                visitation exchange services to promote continuity and 
                stability.
    (d) Reporting.--Not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal 
year, the Attorney General shall report to Congress information 
concerning--
            (1) the number of individuals served and the number of 
        individuals turned away from services categorized by State, the 
        number of individuals from underserved populations served or 
        turned away from such services, and the type of presenting 
        problems that underlie the need for supervised visitation or 
        visitation exchange, such as domestic violence, child abuse 
        emotional or other physical abuse, or a combination of such 
        factors;
            (2) the numbers of supervised visitations or visitation 
        exchanges ordered during custody determinations under a 
        separation or divorce decree or protection order, through child 
        protection services, or through other social services agencies;
            (3) the process by which children or abused partners are 
        protected during visitations, temporary custody transfers and 
        other activities for which the supervised visitation centers 
        are created;
            (4) safety and security problems occurring during the 
        reporting period during supervised visitations or at visitation 
        centers including the number of parental abduction cases;
            (5) the number of parental abduction cases in a judicial 
        district using supervised visitation services, both as 
        identified in criminal prosecution and custody violations; and
            (6) any other appropriate information designated in 
        regulations promulgated by the Attorney General.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--For the purpose of awarding grants under 
        this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 
        $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $85,000,000 for fiscal year 
        1999, and $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.
            (2) Distribution.--Of the amounts appropriated under 
        subparagraph (A) for each fiscal year, not less than 95 percent 
        shall be used to award grants.
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