[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7208 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 
               referred 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 Representatives 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 relationships and to improve coordination, 
collaboration, and 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 violence.
            (4) Teen dating violence is prevalent regardless of race, 
        gender, or socio-economic status.
            (5) More than half of all rape victims are assaulted 
        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.
            (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 juvenile justice system who are victims 
        of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
            (2) designing and implementing violence prevention 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-based, collaborative 
        strategies to address such violence; and
            (4) providing preventative, rehabilitative, and other 
        counseling services to youth victims and youth offenders of 
        domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 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 
        linguistic, cultural, social, racial, geographic, and economic 
        backgrounds of such youth;
            (2) shall ensure that victim services organizations, 
        schools, and families impacted by youth dating violence are 
        consulted in the development of the program and activities to 
        be carried out with such grant, and that such organizations, 
        schools, and families have a significant role in evaluating the 
        results of the program;
            (3) shall develop programs that exhibit collaborative 
        activities and training models to provide appropriate 
        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, dating violence, sexual assault, 
        or stalking;
            (5) may include legal assistance and counseling for youth 
        victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 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 
        violence, 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 eligible grant entities that have demonstrated a 
commitment to coalition building and cooperative problem solving in 
dealing with problems of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking in youth populations.
    (d) Grantee Requirements.--For the purpose of this Act, an eligible 
grant entity includes--
            (1) State, local, or tribal governments or agencies 
        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 detailing the activities carried out 
with such grant, including any additional information the Attorney 
General may require.

SEC. 5. REPORTING.

    For each fiscal year for which amounts are appropriated 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 receiving grants under this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Dating violence.--The term ``dating violence'' 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 Violence 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--
                    (A) a person who has been a victim of domestic 
                violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 
                and
                    (B) a person whose family member or household 
                member has been a victim of domestic violence, dating 
                violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
            (5) Victim services organization.--The term ``victim 
        services organization'' means a nonprofit, nongovernmental 
        organization that provides assistance to victims of domestic 
        violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or to 
        advocates for such victims, including a rape crisis center, an 
        organization carrying out a domestic violence program, an 
        organization operating a shelter or providing counseling 
        services, or an organization providing assistance through the 
        legal process.
            (6) Youth.--The term ``youth'' means any individual age 11 
        to 25.
            (7) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate Congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
        on the Judiciary of the Senate.

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 appropriated to carry out this Act may be used 
for administration, monitoring and evaluation, or technical assistance.
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