1.This Act may be cited as
the Crime Victims with Disabilities
Act of 2008
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Adults with
disabilities experience violence or abuse at least twice as often as people
without disabilities, and adults with developmental disabilities are at risk of
being physically or sexually assaulted at rates four to ten times greater than
other adults.
(2)Individuals with
disabilities suffer from additional victimization
within the
justice system, due to lack of physical, programmatic, and communications
accommodations needed for equal access.
(3)Women with
disabilities are more likely to be victimized, to experience more severe and
prolonged violence, and to suffer more serious and chronic effects from that
violence, than women without such disabilities.
(4)Sixty-eight to 83
percent of women with developmental disabilities will be sexually assaulted in
their lifetime.
(5)An estimated
5,000,000 crimes are committed against individuals with developmental
disabilities annually.
(6)Over 70 percent
of crimes committed against individuals with developmental disabilities are not
reported.
(7)Studies in the
United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain consistently show that
victims with developmental disabilities suffer repeated victimization because
so few of the crimes against them are reported.
(8)The National
Crime Victims Survey conducted annually by the Bureau of Justice Statistics of
the Department of Justice, does not specifically collect data relating to
crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities, nor do they use
disability as a demographic variable as they use other important demographic
variables, such as gender, age, and racial and ethnic membership.
3.
(a)The purpose of this
Act is to increase the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of
crimes against individuals with a disability, including developmental
disabilities, and improve services to those who are victimized, by facilitating
collaboration among the criminal justice system and a range of agencies and
other organizations that provide services to individuals with
disabilities.
(b)Collaboration
among the criminal justice system and agencies and other organizations that
provide services to individuals with disabilities is needed to—
(1)protect
individuals with disabilities by ensuring that crimes are reported, and that
reported crimes are actively investigated by both law enforcement agencies and
agencies and other organizations that provide services to individuals with
disabilities;
(2)provide
prosecutors and victim assistance organizations with adequate training to
ensure that crimes against individuals with disabilities are appropriately and
effectively addressed in court;
(3)identify and
ensure that appropriate reasonable accommodations are provided to individuals
with disabilities in a safe and conducive environment, allowing crimes to be
reported accurately to law enforcement agencies; and
(4)promote
communication among criminal justice agencies, and agencies and other
organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities, including
Victim Assistance Organizations, to ensure that the needs of crime victims with
disabilities are met.
4.Department of
Justice Crime Victims With Disabilities Collaboration ProgramThe Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
JJGrants to
respond to crimes against individuals with disabilities
3001.Crime Victims
with Disabilities Collaboration Program grants
(a)In this section:
(1)The
term applicant means a State, unit of local government, Indian
tribe, or tribal organization that applies for a grant under this
section.
(2)The term collaboration program means a
program to ensure coordination between or among a criminal justice agency, an
adult protective services agency, a victim assistance organization, and an
agency or other organization that provides services to individuals with
disabilities, including but not limited to individuals with developmental
disabilities, to address crimes committed against individuals with disabilities
and to provide services to individuals with disabilities who are victims of
crimes.
(3)The term criminal justice agency
means an agency of a State, unit of local government, Indian tribe, or tribal
organization that is responsible for detection, investigation, arrest,
enforcement, adjudication, or incarceration relating to the violation of the
criminal laws of that State, unit of local government, Indian tribe, or tribal
organization, or an agency contracted to provide such services.
(4)Adult
protective services agencyThe term adult protective
services agency means an agency that provides adult protective services
to adults with disabilities, such as the protection and advocacy systems
established under section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and
Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15043), including—
(A)receiving reports
of abuse, neglect, or exploitation;
(B)investigating the
reports described in subparagraph (A);
(C)case planning,
monitoring, evaluation, and other casework and services; and
(D)providing,
arranging for, or facilitating the provision of medical, social service,
economic, legal, housing, law enforcement, or other protective, emergency, or
support services for adults with disabilities.
(5)The term day program means a government or
privately funded program that provides care, supervision, social opportunities,
or jobs to individuals with disabilities.
(6)The term implementation grant means a grant
under subsection (e).
(7)Individuals
with disabilitiesThe term individuals with
disabilities means individuals—
(A)18 years of age
or older; and
(B)who have a
developmental, cognitive, physical, or other disability that results in
substantial functional limitations in one or more of the following areas of
major life activity:
(i)Self-care.
(ii)Receptive and
expressive language.
(iii)Learning.
(iv)Mobility.
(v)Self-direction.
(vi)Capacity for
independent living.
(vii)Economic
self-sufficiency.
(viii)Cognitive
functioning.
(ix)Emotional
adjustment.
(8)The term planning grant means a grant under
subsection (f).
(9)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
(10)The term unit of local government means
any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general
purpose political subdivision of a State.
(b)In
consultation with the Secretary, the Attorney General may make grants to
applicants to prepare a comprehensive plan for or to implement a collaboration
program that provides for—
(1)the investigation
and remediation of instances of abuse of or crimes committed against
individuals with disabilities; or
(2)the provision of
services to individuals with disabilities who are the victims of a crime or
abuse.
(c)A grant under this section shall be used for a
collaborative program that—
(1)receives reports
of abuse of individuals with disabilities or crimes committed against such
individuals;
(2)investigates and
evaluates reports of abuse of or crimes committed against individuals with
disabilities;
(3)visits the homes
or other locations of abuse, and, if applicable, the day programs of
individuals with disabilities who have been victims of abuse or a crime for
purposes of, among other things, assessing the scene of the abuse and
evaluating the condition and needs of the victim;
(4)identifies the
individuals responsible for the abuse of or crimes committed against
individuals with disabilities;
(5)remedies issues
identified during an investigation described in paragraph (2);
(6)prosecutes the
perpetrator, where appropriate, of any crime identified during an investigation
described in paragraph (2);
(7)provides services
to and enforces statutory rights of individuals with disabilities who are the
victims of a crime; and
(8)develops
curricula and provides interdisciplinary training for prosecutors, criminal
justice agencies, protective service agencies, victims assistance agencies,
educators, community based providers and health, mental health, and allied
health professionals in the area of disabilities, including developmental
disabilities.
(d)
(1)To receive a planning grant or an implementation grant,
an applicant shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary, may reasonably require, in addition to the
information required by subsection (e)(1) or (f)(1), respectively.
(2)Combined
planning and implementation grant application
(A)The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary,
shall develop a procedure allowing an applicant to submit a single application
requesting both a planning grant and an implementation grant.
(B)The award of an implementation grant to an applicant
submitting an application under subparagraph (A) shall be conditioned on
successful completion of the activities funded under the planning grant, if
applicable.
(e)
(1)An
application for a planning grant shall include, at a minimum—
(A)a budget;
(B)a budget
justification;
(C)a description of
the outcome measures that will be used to measure the effectiveness of the
program;
(D)a schedule for
completing the activities proposed in the application;
(E)a description of
the personnel necessary to complete activities proposed in the application;
and
(F)provide
assurances that program activities and locations are and will be in compliance
with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 throughout the grant
period.
(2)A planning grant shall be made for a period of 1 year,
beginning on the first day of the month in which the planning grant is
made.
(3)The
amount of planning grant shall not exceed $50,000, except that the Attorney
General may, for good cause, approve a grant in a higher amount.
(4)The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary,
shall not make more than one such planning grant to any State, unit of local
government, Indian tribe, or tribal organization.
(f)
(1)Implementation
grant applicationsAn application for an implementation grant
shall include the following:
(A)An
application for an implementation grant shall—
(i)identify not
fewer than one criminal justice enforcement agency or adult protective services
organization and not fewer than one agency, crime victim assistance program, or
other organization that provides services to individuals with disabilities,
such as the protection and advocacy systems established under section 143 of
the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42
U.S.C. 15043), that will participate in the collaborative program; and
(ii)describe the
responsibilities of each participating agency or organization, including how
each agency or organization will use grant funds to facilitate improved
responses to reports of abuse and crimes committed against individuals with
disabilities.
(B)An
application for an implementation grant shall describe the guidelines that will
be developed for personnel of a criminal justice agency, adult protective
services organization, crime victim assistance program, and agencies or other
organizations responsible for services provided to individuals with
disabilities to carry out the goals of the collaborative program.
(C)An
application for an implementation grant shall—
(i)explain why the
applicant is unable to fund the collaboration program adequately without
Federal funds;
(ii)specify how the
Federal funds provided will be used to supplement, and not supplant, the
funding that would otherwise be available from the State, unit of local
government, Indian tribe, or tribal organization; and
(iii)outline plans
for obtaining necessary support and continuing the proposed collaboration
program following the conclusion of the grant under this section.
(D)An
application for an implementation grant shall—
(i)identify the
methodology and outcome measures, as required by the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary, for evaluating the effectiveness of the
collaboration program, which may include—
(I)the number and
type of agencies participating in the collaboration;
(II)any trends in
the number and type of cases referred for multidisciplinary case review;
(III)any trends in
the timeliness of law enforcement review of reported cases of violence against
individuals with a disability; and
(IV)the number of
persons receiving training by type of agency;
(ii)describe the
mechanisms of any existing system to capture data necessary to evaluate the
effectiveness of the collaboration program, consistent with the methodology and
outcome measures described in clause (i) and including, where possible, data
regarding—
(I)the number of
cases referred by the adult protective services agency, or other relevant
agency, to law enforcement for review;
(II)the number of
charges filed and percentage of cases with charges filed as a result of such
referrals;
(III)the period of
time between reports of violence against individuals with disabilities and law
enforcement review; and
(IV)the number of
cases resulting in criminal prosecution, and the result of each such
prosecution; and
(iii)include an
agreement from any participating or affected agency or organization to provide
the data described in clause (ii).
(E)The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary,
shall promulgate and supply a common electronic reporting form or other
standardized mechanism for reporting of data required under this
section.
(F)Not less than 5 percent and not more than 10 percent of
the funds provided under an implementation grant shall be set aside to procure
technical assistance from any recognized State model program or from a
recognized national organization, as determined by the Attorney General (in
consultation with the Secretary), including the National District Attorneys
Association and the National Adult Protective Services Association.
(G)An applicant for an implementation grant shall describe
the relationship of the collaboration program to any other program of a
criminal justice agency or other agencies or organizations providing services
to individuals with disabilities of the State, unit of local government, Indian
tribe, or tribal organization applying for an implementation grant.
(2)
(A)An implementation grant shall be made for a period of 2
years, beginning on the first day of the month in which the implementation
grant is made.
(B)An
implementation grant may be renewed for one additional period of 2 years, if
the applicant submits to the Attorney General and the Secretary a detailed
explanation of why additional funds are necessary.
(3)An
implementation grant shall not exceed $300,000.
(g)Evaluation of
program efficacy
(1)The
Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, shall establish a
national center to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the collaboration
programs funded under this section.
(2)The
national center established under paragraph (1) shall—
(A)analyze
information and data supplied by grantees under this section; and
(B)submit an annual
report to the Attorney General and the Secretary that evaluates the number and
rate of change of reporting, investigation, and prosecution of charges of a
crime or abuse against individuals with disabilities.
(3)The
Attorney General may use not more than $500,000 of amounts made available under
subsection (h) to carry out this subsection.
(h)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Department of Justice to carry out this section—
(1)$10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2009; and
(2)such sums as are
necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through
2015.
.
5.Research grant
and report
(a)The purpose of this section is to provide for research to
assist the Attorney General in collecting valid, reliable national data
relating to crimes against individuals with developmental and related
disabilities for the National Crime Victims Survey conducted by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice as required by the Crime
Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act.
(b)National
interdisciplinary advisory council
(1)Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a national
interdisciplinary advisory council (referred to in this section as the
advisory council
), that includes individuals with disabilities,
which shall provide input into the methodologies used to collect valid,
reliable national data on crime victims with developmental and related
disabilities, participate in reviewing the data collected through the research
grant program, and assist in writing the final report.
(2)Not later than 6 months after the establishment of
the advisory council, the advisory council shall provide to the Secretary of
Health and Human Services its recommended methodology for collecting incidence
data on violence against people with developmental and related
disabilities.
(c)Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—
(1)review the
methodology developed by the advisory council related to collecting incidence
data on violence against people with developmental and related disabilities;
and
(2)based on such
review, shall award grants in accordance with this section to eligible
recipients, to collect valid, reliable national data on crime victims with
developmental and related disabilities that can be validly compared to data
from the National Crime Victims Survey.
(d)Not
later than 12 months after the Secretary of Health and Human Services awards
the research grants under subsection (c), the advisory council shall review the
data eligible recipients of the grants collected and write a report to be
presented to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General,
and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(e)
(1)The term eligible recipient means—
(A)a State
agency;
(B)a private,
nonprofit organization;
(C)a University
Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; or
(D)any public entity
that has a demonstrated ability to—
(i)collaborate with
criminal justice, child welfare, and other agencies and organizations that
provide services to individuals with disabilities, including victim assistance
and violence prevention organizations, to ensure that incidence data can be
aggregated to accurately show the incidence of abuse of individuals with
disabilities nationally; and
(ii)conduct research
and collect data to measure the extent of the problem of crimes against
individuals with developmental and related disabilities, including—
(I)understanding the
nature and extent of crimes against individuals with developmental and related
disabilities, including domestic violence and all types of abuse;
(II)describing the
manner in which the justice system responds to crimes against individuals with
developmental and related disabilities; and
(III)identifying
programs, policies, or laws that hold promises for making the justice system
more responsive to crimes against individuals with developmental and related
disabilities.
(2)Developmental
disabilitiesThe term developmental disabilities has
the meaning given that term in section 102(8) of the Developmental Disabilities
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002(8)).
(3)The term related disabilities means
autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, traumatic
brain injury, or other lifelong disabilities that are acquired prior to the age
of 21.
(f)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through
2012.