[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4118 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4118
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to build safer,
thriving communities, and save lives, by investing in effective
community-based violence reduction initiatives, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Break the Cycle of
Violence Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Sec. 101. Community-based violence intervention program grants.
Sec. 102. Office of Community Violence Intervention.
Sec. 103. Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee.
Sec. 104. Creation of a National Community Violence Response Center.
Sec. 105. Sense of Congress regarding services for victims of violent
crime.
Sec. 106. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Sec. 201. Improving approaches for communities to thrive (IMPACT)
grants.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Community violence is a significant public health,
public safety, and community infrastructure concern nationwide
and is a leading cause of death, injury, and trauma for people
in the United States that disrupts employment and hinders a
community's social and economic development.
(2) From 2010 to 2019, over 175,000 people were murdered in
the United States. Hundreds of thousands more were hospitalized
or treated in emergency departments after surviving life-
changing gunshot injuries and other violent assaults.
(3) In 2020, the Nation suffered the largest single-year
spike in homicides on record, driven largely by record spikes
in fatal shootings. Nationwide, 75 percent of all homicides are
committed with a gun.
(4) Communities across the Nation experience enormous
disparities in safety that are driven by inequitable social and
structural determinants of health. Interpersonal shootings are
disproportionately concentrated in neighborhoods harmed by past
and present racial discrimination, segregation, redlining,
disinvestment, mass incarceration, and concentrated poverty,
and this violence's toll falls overwhelmingly on people of
color, especially young Black and brown men and boys and their
loved ones. From 2015 to 2019, Black children and teens were 14
times as likely to be shot to death as their White peers.
Hispanic children and teens and Native American children and
teens were both about 3 times as likely to be shot to death as
their White peers. Over this period, 72 percent of children
murdered before their 18th birthday were people of color, and
50 percent were Black.
(5) Black boys and men make up less than 7 percent of the
population in the United States, but account for more than 50
percent of all gun homicide victims each year. Violence is
responsible for nearly half of all deaths among Black boys and
young men, ages 15 through 24, meaning the parents of a Black
son in this age group are as likely to lose their child to
homicide as nearly every other cause of death combined.
(6) This violence imposes enormous human, social, and
economic costs. The Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's Division of Violence Prevention presented
research to Congress demonstrating that ``youth living in inner
cities show a higher prevalence of post-traumatic stress
disorder than soldiers'' in the Nation's wartime military.
While the vast majority of these young people resiliently
persevere, people who have been victims of violence are at
substantially higher risk of being violently re-attacked or
killed. Additionally, both direct and indirect violence
exposure have been associated with a host of poor health
outcomes, including chronic illness, anxiety, depression, and
substance misuse.
(7) When properly implemented and consistently funded,
coordinated, community-based strategies that utilize trauma-
responsive care and interrupt cycles of violence can produce
lifesaving and cost-saving results in a short period of time
without contributing to mass incarceration. These strategies
identify those at the highest risk, coordinate individualized
wraparound resources, provide pathways to healing and
stability, and monitor and support long-term success. Many
cities have substantially reduced community violence in recent
years by implementing various combinations of these strategies,
which include the following:
(A) Community outreach programs, which hire
violence intervention and prevention specialists who
have established relationships, relatable lived
experiences, and credibility with individuals in their
communities at high risk of violence and connect them
with intensive counseling, mediation, peer support, and
social services in order to reduce their risk.
Evaluations have found that these programs,
particularly when integrated into wider networks of
supportive services, are frequently associated with
significant reductions in gun violence.
(B) Hospital-based violence intervention programs
(referred to in this section as ``HVIP''), which work
to break cycles of violence by leveraging credible
violence intervention and prevention specialists to
provide intensive counseling, peer support, case
management, mediation, and social services to patients
recovering from gunshot wounds and other violent
injuries. Research has shown that violently injured
patients are at high risk of retaliating with violence
themselves or being revictimized by violence in the
near future. Evaluations of HVIPs have found that
patients who received HVIP services were often less
likely to be convicted of a violent crime and less
likely to be subsequently reinjured by violence than
patients who did not receive HVIP services.
(C) Group violence interventions provide tailored
social services and support to group-involved
individuals at highest risk for involvement in
community violence. This intervention, which must be
trauma informed, culturally responsive, and community
driven to be most successful, includes a process for
community members to voice a clear demand for the
violence to stop and narrowly focused enforcement
actions against those who continue to engage in acts of
serious violence. The approach coordinates law
enforcement, service providers, and community
engagement efforts to reduce violence in ways that do
not contribute to mass incarceration.
(D) Violence interruption and crisis management,
which respond to potentially violent incidents to
mediate conflicts or to scenes where violence has
occurred to offer trauma-informed services and
community supports to survivors and others exposed to
violence. These strategies help to prevent retaliatory
violence and promote healing and well-being. Programs
that include these components have reported
deescalating dozens of disputes that were highly likely
to end in lethal violence.
(8) Access to job and entrepreneurship training,
apprenticeship, and technological and digital literacy programs
are effective tools in reducing community violence. A 2012
University of Pennsylvania study of 13 high-violence schools in
the Chicago area found ``well-targeted, low-cost employment
policies can make a substantial difference'', and the city's
most violent neighborhoods saw a 43 percent drop in violent-
crime arrests of participants in a youth job program.
(9) Individualized wraparound services and opportunities
include, but are not limited to, housing support, financial
assistance, reentry services, legal assistance, therapeutic
services, grief counseling or targeted victim services, and
skill building based on the needs of survivors or individuals
at the highest risk of community violence. Leveraging the
relationships of violence intervention and prevention
specialists, these services are used in the context of
structured, person-centered peer mentorship that facilitates
personal transformation by meeting people where they are and
offering to help participants change the trajectories of their
lives.
(10) The past year has had a disproportionate impact on
youth unemployment, with 2.9 million more unemployed youth in
mid-2020 compared with pre-2020 levels. Simultaneously, the
2020 recession accelerated an already increasingly digital and
automated workforce, and youth must attain the digital,
technological, and other technical skills necessary to thrive
in the future of work. While jobs in the customer service and
food industry could fall by 4.3 million between 2018 and 2030,
health care and STEM occupations could grow more now than ever.
(11) Intentional and sustained investments in community-
based violence reduction strategies can reverse recent
increases in homicides, help to heal impacted communities, and
reduce the enormous human and economic costs of community
violence, without contributing to mass incarceration.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Community violence.--The term ``community violence''--
(A) means nonfatal firearm injuries, aggravated
assaults, homicides, and other acts of life-threatening
interpersonal violence committed outside the context of
a familial or romantic relationship; and
(B) does not include acts of violence motivated by
political beliefs.
(2) Eligible unit of local government.--The term ``eligible
unit of local government'' means a municipality or other local
government that--
(A) for not less than 2 out of the 3 calendar years
preceding the date on which an application for a grant
is submitted under section 101--
(i) experienced 35 or more homicides per
year; or
(ii) experienced 20 or more homicides per
year and had a homicide rate that was not less
than double the national average; or
(B) has a compelling need to address community
violence, as determined by the Secretary, based on high
levels of homicide relative to other localities within
the same State.
(3) Opportunity youth.--The term ``opportunity youth''
means individuals who--
(A) have attained 16 years of age but not yet
attained 25 years of age; and
(B) are not--
(i) enrolled in education or training on a
full-time or part-time basis; or
(ii) employed on a full-time or part-time
basis.
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM GRANTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in
this title referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall award grants to
eligible entities to support, enhance, and replicate coordinated
community violence intervention.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to seek a grant under this
section, an entity shall be--
(1) a community-based, nonprofit organization that--
(A) serves the residents served by an eligible unit
of local government; and
(B) has a track record of providing community-
related activities or support program innovation in
communities of color; or
(2) an eligible unit of local government.
(c) Limitation.--Of the amount made available to carry out this
title for a fiscal year, not more than 15 percent of such amount shall
be made available to eligible units of local government.
(d) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--A grant awarded under this section shall
be used to implement coordinated community violence
intervention initiatives, through coordinated, community-based
strategies.
(2) Requirements.--A community violence intervention
initiative implemented using grant funds awarded under this
section shall--
(A) be primarily focused on providing culturally
competent, community-based violence intervention
services to the portion of a grantee's community who
are, regardless of age, identified as being at high
risk of being victimized by, or engaging in, community
violence; and
(B) use strategies that--
(i) are evidence-informed and have
demonstrated promise at reducing community
violence without contributing to mass
incarceration;
(ii) utilize trauma-responsive care and
interrupt cycles of violence;
(iii) expand economic opportunity through
new jobs, educational opportunities, or
training programs; and
(iv) are primarily focused on individuals
at high risk of being victimized by, or
engaging in, community violence.
(3) Community partnerships.--
(A) Eligible units of local government.--Each
eligible unit of local government awarded a grant under
this section shall distribute not less than 75 percent
of such grant funds to one or more of the following:
(i) A community-based organization or
nonprofit organization.
(ii) A public agency or department that is
primarily dedicated to the prevention of
violence or to community safety, but is not a
law enforcement agency.
(B) Hospitals.--Each hospital awarded a grant under
this section in the hospital's capacity as a community-
based, nonprofit organization described in subsection
(b)(1) shall distribute not less than 90 percent of
such grant funds to one or more of the following:
(i) A community-based organization or
nonprofit organization that provides direct
services to individuals who have been
victimized by community violence.
(ii) Direct program staff.
(iii) Individual subcontractors who provide
direct program-related services.
(e) Application Requirements.--Each applicant for a grant under
this section shall submit a grant proposal, which shall, at a minimum--
(1) describe how the applicant proposes to use the grant to
implement a coordinated community violence intervention
initiative in accordance with this section;
(2) describe how the applicant proposes to use the grant to
promote or improve coordination between relevant agencies and
community organizations in order to minimize duplication of
services, complement other community violence intervention
efforts, and achieve maximum impact;
(3) provide evidence indicating that the proposed community
violence intervention initiative would likely reduce community
violence or address the trauma and collateral consequences for
individuals at high risk of being victimized by, or engaging
in, community violence;
(4) describe how the applicant plans to ensure the
community violence intervention initiative is implemented in a
manner that is--
(A) evidence-informed; and
(B) coordinated with the programs and activities of
other entities for addressing community violence; and
(5) in the case of a unit of local government applicant,
demonstrate strong support from community partners with
experience engaging individuals at high risk of being
victimized by, or engaging in, community violence, as
demonstrated by--
(A) the development of a community steering
committee that--
(i) provides advice and assistance to the
locality in administering grants awarded under
this section; and
(ii) is composed of individuals who
substantially reflect local populations
impacted by community violence, including
survivors of community violence and individuals
with expertise in culturally competent and
trauma-informed approaches to reducing
community violence; and
(B) letters of support from individuals, such as--
(i) the mayor or chief executive officer of
the unit of local government; and
(ii) the director of one or more community-
based organizations that provide services to
individuals at high risk of being victimized
by, or engaging in, community violence.
(f) Prioritization.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give preference to applicants whose grant proposals
demonstrate the greatest likelihood of reducing community violence in
the target area without contributing to mass incarceration.
(g) Grant Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be
for a 4-year period.
(h) Grant Award.--The amount awarded to an applicant under this
section shall be commensurate with--
(1) the scope of the proposal; and
(2) the demonstrated need for additional resources to
effectively reduce community violence in the applicant's
community.
(i) Matching Funds Required.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), the Federal share of each grant awarded under this section
shall be 90 percent of the eligible costs incurred by the grant
recipient.
(2) Exemption from requirement.--Paragraph (1) shall not
apply to a grant awarded to a community-based organization
described in subsection (b)(1).
(3) Waiver.--The Federal share of a grant awarded to a unit
of local government (that is an eligible entity under
subsection (b)(2)) may be up to 100 percent if the Secretary
determines there is good cause to waive the Federal share
requirement under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(j) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the
first 4-year grant period under this section ends, the Secretary shall
publish a report identifying best practices for grantees under this
section to implement community-based violence intervention initiatives.
(k) Rewarding Success.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may reserve not more than 10
percent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year to carry
out this title for supplemental incentive funds to be
distributed to grantees outside the competitive grant process
in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) Distribution of additional funds.--The Secretary may
distribute amounts reserved under paragraph (1), in the
discretion of the Secretary, to grantees under subsection (a)
that have--
(A) implemented the grant for not less than 2
years;
(B) demonstrated exceptional commitment and
progress toward implementing the grantee's community
violence reduction initiative; and
(C) shown that the grantee would likely achieve
more substantial reductions in community violence with
additional Federal funding.
(3) Federal share.--Subsection (i) shall not apply to any
amounts distributed to a grantee under this subsection.
(4) Explanation of distribution.--Upon distributing
supplemental incentive funds to a grantee, the Secretary shall
publish a statement on the website of the Department of Health
and Human Services that clearly explains the basis for the
decision to award such funds to a particular grantee.
(l) Evaluation and Intensive Site Implementation Support.--The
Secretary may reserve not more than 8 percent of the funds appropriated
for a fiscal year to carry out this title for the purpose of--
(1) contracting with or hiring intensive site
implementation providers with experience implementing community
violence intervention strategies;
(2) providing grants to applicants under subsection (a)
that provide training and certification to community violence
intervention and prevention professionals in order to expand
the field and build capacity of frontline workers and other
providers; and
(3) contracting with independent researchers to evaluate
the implementation, performance, and impact of selected
initiatives supported by the grants made under this section,
which evaluations shall be made publicly available on the
website of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(m) Supplement, Not Supplant.--A grantee receiving a grant under
this section shall use the grant to supplement, and not supplant, the
amount of funds the grantee would otherwise dedicate to a community
violence intervention initiative.
SEC. 102. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within the
Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Community
Violence Intervention (in this title referred to as the ``Office''), to
be headed by a director.
(b) Duties.--The Secretary shall delegate to the Director of the
Office responsibility for implementing the provisions of this title.
(c) Reservation.--Of the amount made available to carry out this
title for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than 5
percent for the administrative expenses of the Office.
SEC. 103. COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a Community
Violence Intervention Advisory Committee (in this title referred to as
the ``Advisory Committee'') to provide advice and assistance to the
Secretary and Office in carrying out this title, including--
(1) development of grant solicitations;
(2) raising awareness about grant solicitations among
potentially eligible units of government and organizations;
(3) selection of grant proposals;
(4) selection of grantees to receive supplemental funds in
accordance with section 101(l); and
(5) formation of the National Community Violence Response
Center under section 104.
(b) Members.--In appointing members of the Advisory Committee, the
Secretary shall--
(1) appoint the members from among individuals with
expertise implementing or evaluating community violence
intervention initiatives;
(2) include a representative with expertise in workforce
development selected by the Secretary of Labor;
(3) ensure the membership of the Advisory Committee
reflects a commitment to culturally competent and trauma-
informed approaches to preventing violence among individuals at
high risk of violence; and
(4) ensure that the members of the Advisory Committee
include substantial representation of communities of color
disproportionately impacted by community violence.
SEC. 104. CREATION OF A NATIONAL COMMUNITY VIOLENCE RESPONSE CENTER.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and operate a
National Community Violence Response Center (referred to in this
section as the ``Center'').
(b) Duties.--The Center shall have the following roles and
responsibilities:
(1) Assessment; technical assistance.--The Office and the
Center, with the advice of the Advisory Committee, shall--
(A) develop a four-tier taxonomy to assess the
maturity of community violence infrastructure among
grantees under section 101; and
(B) provide technical assistance to grantees under
section 101 in the implementation of coordinated
community violence intervention funded through the
grant.
(2) Intensive site implementation support.--The Center
shall--
(A) develop intensive site implementation support
for each of the four tiers to maximize the
effectiveness of the development of community violence
initiatives;
(B) develop intensive site implementation support
for each eligible unit of local government that is a
grant recipient to assess the contours of the community
violence within the jurisdiction and identify relevant
community-based interventions that may be successful at
preventing future community violence; and
(C) provide ongoing support to community-based
organizations to facilitate site infrastructure
building, program implementation and operation, and
quality improvement assistance.
(3) Data collection.--
(A) Policies.--The Office and the Center shall
develop data collection policies for grant recipients
that measure safety, community health, opportunity
youth engagement, economic development, and recidivism.
(B) Assistance.--The Center shall assist grant
recipients in establishing data collection systems and
practices, and collect data from the grant recipients.
(4) Research coordination.--
(A) Establishment of advisory council.--The Center,
in consultation with nonprofit, nongovernmental
organizations and researchers whose primary expertise
is in community violence, shall establish a Community
Violence Research Advisory Council (in this paragraph
referred to as the ``Research Advisory Council'')--
(i) to coordinate research on community
violence; and
(ii) to report to the Congress on any gaps
on issues related to community violence.
(B) Membership.--The Research Advisory Council
shall include representatives from--
(i) all Federal agencies that fund research
on community violence; and
(ii) the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(C) Duties.--The Research Advisory Council shall
provide advice and assistance to the Center to--
(i) develop a coordinated strategy to
strengthen research focused on community
violence education, prevention, and
intervention strategies;
(ii) track and report all Federal research
and expenditures related to community violence;
and
(iii) identify gaps in community violence
research, governmental expenditures on
community violence issues, and promising
strategies that have not yet been rigorously
evaluated.
(5) Conferral.--
(A) In general.--The Center shall establish a
biennial conference to include--
(i) grantees and providers of intensive
site implementation support in the community
violence field that receive funding under this
title or title II; and
(ii) other key stakeholders.
(B) Topics.--The topics to be addressed at the
biennial conference shall include--
(i) the administration of grants;
(ii) challenges and gaps in community
violence intervention initiatives;
(iii) strategies for overcoming such
challenges and gaps;
(iv) promising practices in the field; and
(v) emerging trends.
(C) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the
conclusion of each biennial conference, the Center
shall publish a comprehensive report that--
(i) summarizes the issues presented during
the conference and what, if any, policies the
Center intends to implement to address those
issues; and
(ii) is made available to the public on the
Center's website and submitted to the Congress.
(6) Capacity building and fostering innovation.--The Center
shall--
(A) promote expansion and development of the field
of community violence intervention and prevention,
including fostering collaboration, information sharing,
and dissemination of best practices among
practitioners, providers of intensive site
implementation support, and programs and individuals
working in the same regions or States, including the
identification and dissemination to the public of best
practices for addressing community violence;
(B) develop a plan for expanding providers of
intensive site implementation support in the field of
community violence intervention and prevention;
(C) develop a plan for identifying innovative
community violence intervention and prevention
strategies that are in need of further research and
evaluation; and
(D) develop a plan for providing ongoing intensive
site support to organizations implementing community
violence intervention and prevention strategies.
(7) Reporting.--The Center shall annually provide a report
to the Congress addressing topics to include--
(A) national trends in community violence
statistics;
(B) a summary of the activities of the Center and
the Office under this title; and
(C) recommendations for improving the national
response to community violence.
SEC. 105. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENT
CRIME.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) community-based violence intervention programs have
shown effective results as a strategy in reducing the risk of
reinjury of, or retaliation by, victims of community violence,
and promoting victims' recovery and well-being;
(2) young men, boys, girls, and women of color are
disproportionately victimized by community violence, but are
frequently underserved by victim service providers; and
(3) States and territories should consider using funding
provided through the Crime Victims Fund to support community-
based violence intervention initiatives that provide services
for direct and secondary victims of community violence at high
risk for reinjury and involvement in community violence.
SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Health
and Human Services to carry out this title, in addition to any amounts
otherwise authorized to be appropriated or made available to the
Department of Health and Human Services for such purpose--
(1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(2) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and
(3) $700,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through
2029.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
SEC. 201. IMPROVING APPROACHES FOR COMMUNITIES TO THRIVE (IMPACT)
GRANTS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor (in this section referred
to as the ``Secretary'') shall award grants to eligible entities for
year-round job training and workforce programs authorized under section
129(c)(1) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3164(c)), with the elements described in section 129(c)(2)(C) of such
Act (29 U.S.C. 3164(c)(2)(C)), for opportunity youth in communities
disproportionately affected by gun violence for the purposes of
connecting opportunity youth to in-demand occupations.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to seek a grant under subsection
(a), an entity shall be--
(1) a community-based, nonprofit organization that--
(A) serves the residents served by an eligible unit
of local government;
(B) has a track record of providing community-
related activities or support program innovation in
communities of color;
(C) focuses on training technical skills to prepare
opportunity youth for in-demand occupations; and
(D) provides--
(i) training for opportunity youth who are
basic skills deficient; and
(ii) soft skills training that enables
opportunity youth to engage successfully in
work culture;
(2) an Indian Tribe or an agency primarily serving Native
Americans;
(3) an entity that carries out activities authorized under
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et
seq.) that has a focus on opportunity youth;
(4) a federally or State recognized apprenticeship program;
(5) an accredited community college; or
(6) an eligible unit of local government.
(c) Reporting.--The Secretary shall require grantees under this
section to report to the Secretary on primary measures funded under
this section for--
(1) entry into job training, education, apprenticeship,
skilled trades training, or other paid and unpaid work
experiences that have as a component academic and occupational
education programs; and
(2) changes in overall school enrollment, unemployment, or
weekly earnings for opportunity youth participating in
activities of the respective grantee.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Basic skills deficient.--The term ``basic skills
deficient'' means an individual who--
(A) is a youth and has English reading, writing, or
computing skills at or below the 8th grade level on a
generally accepted standardized test; or
(B) is unable to compute or solve problems, or
read, write, or speak English, at a level necessary to
function on the job, in the individual's family, or in
society.
(2) In-demand occupation.--The term ``in-demand
occupation'' means an occupation described in section
3(23)(A)(ii) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3102(23)(A)(ii)).
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000,000 for fiscal year
2022, to remain available through fiscal year 2029.
Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 2022.
Attest:
Clerk.
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4118
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to build safer,
thriving communities, and save lives, by investing in effective
community-based violence reduction initiatives, and for other purposes.