[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S8047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. Heitkamp):
S. 2230. 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; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2230
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 term ``domestic violence 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;
(2) the term ``homeless'' has the meaning given the term in
section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11302);
(3) the terms ``homeless individual with a disability'',
``permanent housing'', ``tenant-based'', ``transitional
housing'', and ``victim service provider'' have the meanings
given those terms in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360);
(4) the term ``rapid re-housing project'' means supportive
services and short- or medium-term tenant-based rental
assistance, as necessary, to help a homeless individual or
family, with or without a disability, move as soon as
possible into permanent housing and achieve stability in that
housing; and
(5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development.
SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING HOUSING RESOURCES PROTECTIONS FOR
VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE,
SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall take the following measures to
improve services provided to survivors of domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking:
(1) Equal consideration.--For purposes of scoring
applicants in the notice of funding availability for the
Continuum of Care program authorized under subtitle C of
title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) in any fiscal year, the Secretary shall
give equal consideration to--
(A) rapid re-housing projects;
(B) projects that provide permanent supportive housing; and
(C) domestic violence projects that maximize client choice,
including transitional housing that provide services and help
participants to secure permanent housing.
(2) Transitional housing projects.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall authorize any defunded
transitional housing project to reapply for funding.
(B) Treatment as rapid re-housing project.--The Secretary
shall consider a program receiving funds under section 40299
of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12351)
to be a rapid re-housing project if the program--
(i) provides not less than 6 months of housing assistance
to survivors; and
(ii) meets other criteria established by the Secretary.
(3) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall develop--
(A) measurable criteria upon which applicants are evaluated
to demonstrate their collaboration with victim service
providers to develop local policy priorities focused on
survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking, 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
(B) mechanisms that promote the provision of technical
assistance and support for programs to improve outcomes
instead of reallocating or not awarding funds.
(4) Research agenda.--The Secretary shall develop a
research agenda that focuses on survivors of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and
the housing modalities that best support them, especially the
critical safety concerns and the link between trauma and
residential stability.
SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO SAFE HOUSING FOR SURVIVORS OF
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL
ASSAULT, AND STALKING.
Section 427(b)(1) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) as clauses
(viii) and (ix), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
``(vii) success in addressing the safety needs of homeless
survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, and stalking;'';
(2) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in clause (iv)(VI), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); and
(C) by inserting after clause (iv)(VI) the following:
``(v) how the recipient will measure the success of the
victim service providers in meeting the housing, safety, and
trauma needs of victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking, with an explanation of
how the recipient will allow flexibility on other metrics
that may be impacted by the needs of survivors; and'';
(3) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking ``, and'' at the
end;
(4) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as subparagraph (H);
and
(5) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
``(G) success of the recipient in meeting the housing,
safety, and trauma needs of survivors of domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including
access to safe housing; and''.
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 to address the
housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and
(2) the increase in the allocation of resources for
domestic violence projects beginning after the date of
enactment of this Act.
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