BILL NUMBER: SB 914 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 14, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 5, 2004
INTRODUCED BY Senators Bowen, Escutia, Kuehl, and Speier
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to repeal Sections 124250 and 124251 of the Health
and Safety Code, to add Section 13823.13 to, and to repeal
Sections 13823.15, 13823.16, 13823.3, 13837, and 13838 of, the Penal
Code, relating to domestic violence, and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 914, as amended, Bowen. State Department of Health Services:
domestic violence prevention grant program.
The Office of Criminal Justice Planning was abolished in 2003
, and the authority for administering .
Existing law requires the Director of Finance to designate an agency
or agencies to carry out the functions of the office. The Office of
Criminal Justice Planning formerly administered certain grant
programs relating to victims of domestic violence and sex offenses
that were administered by that office are transferred to the
Office of Emergency Services .
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that
victims' services programs that were administered by the Office of
Criminal Justice Planning be temporarily redirected to the Office of
Emergency Services, and that certain programs involving domestic
violence and sexual assault be permanently consolidated in one
program within a state agency to be created and referred to as the
Office for Victim Services. The bill would revise the
administration of certain grant programs relating to victims of
domestic violence and sex offenses as administered by the Office of
Emergency Services , and express the intent of the
Legislature that administration of the programs be eventually
transferred to the Office of Victim Services, an office to be created
by future legislation .
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 124251 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 13823.13 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
13823.13. (a)
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature that victims'
services programs that were administered by the Office of Criminal
Justice Planning be temporarily redirected to the Office of Emergency
Services (OES) for the 2003-04 fiscal year with oversight by the
Office of Homeland Security (OHS). It is further the intent of the
Legislature that domestic violence programs within the Domestic
Violence Branch and sexual assault/rape crisis programs within the
Sexual Assault Branch of the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, and
the Battered Women's Shelter Program in the Department of Health
Services (DHS), be permanently consolidated into one program, office,
branch, or department, within one state agency, to be created, and
referred to as the Office for Victim Services (OVS).
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the goal or purpose
for the OVS
SEC. 2. Section 13823.13 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
13823.13. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a goal or
purpose of the Office of Emergency Services (OES) shall be to
ensure that all victims of sexual assault and rape, including adults,
children, women, and men, receive comprehensive quality services,
and to decrease the incidence of sexual assault through school and
community education and prevention programs.
(c)
(b) For purposes of this section, the OES shall administer
victim's victims' services programs and
require that all grantees providing services shall provide the
following eight mandated services , and the OES shall
provide financial and technical assistance to sexual assault and rape
crisis centers and programs in implementing all of the following
services:
(1) Crisis intervention, 24 hours per day, seven days per week
.
(2) Followup counseling services.
(3) In-person counseling, including group counseling.
(4) Accompaniment services.
(5) Advocacy services.
(6) Information and referrals to victims and the general public.
(7) Community education presentations.
(8) Rape prevention presentations and self-defense programs.
(d)
(c) For purposes of this section, the goal or purpose for
the OES shall be to ensure that victims of domestic violence receive
comprehensive quality services. The OES shall provide local
assistance to existing service providers, maintain and expand
services based on a demonstrated need, and to
develop and establish domestic violence services in underserved
areas. All grantees providing services shall provide the 16 mandated
services below and the OES shall provide financial and technical
assistance to domestic violence shelters in implementing all of the
following services:
(1) Emergency shelter to women and their children escaping violent
family situations.
(2) Legal and other types of advocacy and representation to help
women and their children pursue the appropriate legal options.
(3)
(2) Twenty-four-hour crisis hotlines.
(4)
(3) Counseling.
(5)
(4) Business centers.
(6) Emergency "safe" homes or shelters for victims and families.
(7)
(5) Emergency food and clothing.
(8)
(6) Emergency response to calls from law enforcement.
(9)
(7) Hospital emergency room protocol and assistance.
(10)
(8) Emergency transportation.
(11)
(9) Supportive peer counseling.
(12)
(10) Counseling for children.
(13)
(11) Court and social service advocacy.
(14)
(12) Legal assistance with temporary restraining orders
, devices, and custody disputes.
(15)
(13) Community resource and referral.
(16)
(14) Household establishment assistance. Priority for
financial and technical assistance shall be given to emergency
shelter programs and "safe" homes for victims of domestic violence
and their children.
(e)
(d) For purposes of this section, the OES shall conduct a
minimum of one site visit per grant term to each agency funded to
provide shelter-based services to battered women and their children
and sexual assault/rape crisis center. The purpose of the site visit
shall be a performance assessment of, and technical assistance for,
each shelter or center visited. The performance assessment shall
include, but need not be limited to, a review of all of the
following:
(1) Progress in meeting program goals and objectives.
(2) Shelter and center facilities.
(3) Personnel policies, files, and training.
(4) Recordkeeping, budgeting, and expenditures.
(5) Documentation, data collection, and client confidentiality.
(6) Subsequent to each site visit, the OES shall provide a written
report to the shelter or center summarizing its performance, any
deficiencies noted, and any corrective action needed, pursuant to the
timeframe designated in paragraphs (9) and (l0) below.
(f)
(e) The funding process for distributing grant awards to
victims' services providers who provide assistance to the victims of
domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape shall be administered by
the OVS OES as follows:
(1) The OES shall administer a comprehensive shelter-based
services grant program to battered women's
women and administer a comprehensive sexual assault/rape crisis
program pursuant to this section.
(2) OES shall be responsible for determining the process and
whether to grant, renew, or deny funding to any battered women's
shelter or sexual assault/rape crisis center or victim services
provider (collectively, VSP) applying or reapplying for funding under
the terms of the program.
(3) Grants shall be awarded to VSPs that propose to maintain
shelters or services previously granted funding pursuant to this
section, to expand existing services or create new services, and to
establish new battered women's shelters and sexual assault/rape
crisis centers and programs in underserved areas.
(4) Grants shall be awarded as a result of a request for
application/request for proposal (RFA/RFP) proposal
(RFP) process. The RFA/RFP RFP
shall comply with all applicable state and federal statutes for
domestic violence shelter funding and sexual assault funding, and
shall consist of no more than 25 pages for shelters or
centers VSPs applying for initial grants
, and no more than 10 pages for shelters
and centers VSPs funded in the previous cycle
and reapplying for grants.
(5) A grading system shall be established for the RFA/RFP
RFP process, and for the appeal process for
applications that are denied or that result in funding reductions. A
description of this grading system and appeal process shall be
provided to all VSPs prior to the VSP applying for grants under this
program.
(6) The OES shall determine when circumstances require an
expansion of funding to new or previously unfunded VSPs to
accommodate underserved areas. If supplemental funding is
unavailable, the OES shall have the authority to lower the base level
of grants to currently funded VSPs all
currently funded VSPs by no more than 10 percent in order to
provide funding for new or previously unfunded VSPs.
Funding reductions made to accommodate funding for new or previously
unfunded VSPs shall not be subject to appeal. Base
level funding reductions shall not occur during a funding cycle.
After the amount of funding reductions has been determined, base
level funding availability shall be provided to applicants prior to
the next RFP process. Funding reductions made under this paragraph
shall not be subject to appeal.
(7) VSPs reapplying for grants shall not be subject to a
competitive bidding grant process. Any VSP funded through this
program in the previous grant cycle shall be refunded, upon
reapplication unless its past performance history, evaluated as
described in paragraph (8), fails to meet minimum standards, provided
however, that the amount funded may be more or less than the
previous funding cycle, depending on the amount of funding available.
(8) The RFA/RFP RFP process for VSPs
reapplying for grant funds shall consist in part of a performance
assessment of the VSP's past performance history. The assessment
shall be made by the OVS/OVSOB OES and
shall include, but not be limited to, a site visit and a review of
all of the following:
(A) Progress in meeting program goals and objectives.
(B) Agency organization and facilities.
(C) Personnel policies, files, and training.
(D) Recordkeeping, budgeting, and expenditures.
(E) Documentation, data collection, and client confidentiality.
(9) After each site visit conducted under paragraph (8), the OES
shall provide a written report to the VSP summarizing the VSP's
performance, any deficiencies noted, any corrective action needed,
and a deadline for corrective action to be completed. The OES shall
submit its written report to the VSP no more than 30 days after the
site visit assessment. No reapplication for funding by a VSP funded
in the previous grant cycle , shall be denied if
the VSP did not receive a site assessment visit during the
previous cycle and no less than six months prior to next RFP/RFA
process begins. that occurred during the previous
cycle and at least six months prior to the beginning of the next RFP
process.
(10) (A) The OES shall establish a grading system for
evaluating performance assessments in accordance with specified
minimum standards for VSP funding, and shall provide a description of
this grading system to all VSPs receiving grants under this program.
VSPs receiving written reports of deficiencies or orders for
corrective action after a site visit assessment shall be given no
more than six months time to take corrective action before the next
RFP/RFA RFP process begins.
(11) If corrective action is ordered, and a VSP fails to comply,
or if other deficiencies exist that, in the judgment of the OES
, cannot be corrected, the OES shall determine, using its
grading system where appropriate, whether continued funding for the
VSP should be reduced or denied altogether. If a VSP has been
determined to be deficient the OVS OES
may reserve the right to deny any further funding even if
the terms of the grant are midgrant funding cycle. .
(12) If a VSP applies or reapplies for funding pursuant to this
section and that funding is denied or reduced, the denial or
reduction decision shall be provided in writing to the VSP, along
with a written explanation of the reasons for the reduction or denial
made in accordance with the grading system for RFA/RFPs
RFPs or for past performance assessments, or the
minimum standards for shelter or centers operations. Any appeal of
the decision to deny funding shall be made in accordance with the
appeal process established by the OES and made available to all VSPs
applying for funding.
(g)
(f) The OES shall administer grants, awarded as the result
of a request for application process, to VSPs to conduct
demonstration projects to serve battered women and victims of sexual
assault, including, but not limited to, creative and innovative
service approaches, such as community response teams and pilot
projects to develop new interventions emphasizing prevention and
education, and other support projects.
(h)
(g) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this
section, VSPs shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 20 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
(2) For domestic violence shelters, ensure that appropriate staff
and volunteers having client contact meet the definition of "domestic
violence counselor" as specified in subdivision (a) of Section
1037.1 of the Evidence Code. The minimum training specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence
Code shall be provided to those staff and volunteers who do not meet
the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
(i)
(h) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of
this section:
(1) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent female intimate
partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
against the woman, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive,
coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance
from or control over, that woman.
(2) "Sexual assault" means to be assaulted in a sexual
manner, including rape, and includes all victims of sexual assault,
including adults, children, women, and men. sexual
battery, as defined by Section 243.4 of the Penal Code, or rape, as
defined by Section 261 or 262 of the Penal Code, committed against
all victims, including children, women, and men.
(3) "Shelter-based" means an established system of services where
battered women and their children may be provided safe or
confidential emergency housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not
limited to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
(4) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for battered women and
their children.
SEC. 4. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in the
future, the authority and responsibility for administering the
programs described in this act be vested with the Office of Victim
Services, to be created in future legislation, and to be under the
authority of the Office of Homeland Security.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Office of Victim
Services be administered by a five to nine member board, with members
appointed by the nomination of victims' organizations and coalitions
and the Governor, and confirmed by the Legislature, or have members
appointed by the Legislature. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that the board would ensure a close working relationship
with all of the organizations concerned with victims' rights and
services, that members of the board would have demonstrated an active
interest in or have had a direct experience with the problems,
needs, and treatment of victims of crime, that criteria ensuring a
sufficient background in victims' issues would be established for
board members, and that board members would serve staggered terms, in
order to preserve continuity of leadership, with a maximum term of
four years. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the board
would make all final decisions regarding grant awards and appeals on
grand awards.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the board
would appoint a Victim Services Advisory Committee, to be comprised
of no more than 25 members that would include victims, advocates, and
diverse service providers who are knowledgeable about victims'
issues, that the membership would represent the ethic and geographic
diversity of the state, and that the committee would assist the board
in determining service gaps for victims and prepare a strategic plan
to ensure a high level of coordination between government entities
that provide or fund services to victims.
SEC. 5.
SEC. 3. Section 13823.15 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 6.
SEC. 4. Section 13823.16 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 7.
SEC. 5. Section 13823.3 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 8.
SEC. 6. Section 13837 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 9.
SEC. 7. Section 13838 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 10.
SEC. 8. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure the efficient and orderly administration of
grant programs to assist victims of domestic violence and sex
offenses, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
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