# Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021

This bill strengthens and expands federal support for domestic violence prevention and victim services across the country. It increases funding for shelters, counseling programs, and emergency services that help people escaping abusive relationships, and it updates these programs to better address modern challenges like technology-enabled abuse and stalking.

The bill makes several practical improvements to how domestic violence services work. It requires shelters and service providers to better train their staff on trauma-informed care, meaning they understand how abuse affects people's mental and physical health. It also expands services to reach underserved populations, including immigrant communities, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities who may face unique barriers when seeking help. The legislation adds funding specifically for programs that help children who've witnessed domestic violence and for services that work with abusers to reduce repeat offenses.

On a day-to-day level, this means more resources flowing to local organizations that run hotlines, emergency shelters, legal aid services, and counseling programs. If you or someone you know experiences domestic violence, these improvements could mean better access to help in your community, whether that's a safe place to stay, legal assistance, or mental health support. The bill also encourages better coordination between police, courts, and social services so that survivors get consistent support throughout the legal process. While the bill doesn't directly change laws about what constitutes domestic violence, it makes the existing support system more robust and responsive to people's actual needs.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021

Casey, Robert P., Jr.

Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021 This bill modifies, expands, and reauthorizes through FY2026 the Family Violence and Prevention Services program, which funds emergency shelters and supports related assistance for victims of domestic violence. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants and enter cooperative agreements with state and tribal domestic violence coalitions, and community-based organizations, to support prevention services. Depending on the type of organization, grant recipients must use funding to (1) provide technical assistance; (2) promote evidence-informed prevention strategies; (3) implement coordinated, community responses to reduce risk factors for family violence; and (4) develop prevention partnership strategies, among other uses. Further, HHS must award specified grants to organizations that provide population-specific services in underserved communities and to community-based organizations that provide culturally specific domestic violence services to racial and ethnic minority groups. The bill also establishes a grants program for tribal domestic violence coalitions to support the provision of local, tribal, family domestic or dating violence services and requires HHS to award a grant for the administration of a hotline dedicated to serving Indians affected by domestic violence. In addition, the bill modifies certain program-wide definitions; changes the requirements for specified grant applications, eligibility criteria, and use of funds; and makes other technical revisions.