US Codex
Bill
Notes

Title V — Access To Services

H.R. 629 · 113th Congress · Feb 13, 2013 · Lineage

V Access To Services

Sec. 501 Ensuring issuance of U- and T-visa certifications and access to services

(a)
Grant conditions— Section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925) is amended in subsection (b) by adding at the end the following:

“(12) Civil Rights

“(A) Nondiscrimination—No person in the United States shall on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, alienage status, sex, gender identity (as defined in paragraph 249(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code), sexual orientation, age, or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (title IV of Public Law 103–322; 108 Stat. 1902), the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (division B of Public Law 106–386; 114 Stat. 1491), the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (title IX of Public Law 109–162; 119 Stat. 3080), the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011, and any other program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds appropriated for grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance administered by the Office on Violence Against Women.

“(B) Exception—If gender segregation or gender-specific programming is necessary to the essential operation of a program, nothing in this paragraph shall prevent any such program or activity from consideration of an individual’s gender. In such circumstances, alternative reasonable accommodations are sufficient to meet the requirements of this paragraph.

“(C) Discrimination—The provisions of paragraphs (2) through (4) of section 809(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3789d(c)) apply to violations of subparagraph (A).

“(D) Construction—Nothing contained in this paragraph shall be construed, interpreted, or applied to supplant, displace, preempt, or otherwise diminish the responsibilities and liabilities under other State or Federal civil rights law, whether statutory or common.

“(13) Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—An entity applying for funding under this title shall certify to the Office on Violence Against Women that the entity will comply with their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including taking reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to its programs and activities by persons who are limited in their English proficiency, in order to avoid discrimination on the basis of national origin.

“(14) Content of applications—All grant applications submitted for funding shall contain documentation in the text of the grant application and a line item in the budget that provides for language access to the services being provided or documentation about local demographics justifying why the budget does not address language access.”

(b)
STOP grants—
(1)
Development of training— Section 2001(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(b)) is amended—
(A)
in paragraph (13), by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (D);
(B)
in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting “; and”; and
(C)
by adding after paragraph (14) the following new paragraph:

“(15) the development and implementation of procedures, policies, or protocols and training within courts, prosecutors’ offices, and law enforcement agencies to ensure that agency personnel have received training on and are not encouraging, promoting or facilitating the violation of Section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367) and that agencies receiving funding are issuing certifications in U-visa and T-visa cases for victims applying for relief under Section 101(a)(15)(T) and (U) of Immigration and Nationality Act.”

(2)
Funding priority— Section 2001(d) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg(d)) is amended by inserting at the end the following:

“(5) Priority in funding shall be given to programs whose applications demonstrate that the applicant has or is willing to implement within 6 month after receipt of funding protocols, policies, or practices that—

“(A) ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166;

“(B) ensure that the agency does not violate, facilitate or encourage the violation of VAWA confidentiality as defined in section 387 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1367); and

“(C) result in the agency issuing certifications for noncitizen victims applying for relief under sections 101(a)(15)(U) or 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if the applicant agency is eligible to sign certifications in T- or U-visa cases.”

(c)
Grants To encourage arrest policies—
(1)
Grant authority— Section 2101(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(14) To develop or strengthen policies, protocols and training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary in recognizing, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting instances of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking against immigrant victims, including the appropriate use of T and U visas (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15) (T) and (U)) and providing training on and are not encouraging, promoting or facilitating the violation of Section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367).

“(15) To develop or strengthen policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary on language access under Executive Order No. 13166 65 Fed. Reg. 50, 121 (Aug. 16, 2000).”

(2)
Eligibility— Section 2101(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh(c)) is amended—
(A)
in paragraph (4), by striking “and” at the end;
(B)
in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(6) Priority in funding shall be given to programs whose applications demonstrate that the applicant has or is willing to implement within 6 months after receipt of funding protocols, policies, or practices that—

“(A) ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166;

“(B) ensure that the agency does not violate, facilitate or encourage the violation of VAWA confidentiality as defined in section 387 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1367); and

“(C) result in the agency issuing certifications for noncitizen victims applying for relief under sections 101(a)(15)(U) or 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if the applicant agency is eligible to sign certifications in T- or U-visa cases.”

(d)
Transitional housing assistance grants— Section 40299 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13975) is amended in subsection (d)(2)(B) by—
(1)
inserting “— (i)” after “provide assurances that”; and
(2)
adding at the end the following:

“(ii) applicants are able to prove eligibility for the housing program funded under this grant using any credible evidence (as defined in section 204(a)(1)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(J))); and

“(iii) the program serves underserved victims and is compliant with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Executive Order 13166 (65 Fed. Reg. 50, 121).”

(e)
Campus grants available for victims with limited English proficiency— Section 304 of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 14045b) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)(4), by inserting “and language access to such services” after “physiological counseling,”;
(2)
in subsection (c)(2)(C), by inserting “proportion, demographics, and language needs of international students,” after “demographics of the population,”; and
(3)
in subsection (d)(1), by inserting “translation,” after “technical,”.

Sec. 502 VAWA unit adjudications

(a)
Transfer of all VAWA confidentiality and VAWA-Related cases to the VAWA unit— Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(52) Applications under sections 101(a)(51), 101(a)(15)(T), 101(a)(15)(U), 106, section 216(c)(4), and parole for children of VAWA cancellation recipients and the full range of adjudications related to such cases including adjustments, work authorizations, parole, fax-back benefits authorizations, employment verification, and naturalization, for applicants and derivative beneficiaries shall be adjudicated at the VAWA Unit of Vermont Service Center.”

(b)
Authorization of appropriations—
(1)
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security such sums as may be necessary to provide for the Violence Against Women Act Unit at the Vermont Service Center of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services which shall be responsible for processing consistent with VAWA confidentiality requirements the full range of adjudications, adjustments, work authorizations, parole, fax-back benefits and employment verification, and naturalization, for applicants and derivative beneficiaries related to VAWA self-petitions (INA section 101(a)(51); T visas (INA section 101(a)(15)(T), U visas (INA section 101(a)(15)(U); battered spouse waivers (INA section 216(c)(4)); abused immigrant work authorizations (INA section 106) and parole for children of VAWA cancellation recipients (Public Law 103–222, reauthorized Public Laws 106–326, 108–193; 109–162; 109–164) and any other VAWA confidentiality protected matters. Nothing in this section shall preclude DHS placement at the VAWA Unit of other victim related adjudications. Subject the authority of immigration judges adjudicate adjustment of status applications from aliens in proceedings who have been granted VAWA self-petition, T visas or U visas, no official in the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice is authorized to adjudicate any matter related that is directed by this section to be determined by the VAWA Unit.
(2)
The Department of Homeland Security shall include in its budget each year a specific line item describing funding included to support the VAWA Unit.

Sec. 503 Victims of Crime Act improvements

(a)
Crime victim compensation— Section 1403(b)(4) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602(b)(4)) is amended by inserting “or non-citizens of the United States” after “nonresidents of the State”.
(b)
Crime victim assistance— Section 1404 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10603) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(2)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “spousal abuse,” and inserting “ domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, elder abuse,”;
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by inserting “(i) are based on the definition of underserved populations as defined in section 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)), and (ii)” after “implement this section that”;
(C)
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
(D)
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph:

“(C) ensure that programs receiving funds are open to crime victims on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to language proficiency or alienage status.”

(2)
in subsection (b)(1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (E), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
(B)
by moving subparagraph (F) two ems to the left, and by striking the period at the end of such subparagraph and inserting “; and”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(G) does not discriminate against, and offers services and assistance to, victims who do not unreasonably refuse to provide assistance in a criminal investigation or prosecution. For purposes of this paragraph the definition of “do not unreasonably refuse to provide assistance” shall be the same as the used under section 245(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(m)).”

(3)
in subsection (c)(1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
(B)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “victim service organizations” and all that follows and inserting “victim service organizations, legal services programs, and coalitions to improve outreach and services to victims of crime, including immigrant, limited English proficient, and underserved victims; and”; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(D) for improving language access to victim services and the civil, criminal, immigration, and family justice systems.”

(4)
in subsection (d)—
(A)
in paragraph (2), by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:

“(C) assistance in participating in criminal, civil, family, and immigration justice system proceedings relating to prevention of, obtaining relief from, escaping, ameliorating the effects of, or offering future protection against, victimization; and”

(B)
in paragraph (4), by inserting “, and assistance to crime victims in obtaining protection orders and in obtaining immigration relief” after “of crime”.

Sec. 504 Research on violence against women

(a)
In general— Each of the research grant programs listed in subsection (b) shall include as a purpose and permitted use of Federal funding research—
(1)
on victimization by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence and elder abuse including dynamics;
(2)
intervention, impact, prevention, and effectiveness of—
(A)
victim services;
(B)
the civil and criminal justice system;
(C)
health care;
(D)
mental health care;
(E)
immigration relief;
(F)
legal assistance; and
(G)
other interventions;
(3)
outcomes for victims; and
(4)
victim’s access to services and protections, including the needs of underserved, immigrant and limited English proficient victims.
(b)
Application— Subsection (a) shall apply to research under the following:
(1)
National Institute of Justice— Section 202(c)(2) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3722).
(2)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Study by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control— Section 402(a) of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 280b–4(a)).
(3)
Interpersonal violence within families and among acquaintances— Section 393 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b–1a).
(4)
Agency for healthcare research and quality—research, evaluations, and demonstration projects on health care for priority populations— Subparagraph (B) of section 901(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 299(c)(1)).
(5)
Research on health disparities— Section 903 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 299a–1).
(6)
Substance abuse and mental health services administration—office for substance abuse prevention— Subsection (b) of section 515 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–21(b)).
(7)
Center for mental health services— Section 520 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31(b)).
(8)
National Institute of Drug Abuse— Subsection (b) of section 464L of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285o).
(9)
National drug abuse research centers— Subparagraph (F) of section 464N of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285o–2(c)(2)).
(10)
National Institute of Mental Health— Paragraph (2) of section 464R(e) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285p(e)).
(11)
Office of research on womens health— Subsection (b) of section 486 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287d).
(12)
Office of research on womens health advisory committee— Paragraph (4) of section 486(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287d).