34 U.S.C. § 12511 — Sexual assault services program

(a) Purposes. This section has two purposes:

(1) To help States, Indian^* tribes, and territories provide intervention, advocacy, accompaniment, support services, and related assistance for:

(A) adult, youth, and child victims of sexual assault;

(B) the family and household members of those victims; and

(C) people who are indirectly affected by the victimization, but not the perpetrator of that victimization.

(2) To provide technical assistance and training about sexual assault to:

(A) Federal, State, tribal, territorial, and local governments, law enforcement^* agencies, and courts^*;

(B) professionals who work in legal, social-service, and health-care settings;

(C) nonprofit organizations;

(D) faith-based organizations; and

(E) other people and organizations seeking that assistance.

(b) Grants to States and territories.

(1) Grants authorized. The Attorney General must award grants to States and territories. The grants support establishing, maintaining, and expanding rape crisis centers and other nongovernmental or tribal programs and projects that help people who have been victimized by sexual assault, regardless of the person's age.

(2) Allocation and use of funds.

(A) Administrative costs. A State or territory governmental agency may use no more than 5 percent of the grant money it receives under this subsection in a fiscal year for administrative costs.

(B) Grant funds. A State or territory must use any money received under this subsection that is not used for administrative costs to make grants to rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations or tribal programs and activities. Those programs and activities must be within that State or territory and provide direct intervention and related assistance.

(C) Intervention and related assistance. The intervention and related assistance described in subparagraph (B) may include:

(i) 24-hour hotlines that provide crisis intervention and referrals;

(ii) accompaniment and advocacy through medical, criminal-justice, and social-support systems, including medical facilities, police, and court proceedings;

(iii) crisis intervention; short-term individual and group support services; direct payments; and comprehensive service coordination and supervision to help sexual-assault victims and their family or household members;

(iv) information and referrals to help the sexual-assault victim and the victim's family or household members;

(v) community-based and culturally specific services^* and support mechanisms, including outreach to underserved communities; and

(vi) developing and distributing materials about the services described in clauses (i) through (v).

(3) Application.

(A) In general. Each eligible entity that wants a grant under this subsection must submit an application to the Attorney General at the time and in the manner the Attorney General may reasonably require.

(B) Contents. Each application must:

(i) describe procedures designed to ensure meaningful involvement by the State or territorial sexual-assault coalition and representatives of underserved communities in developing the application and carrying out the plans;

(ii) describe procedures designed to ensure that grants and grant money are distributed fairly within the State or territory and between urban and rural areas within it;

(iii) identify the State or territorial agency responsible for administering the programs and activities; and

(iv) meet other requirements that the Attorney General reasonably decides are needed to carry out this section.

(4) Minimum amount. The Attorney General must allocate to each State, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, at least 1.50 percent of the total amount appropriated in a fiscal year for grants under this section. The United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands must each receive 0.5 percent of the total appropriations. The remaining money must be allotted to each State and territory in proportion to that State's or territory's population compared with the population of all the States and territories.

(c) Grants for culturally specific^* programs addressing sexual assault.

(1) Grants authorized. The Attorney General must award grants to eligible entities to support establishing, maintaining, and expanding culturally specific intervention and related assistance for victims of sexual assault.

(2) Eligible entities. To receive a grant under this section, an entity must:

(A) be a private nonprofit organization that focuses mainly on culturally specific communities;

(B) have documented organizational experience in sexual-assault intervention, or have partnered with an organization that has that expertise;

(C) have expertise in developing community-based, linguistically and culturally specific outreach and intervention services relevant to the communities that would receive help, or be able to connect those communities with existing services tailored to culturally specific populations; and

(D) have an advisory board or steering committee and staff that reflect the targeted culturally specific community.

(3) Award basis. The Attorney General must award grants under this section competitively.

(4) Distribution. In any year, the Attorney General may use no more than 2.5 percent of the money appropriated under this subsection to administer, monitor, and evaluate grants made under this subsection.

(5) Term. The Attorney General must make grants under this section for at least 2 fiscal years.

(6) Technical assistance. The Attorney General must provide technical assistance to grant recipients under this subsection by entering into a cooperative agreement or contract with one or more national nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations whose main focus and expertise is addressing sexual assault in culturally specific communities.

(7) Reporting. Each entity receiving a grant must submit a report to the Attorney General describing the activities carried out with the grant money.

(d) Grants to State, territorial, and tribal sexual-assault coalitions.

(1) Grants authorized.

(A) In general. The Attorney General must award grants to State, territorial, and tribal sexual-assault coalitions to help establish, maintain, and expand those coalitions.

(B) Minimum amount. At least 10 percent of the total amount appropriated to carry out this section must be used for grants under subparagraph (A).

(C) Eligible applicants. Each State, territorial, and tribal sexual-assault coalition is an eligible applicant.

(2) Use of funds. A coalition may use grant money received under this subsection to:

(A) work with local sexual-assault programs and other direct-service providers to encourage appropriate responses to sexual assault within the State, territory, or tribe;

(B) work with judicial and law-enforcement agencies to encourage appropriate responses to sexual-assault cases;

(C) work with courts, child-protective-services agencies, and children's advocates to develop appropriate responses to child-custody and visitation issues when sexual assault has been determined to be a factor;

(D) design and conduct public-education campaigns;

(E) plan and monitor how grants and grant money are distributed to the coalition's State, territory, or tribe; or

(F) work with and inform Federal, State, or local public officials and agencies to develop and carry out policies to reduce or eliminate sexual assault.

(3) Allocation and use of funds. Of the money appropriated for grants under this subsection for each fiscal year:

(A) at least 10 percent must be available for grants to tribal sexual-assault coalitions; and

(B) the remaining money must be available for grants to State and territorial coalitions. The Attorney General must allocate an amount equal to 1/56 of the money appropriated for those grants to each State and territorial coalition.

(4) Application. Each eligible entity that wants a grant must submit an application to the Attorney General at the time, in the manner, and with the information the Attorney General decides is essential to carry out this section.

(5) First-time applicants. An entity may not be barred from applying under this subsection in a fiscal year when money is available under this subsection merely because it has not previously applied for or received money under this subsection.

(e) Grants to tribes.

(1) Grants authorized. The Attorney General may award grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofit tribal organizations to operate sexual-assault programs or projects on Indian tribal lands and in Alaska Native villages. The grants support establishing, maintaining, and expanding programs and projects that help people victimized by sexual assault.

(2) Allocation and use of funds.

(A) Administrative costs. An Indian tribe^*, tribal organization, or nonprofit tribal organization may use no more than 5 percent of the grant money it receives under this subsection in a fiscal year for administrative costs.

(B) Grant funds. Any money received under this subsection that is not used for administrative costs must be used to make grants to tribal organizations and nonprofit tribal organizations for programs and activities within Indian country^* and Alaska Native villages that provide direct intervention and related assistance.

(f) Authorization of appropriations.

(1) In general. $100,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this section. The money remains available until it is spent.

(2) Allocations. Of the total amount appropriated for each fiscal year to carry out this section:

(A) no more than 2.5 percent may be used by the Attorney General for evaluation, monitoring, and other administrative costs under this section;

(B) no more than 8 percent may be used to provide technical assistance to grantees and subgrantees under this section. At least 20 percent of that technical-assistance money must be available for technical assistance to recipients and potential recipients of grants under subsection (c);

(C) at least 65 percent must be used for grants to States and territories under subsection (b);

(D) at least 10 percent must be used for grants to State, territorial, and tribal sexual-assault coalitions under subsection (d);

(E) at least 10 percent must be used for grants to tribes under subsection (e); and

(F) at least 10 percent must be used for grants for culturally specific programs addressing sexual assault under subsection (c).