34 U.S.C. § 12514 — Pilot program on restorative practices

(a) Definitions. In this section:

(1) “Director” means the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women. This section does not otherwise define “Office on Violence Against Women.”

(2) “Eligible entity” means:

(A) a State;

(B) a unit of local government;

(C) a tribal government;

(D) a tribal organization;

(E) a victim service provider;

(F) an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1001(a) of title 20; and

(G) a private or public nonprofit organization, including:

(i) a tribal nonprofit organization; and

(ii) a faith-based nonprofit organization.

(3) “Restorative practice” means a practice relating to a specific harm that:

(A) is community-based and not connected with any civil or criminal legal process;

(B) is started by a victim of the harm;

(C) involves, voluntarily and without any evidence that any victim of the harm was coerced or intimidated by a person who committed the harm or by anyone associated with that person:

(i) one or more people who committed the harm;

(ii) one or more victims of the harm; and

(iii) the community affected by the harm, through one or more community representatives;

(D) includes, and aims at:

(i) collectively seeking accountability from one or more people who committed the harm;

(ii) developing a written process in which one or more people who committed the harm take responsibility for the actions that harmed one or more victims; and

(iii) developing a written course-of-action plan:

(I) that responds to the needs of one or more victims of the harm; and

(II) that one or more victims, one or more people who committed the harm, and the community can agree to; and

(E) is carried out within a victim-services framework that protects the safety of one or more victims and supports their autonomy and the community's autonomy.

(b) Grants authorized. The Director must award grants to eligible entities to develop and carry out a program, or to assess best practices, for:

(1) restorative practices to prevent or address domestic violence^*, dating violence^*, sexual assault, or stalking;

(2) training by eligible entities, or training for eligible entities, courts^*, or prosecutors, about restorative practices and how to carry out programs; and

(3) evaluations of restorative practices described in paragraph (1).

(c) Priority. When awarding grants under subsection (b), the Director must give priority to eligible entities that submit proposals meaningfully addressing the needs of culturally specific^* or underserved populations.

(d) Qualifications. To be eligible for a grant under this section, an eligible entity must show a history of comprehensive training and experience working with victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

(e) Program requirements.

(1) In general. An eligible entity or its subgrantee that offers a restorative-practices program with money awarded under this section must ensure that the program:

(A) includes set practices and procedures for screening whether a person who committed harm is suitable, based on:

(i) that person's history of civil and criminal complaints involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking;

(ii) that person's parole or probation violations, or whether that person is under active parole or probation supervision for an earlier offense involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking;

(iii) the risk to the safety of any victim of the harm, based on an evidence-based risk assessment;

(iv) the risk to public safety, including an evidence-based assessment of the danger to the public; and

(v) the person's past participation in restorative-practices programming; and

(B) denies participation in the program to any person who committed harm and against whom there is:

(i) a pending felony or misdemeanor prosecution for an offense against any victim of the harm or a dependent of any such victim;

(ii) a restraining order or protection order, as defined in section 2266 of title 18, that protects any victim of the harm or a dependent of any such victim, unless the order has an exception allowing participation in a restorative-practices program;

(iii) a pending criminal charge involving or relating to sexual assault, including rape, human trafficking, or child abuse, including child sexual abuse; or

(iv) a conviction for child sexual abuse against the victim or a sibling of the victim, if the victim or the sibling is currently a minor.

(2) Referral. For a risk assessment described in paragraph (1)(A)(iii), if the eligible entity or its subgrantee decides that a victim or a dependent of a victim faces a significant risk of later serious injury, sexual assault, or death, the entity or subgrantee must refer the victim or dependent to other victim services instead of restorative practices.

(f) Nondisclosure of confidential or private information. For purposes of section 12291(b)(2) of this title, a person described in subsection (a)(3)(C) is considered a person receiving services.

(g) Relation to criminal-justice intervention. Restorative practices carried out with money awarded under this section are not intended to replace criminal-justice intervention for a specific harm.

(h) Reports.

(1) Report to Director. As part of the report required under section 12291(b)(6) of this title, an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section must report yearly to the Director information about how effective the restorative practices carried out with grant money were, including:

(A) the number of people for whom the entity supported a restorative practice;

(B) if applicable, the number of people who sought restorative practices from the entity and whom the entity could not serve;

(C) if applicable, the number of people who sought restorative-practice training, received that training, provided that training, or could not receive that training from the entity;

(D) a victim-evaluation component documented through a survey or interview, including victims' satisfaction with the restorative-practice services;

(E) if applicable, the number of people who committed harm and who:

(i) successfully completed and carried out a written course-of-action plan;

(ii) failed to successfully complete and carry out a written course-of-action plan; or

(iii) during the restorative-practice process, were involved in a criminal or civil complaint against the victim or victims involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and

(F) any other qualitative or quantitative information the Director determines.

(2) Report to Congress. No later than 2 years after March 15, 2022, and every 2 years after that, the Director must submit to Congress a report summarizing the reports received under paragraph (1).

(i) Authorization of appropriations. The amounts needed may be appropriated to the Director for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this section.