34 U.S.C. § 20127 — Emergency and transitional pet shelter and housing assistance grant program

submitted 8 years ago by Pub. L. 115-334 to r/title-34-CRIME-CONTROL-AND-LAW-ENFORCEMENT · 1,494 words · no verdicts yet

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The Secretary may give grants to help domestic violence victims find shelter and housing for their pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses. Money can pay for emergency and short-term shelter, help finding safe housing, animal-related services, and staff training. Congress authorized $3 million a year for 2019 through 2023, with a cap on administrative costs.

(1) Grant program — (A) The Secretary, working with the Office on Violence Against Women, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, must award grants to eligible entities to help victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and their pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses. (B) The Secretary may sign agreements with other agencies to help carry this out. (2) Application — (A) An eligible entity applies to the Secretary, in the required form, including: (i) a description of the planned activities; (ii) assurances it will follow this section's rules; and (iii) a promise to tell each victim, before working with them, about any duty to report abuse or neglect (including of the animals). (B) The application also cannot: (i) propose anything that could endanger a victim's safety, like background checks or clinical evaluations to decide eligibility; (ii) require victims to use services or get a protective order to qualify; and (iii) it must show the entity understands how domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking work. (C) Nothing here requires victims to go through the criminal justice system to get services, or requires grantees to break client confidentiality. (3) Use of funds — Grants can only fund programs that provide: (A) emergency and transitional shelter and housing for victims with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses, including construction or operating costs, whether co-located with a victim provider or in the community; (B) short-term shelter and housing help, including boarding or fostering costs and other expenses tied to keeping the animal safe during sheltering or moving; (C) support services to help a fleeing victim find safe housing or safe accommodations for their animal, or get transportation, care, and other related services; or (D) training on the link between this abuse and animal abuse, victims' needs, best practices for support services and referrals, and the importance of confidentiality. (4) Grant conditions — A grantee must agree (A) to follow the confidentiality rules in section 12291(b)(2), and (B) not to make a victim's receipt of support, housing, or other benefits conditional on using other services the program offers. (5) Duration of assistance — (A) Assistance for one victim's pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse lasts no more than 24 months. (B) A grantee may extend this by up to 6 more months if the victim tried in good faith to find permanent housing during the 24 months but couldn't. (6) Report to the Secretary — Within 1 year of getting a grant, and each year after while using the funds, the grantee must report to the Secretary how many victims with animals it helped, and the purpose, amount, type, and length of that help. (7) Report to Congress — (A) By November 1 of each even-numbered fiscal year, the Secretary must send the House and Senate Agriculture Committees a report combining the information from all the grantee reports. (B) The Secretary must also send a copy to the Office on Violence Against Women, HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development, and HHS's Administration for Children and Families. (8) Authorization of appropriations — (A) Congress authorizes $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. (B) No more than 5 percent of that money in any year may go to evaluation, monitoring, salaries, and administrative costs. (9) Definitions — (A) "Domestic violence victim" means a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. (B) "Eligible entity" means a state, local government unit, Indian tribe, or any other organization with a documented history of effective work on this abuse, including a victim-service provider, a coalition, a community-based or culturally specific organization, any other nonprofit, or an organization working with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses that partners with one of those groups — including an animal shelter or animal welfare organization. (C) "Emotional support animal" has the meaning in 24 C.F.R. § 5.303 (or its successor), and is not a service animal. (D) "Pet" means a domesticated animal — like a dog, cat, bird, rodent, fish, or turtle — kept for pleasure, not business. (E) "Service animal" has the meaning in 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (or its successor). (F) Other terms in this section have the meaning given in section 12291(a).

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(1) Grant program

(A) In general

The Secretary, acting in consultation with the Office of the Violence Against Women 1 of the Department of Justice, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award grants under this section to eligible entities to carry out programs to provide the assistance described in paragraph (3) with respect to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and the pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses of such victims.

(B) Memorandum of understanding

The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the head of another Department or agency, as appropriate, to carry out any of the authorities provided to the Secretary under this section.2

(2) Application

(A) In general

An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including—

(i)

a description of the activities for which a grant under this section is sought;

(ii)

such assurances as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure compliance by the entity with the requirements of this section; and

(iii)

a certification that the entity, before engaging with any individual domestic violence victim, will disclose to the victim any mandatory duty of the entity to report instances of abuse and neglect (including instances of abuse and neglect of pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses).

(B) Additional requirements

In addition to the requirements of subparagraph (A), each application submitted by an eligible entity under that subparagraph shall—

(i)

not include proposals for any activities that may compromise the safety of a domestic violence victim, including—

(I)

background checks of domestic violence victims; or

(II)

clinical evaluations to determine the eligibility of such a victim for support services;

(ii)

not include proposals that would require mandatory services for victims or that a victim obtain a protective order in order to receive proposed services; and

(iii)

reflect the eligible entity’s understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require—

(i)

domestic violence victims to participate in the criminal justice system in order to receive services; or

(ii)

eligible entities receiving a grant under this section to breach client confidentiality.

(3) Use of funds

Grants awarded under this section may only be used for programs that provide—

(A)

emergency and transitional shelter and housing assistance for domestic violence victims with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses, including assistance with respect to any construction or operating expenses of newly developed or existing emergency and transitional pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse shelter and housing (regardless of whether such shelter and housing is co-located at a victim service provider or within the community);

(B)

short-term shelter and housing assistance for domestic violence victims with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses, including assistance with respect to expenses incurred for the temporary shelter, housing, boarding, or fostering of the pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses of domestic violence victims and other expenses that are incidental to securing the safety of such a pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse during the sheltering, housing, or relocation of such victims;

(C)

support services designed to enable a domestic violence victim who is fleeing a situation of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking to—

(i)

locate and secure—

(I)

safe housing with the victim’s pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse; or

(II)

safe accommodations for the victim’s pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse; or

(ii)

provide the victim with pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse related services, such as transportation, care services, and other assistance; or

(D)

for the training of relevant stakeholders on—

(i)

the link between domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and the abuse and neglect of pets, service animals, emotional support animals, and horses;

(ii)

the needs of domestic violence victims;

(iii)

best practices for providing support services to such victims;

(iv)

best practices for providing such victims with referrals to victims’ services; and

(v)

the importance of confidentiality.

(4) Grant conditions

An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall, as a condition of such receipt, agree—

(A)

to be bound by the nondisclosure of confidential information requirements of section 12291(b)(2) of this title; and

(B)

that the entity shall not condition the receipt of support, housing, or other benefits provided pursuant to this section on the participation of domestic violence victims in any or all of the support services offered to such victims through a program carried out by the entity using grant funds.

(5) Duration of assistance provided to victims

(A) In general

Subject to subparagraph (B), assistance provided with respect to a pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse of a domestic violence victim using grant funds awarded under this section shall be provided for a period of not more than 24 months.

(B) Extension

An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section may extend the 24-month period referred to in subparagraph (A) for a period of not more than 6 months in the case of a domestic violence victim who—

(i)

has made a good faith effort to acquire permanent housing for the victim and the victim’s pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse during that 24-month period; and

(ii)

has been unable to acquire such permanent housing within that period.

(6) Report to the Secretary

Not later than 1 year after the date on which an eligible entity receives a grant under this section and each year thereafter in which the grant funds are used, the entity shall submit to the Secretary a report that contains, with respect to assistance provided by the entity to domestic violence victims with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses using grant funds received under this section, information on—

(A)

the number of domestic violence victims with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses provided such assistance; and

(B)

the purpose, amount, type of, and duration of such assistance.

(7) Report to Congress

(A) Reporting requirement

Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that contains a compilation of the information contained in the reports submitted under paragraph (6).

(B) Availability of report

The Secretary shall transmit a copy of the report submitted under subparagraph (A) to—

(i)

the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice;

(ii)

the Office of Community Planning and Development of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and

(iii)

the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(8) Authorization of appropriations

(A) In general

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.

(B) Limitation

Of the amount made available under subparagraph (A) in any fiscal year, not more than 5 percent may be used for evaluation, monitoring, salaries, and administrative expenses.

(9) Definitions

In this section:

(A) Domestic violence victim defined

The term “domestic violence victim” means a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

(B) Eligible entity

The term “eligible entity” means—

(i)

a State;

(ii)

a unit of local government;

(iii)

an Indian tribe; or

(iv)

any other organization that has a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking (as determined by the Secretary), including—

(I)

a domestic violence and sexual assault victim service provider;

(II)

a domestic violence and sexual assault coalition;

(III)

a community-based and culturally specific organization;

(IV)

any other nonprofit, nongovernmental organization; and

(V)

any organization that works directly with pets, service animals, emotional support animals, or horses and collaborates with any organization referred to in clauses (i) through (iv), including—

(aa)

an animal shelter; and

(bb)

an animal welfare organization.

The term “emotional support animal” means an animal that is covered by the exclusion specified in section 5.303 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), and that is not a service animal.

(D) Pet

The term “pet” means a domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat, bird, rodent, fish, turtle, or other animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes.

(E) Service animal

The term “service animal” has the meaning given the term in section 36.104 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).

(F) Other terms

Except as otherwise provided in this section, terms used in this section ² shall have the meaning given such terms in section 12291(a) of this title.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12502(b), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4983.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2018Enacted · Pub. L. 115-334 · 132 Stat. 4983

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 115-334 on 2018-12-20.

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