BILL NUMBER: AB 503 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to domestic violence.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 503, as amended, Furutani. Battered women's shelters: grant
program.
Existing law requires the Maternal, Child , and
Adolescent Health Division of the State Department of Public Health
to administer a comprehensive shelter-based services grant program
for battered women's shelters, and requires the department, in
implementing that program, to consult with an advisory council that
remains in existence until January 1, 2010.
This bill would extend the period during which the advisory
council would remain in existence to January 1, 2015. The bill also
would require the State Department of Public Health to consult with
the California Emergency Management Agency to consider the
consolidation of their respective domestic violence programs and
report conclusions to the Legislature by June 30, 2011.
This bill would incorporate changes to Section 124250 of the
Health and Safety Code proposed by both this bill and SB 273, which
would become operative only if both bills are enacted and this bill
is enacted after SB 273.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
124250. (a) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of
this section:
(1) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent female intimate
partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
against the woman, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive,
coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance
from, or control over, that woman.
(2) "Shelter-based" means an established system of services where
battered women and their children may be provided safe or
confidential emergency housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not
limited to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
(3) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for battered women and
their children.
(b) The Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health
Division of the State Department of Public Health shall administer a
comprehensive shelter-based services grant program to battered women'
s shelters pursuant to this section.
(c) The Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health
Division shall administer grants, awarded as the result of a request
for application process, to battered women's shelters that propose to
maintain shelters or services previously granted funding pursuant to
this section, to expand existing services or create new services,
and to establish new battered women's shelters to provide services,
in any of the following four areas:
(1) Emergency shelter to women and their children escaping violent
family situations.
(2) Transitional housing programs to help women and their children
find housing and jobs so that they are not forced to choose between
returning to a violent relationship or becoming homeless. The
programs may offer up to 18 months of housing, case management, job
training and placement, counseling, support groups, and classes in
parenting and family budgeting.
(3) Legal and other types of advocacy and representation to help
women and their children pursue the appropriate legal options.
(4) Other support services for battered women and their children.
(d) (1) The Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health
Division of the State Department of Public Health shall conduct a
minimum of one site visit per grant term to each agency funded to
provide shelter-based services to battered women and their children.
The purpose of the site visit shall be a performance assessment of,
and technical assistance for, each agency visited. The performance
assessment shall include, but need not be limited to, a review of all
of the following:
(A) Progress in meeting program goals and objectives.
(B) Agency organization and facilities.
(C) Personnel policies, files, and training.
(D) Recordkeeping, budgeting, and expenditures.
(E) Documentation, data collection, and client confidentiality.
(2) Subsequent to each site visit conducted under paragraph (1),
the Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health Division shall
provide a written report to the agency summarizing the agency's
performance, any deficiencies noted, and any corrective action
needed.
(3) If an agency receives funding from both the Maternal, Child
, and Adolescent Health Division of the State Department
of Public Health and the Domestic Violence Program in the California
Emergency Management Agency during any grant cycle, the Maternal,
Child , and Adolescent Health Division and the
Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program shall, to the
extent feasible, coordinate agency site visits and share performance
assessment data with the goal of improving efficiency, eliminating
duplication, and reducing administrative costs.
(e) In implementing the grant program pursuant to this section,
the State Department of Public Health shall consult with an advisory
council that shall remain in existence until January 1, 2015. The
council shall be composed of not to exceed 13 voting members and two
nonvoting ex officio members appointed as follows:
(1) Seven members appointed by the Governor.
(2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(3) Three members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(4) Two nonvoting ex officio members who shall be Members of the
Legislature, one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Any Member of the
Legislature appointed to the council shall meet with, and participate
in the activities of, the council to the extent that participation
is not incompatible with his or her position as a Member of the
Legislature.
The membership of the council shall consist of domestic violence
advocates, battered women service providers, and representatives of
women's organizations, law enforcement, and other groups involved
with domestic violence, and at least one representative of service
providers serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community for purposes of domestic violence. At least one-half of the
council membership shall consist of domestic violence advocates or
battered women service providers from organizations such as the
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the council membership
reflect the ethnic, racial, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
(f) The department shall collaborate closely with the council in
the development of funding priorities, the framing of the Request for
Proposals, and the solicitation of proposals.
(g) (1) The Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health
Division of the State Department of Public Health shall administer
grants, awarded as the result of a request for application process,
to agencies to conduct demonstration projects to serve battered women
and their children, including, but not limited to, creative and
innovative service approaches, such as community response teams and
pilot projects to develop new interventions emphasizing prevention
and education, and other support projects identified by the advisory
council.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "agency" means a state
agency, a local government, a community-based organization, or a
nonprofit organization.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that services funded by
this program include services for battered women in underserved
communities, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community, and ethnic and racial communities. Therefore, the
Maternal, Child , and Adolescent Health Division of the
State Department of Public Health shall do all of the following:
(1) Fund shelters pursuant to this section that reflect the
ethnic, racial, economic, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
(2) Target geographic areas and ethnic and racial communities of
the state whereby, based on a needs assessment, it is determined that
no shelter-based services for battered women exist or that
additional resources are necessary.
(i) The director may award additional grants to shelter-based
agencies when it is determined that there exists a critical need for
shelter or shelter-based services.
(j) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this section,
battered women's shelters shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 20 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
(2) Ensure that appropriate staff and volunteers having client
contact meet the definition of "domestic violence counselor" as
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
The minimum training specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code shall be provided to those staff
and volunteers who do not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code. The
(k) The State Department of
Public Health shall consult with the California Emergency Management
Agency to consider the consolidation of their respective domestic
violence programs and report conclusions to the Legislature by June
30, 2011.
SEC. 1.5. Section 124250 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
124250. (a) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of
this section:
(1) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent female
intimate partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and
psychological abuse against the woman partner
, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive, coercive, and
controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance from or
control over, that woman partner .
(2) "Shelter-based" means an established system of services where
battered women victims of domestic violence
and their children may be provided safe or confidential
emergency housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not limited to,
hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
(3) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for battered
women victims of domestic violence and their
children.
(b) The Maternal Maternal, Child,
and Child Adolescent Health
Branch Division of the State Department of
Public Health shall administer a comprehensive shelter-based services
grant program to battered women's shelters pursuant to this section.
This program shall comport with the requirements of Section
11135 of the Government Code.
(c) The Maternal Maternal, Child,
and Child Adolescent Health
Branch Division shall administer grants, awarded
as the result of a request for application process, to battered
women's shelters that propose to maintain shelters or services
previously granted funding pursuant to this section, to expand
existing services or create new services, and to establish new
battered women's shelters to provide services, in any of the
following four areas:
(1) Emergency shelter to women victims of
domestic violence and their children escaping violent family
situations.
(2) Transitional housing programs to help women
victims of domestic violence and their children find
housing and jobs so that they are not forced to
choose between returning to a violent relationship or becoming
homeless. The programs may offer up to 18 months of housing, case
management, job training and placement, counseling, support groups,
and classes in parenting and family budgeting.
(3) Legal and other types of advocacy and representation to help
women victims of domestic violence and
their children pursue the appropriate legal
options.
(4) Other support services for battered women
victims of domestic violence and their children.
(d) (1) The Maternal Maternal, Child,
and Child Health Branch of the State Department of
Public Health Adolescent Health Division shall
conduct a minimum of one site visit per grant term to each agency
funded to provide shelter-based services to battered women
victims of domestic violence and their children.
The purpose of the site visit shall be a performance assessment of,
and technical assistance for, each agency visited. The performance
assessment shall include, but need not be limited to, a review of all
of the following:
(A) Progress in meeting program goals and objectives.
(B) Agency organization and facilities.
(C) Personnel policies, files, and training.
(D) Recordkeeping, budgeting, and expenditures.
(E) Documentation, data collection, and client confidentiality.
(2) Subsequent to each site visit conducted under paragraph (1),
the Maternal Maternal, Child, and
Child Adolescent Health Branch
Division shall provide a written report to the
agency summarizing the agency's performance, any
deficiencies noted, and any corrective action
needed.
(3) If an agency receives funding from both the Maternal
Maternal, Child, and Child Health
Branch of the State Department of Public Health and the
Adolescent Health Division and the Comprehensive Statewide
Domestic Violence Program in the Office of Emergency
Services California Emergency Management Agency
during any grant cycle, the Maternal
Maternal, Child, and Child Adolescent
Health Branch Division and the
Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program shall, to the
extent feasible, coordinate agency site visits and share performance
assessment data with the goal of improving efficiency, eliminating
duplication, and reducing administrative costs.
(e) In implementing the grant program pursuant to this section,
the State Department of Public Health
department shall consult with an advisory council that shall
remain in existence until January 1, 2010
2015 . The council shall be composed of not to exceed 13 voting
members and two nonvoting ex officio members appointed as follows:
(1) Seven members appointed by the Governor.
(2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(3) Three members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(4) Two nonvoting ex officio members who shall be Members of the
Legislature, one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Any Member of the
Legislature appointed to the council shall meet with, and participate
in the activities of, the council to the extent that participation
is not incompatible with his or her position as a Member of the
Legislature.
The membership of the council shall consist of domestic violence
advocates, battered women service providers, and representatives of
women's organizations, law enforcement, and other groups involved
with domestic violence, and at least one representative of service
providers serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community for purposes of domestic violence. At least one-half of the
council membership shall consist of domestic violence advocates or
battered women service providers from organizations such as the
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the council membership
reflect the ethnic, racial, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
(f) The department shall collaborate closely with the council in
the development of funding priorities, the framing of the Request for
Proposals, and the solicitation of proposals.
(g) (1) The Maternal Maternal, Child,
and Child Health Branch of the State Department of
Public Health Adolescent Health Division shall
administer grants, awarded as the result of a request for application
process, to agencies to conduct demonstration projects to serve
battered women and their children, victims of
domestic violence including, but not limited to, creative and
innovative service approaches, such as community response teams and
pilot projects to develop new interventions emphasizing prevention
and education, and other support projects identified by the advisory
council.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "agency" means a state
agency, a local government, a community-based organization, or a
nonprofit organization.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that services funded by
this program include services for battered women
victims of domestic violence in underserved communities,
including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, and
ethnic and racial communities. Therefore, the Maternal
Maternal, Child, and Child Health
Branch of the State Department of Public Health
Adolescent Health Division shall do all of the following:
(1) Fund shelters pursuant to this section that reflect the
ethnic, racial, economic, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
(2) Target geographic areas and ethnic and racial communities of
the state whereby, based on a needs assessment, it is determined that
no shelter-based services for battered women exist or that
additional resources are necessary.
(i) The director may award additional grants to shelter-based
agencies when it is determined that there exists a critical need for
shelter or shelter-based services.
(j) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this section,
battered women's shelters shall do all both
of the following:
(1) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 20 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
(2) Ensure that appropriate staff and volunteers having client
contact meet the definition of "domestic violence counselor" as
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
The minimum training specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code shall be provided to those staff
and volunteers who do not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
(k) The State Department of Public Health shall consult with the
California Emergency Management Agency to consider the consolidation
of their respective domestic violence programs and report to the
Legislature by June 30, 2011.
SEC. 2. Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates
amendments to Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code proposed
by both this bill and SB 273. It shall only become operative if (1)
both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1,
2010, (2) each bill amends Section 124250 of the Health and Safety
Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after SB 273, in which case
Section 1 of this bill shall not become operative.