Sec. 541. Improvements to Special Victims’ Counsel program
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/bill/114/hr/1735/rh/section-541·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 1044e(d) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— by inserting
(1)before An individual ; by designating existing paragraphs
(1)and
(2)as subparagraphs
(A)and (B), respectively; and by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Secretary of each military department to implement additional selection criteria requiring that judge advocates have adequate criminal justice experience before they are assigned as Special Victims’ Counsel. The Secretary of Defense shall develop a policy to standardize both the time frame within which Special Victims’ Counsel receive training and the training that each Special Victims’ Counsel receives. . Section 1044e(e) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs The Secretary of Defense shall establish appropriate program performance measures and standards, including evaluating, monitoring, and reporting on the Special Victims’ Counsel programs, establishing guiding principles for the military departments, and ensuring centralized, standardized assessment of program effectiveness and client satisfaction. The Secretary of Defense shall direct the Secretary of each military department to perform regular evaluations to ensure that Special Victims’ Counsel are assigned to locations that maximize the opportunity for face-to-face interactions between counsel and clients and to develop effective means by which a Special Victims’ Counsel may communicate with a client when face-to-face communication is not feasible. .