Sec. 3. Flexible assistance for survivors of violence
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The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime of the Department of Justice (in this section referred to as the Director ), is authorized to award grants to community-based organizations for the purpose of establishing assistance funds to distribute direct cash assistance to survivors of violence, with the goal of improving safety, healing, and financial stability for survivors of violence, and family members of survivors of violence. An eligible community-based organization seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may reasonably require, including the following:
A description of the organization’s history serving one or more of the groups described in subsection (e)(4). A description of how the community or communities the organization serves are impacted by violence and incarceration. The estimated number of survivors of violence or family members of survivors of violence the organization currently serves. The estimated number of survivors of violence or family members of survivors of violence to whom the organization anticipates it will distribute grant funds.
How the organization plans to distribute cash assistance to survivors of violence or family members of survivors of violence to meet their immediate financial needs. How the organization plans to minimize the burden on survivors of violence and their family members to provide excessive documentation or paperwork. A community-based organization shall be eligible to apply for a grant under this section if the organization has a history of serving survivors of violence, and the majority of people the organization, or a project within the organization that will administer the grant, serves are survivors of violence.
In administering the grant program under this section, the Director shall do all of the following: Strive to minimize the paperwork burden on grant applicants and grantees. Strive to develop application, awards, and reporting processes that are accessible to community-based organizations without past experience receiving a Federal grant award. Develop a plan to publicize the grant program in advance of an application deadline. Provide technical assistance and training opportunities to applicants and grantees.
Develop tools to support applicants applying for a grant under this section, including, templates and sample applications, which shall be posted prominently on the website of the Office for Victims of Crimes. Develop a website where survivors of violence and members of the public can locate contact information for community-based organizations receiving grants under this section. When considering grant applications, the Director shall give priority to community-based organizations that— are located in, serve, and directly employ members of communities that experience disproportionately high rates of gun violence and imprisonment, as compared to such rates nationally, as evidenced by, during the prior 3-year period— disproportionately high rates of individuals who have been injured or killed by a firearm, as compared to such rates nationally; and disproportionately high rates of individuals who have been arrested or sent to jail or prison, as compared to such rates nationally; are led by, or employ, individuals who are survivors of violence or who are formerly incarcerated; are led by individuals who have proven ties to the community in which the organization operates; have a history of providing services focusing on vulnerable survivors of violence, including— survivors of color; survivors with disabilities; survivors who are transgender or gender nonconforming; survivors who have faced disproportionate police contact; survivors who are formerly incarcerated or who have past arrests or convictions; immigrant survivors;
Native American survivors; survivors who are unhoused; survivors of firearm injuries; survivors who have lost a family member to homicide; low-income survivors; or geographically underserved survivors; and have leadership that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the community in which the organization operates. In selecting grant recipients, the Director shall ensure that, collectively, grantees represent a diversity of geographic areas. An organization receiving a grant under this section may use the funds as follows:
Distributing unrestricted cash assistance to survivors of violence to meet the financial needs of survivors or to cover the expenses of survivors, which assistance— may be distributed at the discretion of the organization and in amounts determined by the organization based on the needs of survivors, and in a way that minimizes or eliminates the burden on survivors to provide external documentation of their needs or expenses; may be distributed directly to a survivor, to the parent or guardian of a survivor if the survivor is a minor or dependent adult, or if the survivor or the parent or guardian of a minor or dependent survivor requests, to a vendor, business, or another third party to pay for an expense or purchase a product on a survivor’s behalf; or may be distributed in the form of cash, electronic transfer, check, direct deposit, prepaid card, or in another similar manner at the discretion of the organization and based on the needs of survivors.
To establish and maintain a program to distribute the assistance described under subparagraph (A), including staffing, training, operational, and evaluation expenses, except that not more than 20 percent of the grant may be used for the purposes under this subparagraph. A community-based organization receiving a grant under this section shall establish and maintain policies and procedures for distributing cash assistance to survivors of violence that— promote the distribution of cash assistance to survivors in a manner that meets the immediate needs of survivors quickly; do not require survivors to engage in other services or programs as a condition of receiving cash assistance; do not require survivors to provide or maintain burdensome documentation of their need or spending; do not require survivors to report a crime to a law enforcement agency, court, or other local, State, Tribal, or Federal agency designated to investigate or prosecute crimes, abuse, or violence as a condition of receiving cash assistance; do not exclude survivors on the basis of citizenship or immigration status; and do not exclude survivors on the basis of an arrest or conviction record, nor on the basis of a survivor’s status under correctional control or supervision.
A grant awarded under this section shall be for a 4-year period. Subject to the availability of appropriations, not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall make the first grant award under this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law (other than section 1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 ( 34 U.S.C. 20102 )), for the purpose of any maximum allowed income, resource, or asset eligibility requirement in any Federal, State, or local government program using Federal funds that provides medical or other assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance), any amount of cash assistance received by a survivor of violence through the grant program established under this section shall not be included for purposes of calculating income, resources, or assets of the survivor, nor shall that amount reduce the amount of the assistance available to the survivor from Federal, State, or local government programs using Federal funds.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any cash assistance received by a survivor of violence through the grant program established under this section shall be excluded from gross income under section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant under this section, and annually thereafter, each community-based organization that receives a grant under this section shall submit a report on the use of such grant funds to the Director, as required by the Director.
Such report shall, at a minimum, include— the aggregate number of survivors of violence who received cash assistance through the grant program; and the average amount of assistance each such survivor received through the grant program. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the first 4-year grant period under this section ends, and every 4 years thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report that, at a minimum, includes— any findings resulting from reports submitted to the Director under paragraph (1); and best practices for grantees under this section to implement flexible cash assistance programs for survivors of violence.
The Director may reserve up to 8 percent of the funds appropriated for the grant program each year for the costs of administering the grant program, including, without limitation, employing personnel, providing technical assistance or training to grantees or prospective grantees, contracting with independent researchers to evaluate the impact of the program, and issuing a report on the impact of the grant program. There is authorized to be appropriated to implement this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
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Sec. 3
Flexible assistance for survivors of violence
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