13823.15
. (a) The Legislature finds the problem of domestic
violence to be of serious and increasing magnitude. The Legislature
also finds that existing domestic violence services are underfunded
and that some areas of the state are unserved or underserved.
Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that a goal or purpose
of the Office of Emergency Services shall be to ensure that all
victims of domestic violence served by the Office of Emergency
Services Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program receive
comprehensive, quality services.
(b) There is in the Office of Emergency Services a Comprehensive
Statewide Domestic Violence Program. The goals of the program shall
be to provide local assistance to existing service providers, to
maintain and expand services based on a demonstrated need, and to
establish a targeted or directed program for the development and
establishment of domestic violence services in currently unserved and
underserved areas. The Office of Emergency Services shall provide
financial and technical assistance to local domestic violence centers
in implementing all of the following services:
(1) Twenty-four-hour crisis hotlines.
(2) Counseling.
(3) Business centers.
(4) Emergency "safe" homes or shelters for victims and families.
(5) Emergency food and clothing.
(6) Emergency response to calls from law enforcement.
(7) Hospital emergency room protocol and assistance.
(8) Emergency transportation.
(9) Supportive peer counseling.
(10) Counseling for children.
(11) Court and social service advocacy.
(12) Legal assistance with temporary restraining orders, devices,
and custody disputes.
(13) Community resource and referral.
(14) Household establishment assistance.
Priority for financial and technical assistance shall be given to
emergency shelter programs and "safe" homes for victims of domestic
violence and their children.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (f), the Office of Emergency
Services and the advisory committee established pursuant to Section
13823.16 shall collaboratively administer the Comprehensive Statewide
Domestic Violence Program, and shall allocate funds to local centers
meeting the criteria for funding. All organizations funded pursuant
to this section shall utilize volunteers to the greatest extent
possible.
The centers may seek, receive, and make use of any funds which may
be available from all public and private sources to augment state
funds received pursuant to this section.
Centers receiving funding shall provide cash or an in-kind match
of at least 10 percent of the funds received pursuant to this
section.
(d) The Office of Emergency Services shall conduct statewide
training workshops on domestic violence for local centers, law
enforcement, and other service providers designed to enhance service
programs. The workshops shall be planned in conjunction with
practitioners and experts in the field of domestic violence
prevention. The workshops shall include a curriculum component on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender specific domestic abuse.
(e) The Office of Emergency Services shall develop and disseminate
throughout the state information and materials concerning domestic
violence. The Office of Emergency Services shall also establish a
resource center for the collection, retention, and distribution of
educational materials related to domestic violence. The Office of
Emergency Services may utilize and contract with existing domestic
violence technical assistance centers in this state in complying with
the requirements of this subdivision.
(f) The funding process for distributing grant awards to domestic
violence shelter service providers (DVSSPs) shall be administered by
the Office of Emergency Services as follows:
(1) The Office of Emergency Services shall establish each of the
following:
(A) The process and standards for determining whether to grant,
renew, or deny funding to any DVSSP applying or reapplying for
funding under the terms of the program.
(B) For DVSSPs applying for grants under the request for proposal
process described in paragraph (2), a system for grading grant
applications in relation to the standards established pursuant to
subparagraph (A), and an appeal process for applications that are
denied. A description of this grading system and appeal process shall
be provided to all DVSSPs as part of the application required under
the RFP process.
(C) For DVSSPs reapplying for funding under the request for
application process described in paragraph (4), a system for grading
the performance of DVSSPs in relation to the standards established
pursuant to subparagraph (A), and an appeal process for decisions to
deny or reduce funding. A description of this grading system and
appeal process shall be provided to all DVSSPs receiving grants under
this program.
(2) Grants for shelters that were not funded in the previous cycle
shall be awarded as a result of a competitive request for proposal
(RFP) process. The RFP process shall comply with all applicable state
and federal statutes for domestic violence shelter funding and, to
the extent possible, the response to the RFP shall not exceed 25
narrative pages, excluding attachments.
(3) Grants shall be awarded to DVSSPs that propose to maintain
shelters or services previously granted funding pursuant to this
section, to expand existing services or create new services, or to
establish new domestic violence shelters in underserved or unserved
areas. Each grant shall be awarded for a three-year term.
(4) DVSSPs reapplying for grants shall not be subject to a
competitive grant process, but shall be subject to a request for
application (RFA) process. The RFA process shall consist in part of
an assessment of the past performance history of the DVSSP in
relation to the standards established pursuant to paragraph (1). The
RFA process shall comply with all applicable state and federal
statutes for domestic violence center funding and, to the extent
possible, the response to the RFA shall not exceed 10 narrative
pages, excluding attachments.
(5) A DVSSP funded through this program in the previous grant
cycle, including a DVSSP funded by Chapter 707 of the Statutes of
2001, shall be funded upon reapplication, unless, pursuant to the
assessment required under the RFA process, its past performance
history fails to meet the standards established by the Office of
Emergency Services pursuant to paragraph (1).
(6) The Office of Emergency Services shall conduct a minimum of
one site visit every three years for each DVSSP funded pursuant to
this subdivision. The purpose of the site visit shall be to conduct a
performance assessment of, and provide subsequent technical
assistance for, each shelter 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.
(7) After each site visit conducted pursuant to paragraph (6), the
Office of Emergency Services shall provide a written report to the
DVSSP summarizing the performance of the DVSSP, deficiencies noted,
corrective action needed, and a deadline for corrective action to be
completed. The Office of Emergency Services shall also develop a
corrective action plan for verifying the completion of corrective
action required. The Office of Emergency Services shall submit its
written report to the DVSSP no more than 60 days after the site
visit. No grant under the RFA process shall be denied if the DVSSP
has not received a site visit during the previous three years, unless
the Office of Emergency Services is aware of criminal violations
relative to the administration of grant funding.
(8) If an agency receives funding from both the Comprehensive
Statewide Domestic Violence Program in the Office of Emergency
Services and the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division of
the State Department of Public Health during any grant cycle, the
Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program and the Maternal,
Child, and Adolescent Health Division 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.
(9) DVSSPs receiving written reports of deficiencies or orders for
corrective action after a site visit shall be given no less than six
months' time to take corrective action before the deficiencies or
failure to correct may be considered in the next RFA process.
However, the Office of Emergency Services shall have the discretion
to reduce the time to take corrective action in cases where the
deficiencies present a significant health or safety risk or when
other severe circumstances are found to exist. If corrective action
is deemed necessary, and a DVSSP fails to comply, or if other
deficiencies exist that, in the judgment of the Office of Emergency
Services, cannot be corrected, the Office of Emergency Services shall
determine, using its grading system, whether continued funding for
the DVSSP should be reduced or denied altogether. If a DVSSP has been
determined to be deficient, the Office of Emergency Services may, at
any point during the DVSSP's funding cycle following the expiration
of the period for corrective action, deny or reduce further funding.
(10) If a DVSSP applies or reapplies for funding pursuant to this
section and that funding is denied or reduced, the decision to deny
or reduce funding shall be provided in writing to the DVSSP, along
with a written explanation of the reasons for the reduction or denial
made in accordance with the grading system for the RFP or RFA
process. Except as otherwise provided, an appeal of the decision to
deny or reduce funding shall be made in accordance with the appeal
process established by the Office of Emergency Services. The appeal
process shall allow a DVSSP a minimum of 30 days to appeal after a
decision to deny or reduce funding. All pending appeals shall be
resolved before final funding decisions are reached.
(11) It is the intent of the Legislature that priority for
additional funds that become available shall be given to currently
funded, new, or previously unfunded DVSSPs for expansion of services.
However, the Office of Emergency Services may determine when
expansion is needed to accommodate underserved or unserved areas. If
supplemental funding is unavailable, the Office of Emergency Services
shall have the authority to lower the base level of grants to all
currently funded DVSSPs in order to provide funding for currently
funded, new, or previously unfunded DVSSPs that will provide services
in underserved or unserved areas. However, to the extent reasonable,
funding reductions shall be reduced proportionately among all
currently funded DVSSPs. After the amount of funding reductions has
been determined, DVSSPs that are currently funded and those applying
for funding shall be notified of changes in the available level of
funding prior to the next application process. Funding reductions
made under this paragraph shall not be subject to appeal.
(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, Office
of Emergency Services may reduce funding to a DVSSP funded pursuant
to this section if federal funding support is reduced. Funding
reductions as a result of a reduction in federal funding shall not be
subject to appeal.
(13) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any
function or duty required by federal acts, rules, regulations, or
guidelines for the distribution of federal grants.
(14) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this section,
DVSSPs shall do all of the following:
(A) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 10 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
(B) 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.
(15) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
subdivision:
(A) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent intimate partners,
including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse against the
partner, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive, coercive, and
controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance from or
control over that person.
(B) "Domestic violence shelter service provider" or "DVSSP" means
a victim services provider that operates an established system of
services providing safe and confidential emergency housing on a
24-hour basis for victims of domestic violence and their children,
including, but not limited to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven,
and safe houses.
(C) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for victims of
domestic violence and their children.
(g) The Office of Emergency Services may hire the support staff
and utilize all resources necessary to carry out the purposes of this
section. The Office of Emergency Services shall not utilize more
than 10 percent of funds appropriated for the purpose of the program
established by this section for the administration of that program.