VAWA Reauthorization

On October 28 President Clinton signed the package of legislation that contains a five-year reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), funded at $3.33 billion. The reauthorized VAWA significantly increases funding and adds a number of new programs. The bill provides funding for increased services for battered women, education and training, strengthening of law enforcement, and programs for children. Among specific funding provisions, the bill provides $40 million per year for five years for legal services for battered women, $175 million per year for five years for shelters for battered women, and $25 million in 2001 for transitional housing for domestic violence victims.

New and strengthened provisions include the following: Dating violence has been defined and grant coverage has been expanded to include dating violence; $5 million per year for five years has been allocated for training programs for law enforcement that address the needs of older and disabled individuals who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault; another $7.5 million per year for five years establishes a new grant program to provide education and technical assistance to service providers to meet better the needs of disabled individuals who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking; $40 million per year for five years has been allocated for state and local government services in rural areas for domestic violence and child abuse enforcement; and $15 million through 2002 establishes a pilot grant program aimed at reducing domestic violence during the transfer of children for visitation by expanding the availability of supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange for the children of victims of domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual assault.

In addition, the bill includes a number of reforms that will make it easier for battered immigrant women to escape abusive situations without facing deportation. VAWA 2000 strengthens the self-petitioning option by, among other things, extending it to battered women living abroad, deleting the "extreme hardship" requirement, and broadening protection for children.

Several national studies have also been authorized with recommendations to be submitted to Congress including a study of the Parental Kidnapping Act, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and custody provisions in protection orders where domestic violence is a factor; a study of state laws regarding insurance discrimination against victims of violence against women; a survey of programs demonstrating appropriate workplace responses to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault; and a study to identify the impact of state unemployment compensation laws on victims of domestic violence who are separated from their employment as a direct result of violence.

For information on applying for VAWA grants, visit the Department of Justice Web site. This summary is adapted from NOW LDEF publications. For more information contact Wendy Pollack, 312.263.3830 ext. 238.