Sponsors (6)
This bill directs new, sustained federal funding to community-based services and direct cash for survivors—expanding housing, leave, legal supports, and restorative options—while trading off increased federal/state spending, added burdens on small nonprofits and employers, and potential privacy and justice coordination challenges.
Survivors (low-income people, women, racial/ethnic minorities) gain rapid, direct, unrestricted cash and emergency financial assistance delivered through community-based groups to meet immediate needs (housing, food, transport).
Renters and low-income survivors can keep stable housing through rights to break leases without penalty and eviction protections.
Workers who are survivors (including parents) receive paid, job-protected leave to address recovery needs, reducing income loss and protecting employment.
Federal and state taxpayers bear new fiscal costs (including $40M/year authorized for grants plus $5M/year for state surveys and additional state program costs), increasing budgetary pressure or crowding out other spending.
Small community nonprofits may face significant administrative burdens—annual reporting, applicant documentation, limits on administrative spending, and capacity constraints—which could reduce the effective delivery of services.
A portion of appropriations (administration/evaluation up to ~8%) and caps on administrative spending could reduce the share of funds that reach survivors and strain organizations that need capacity-building.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes DOJ grants to community groups for direct cash aid to survivors, funds state survivor surveys, and urges states to adopt survivor-centered rights.
Authorizes DOJ grant programs to give direct cash assistance to survivors of violence through community-based organizations, and requires state-administered survivor surveys to document needs and outcomes. Encourages (nonbinding) that states adopt a set of survivor-centered rights, including access to trauma services, flexible emergency financial help, housing protections, job-protected leave, legal help, debt relief tied to victimization, alternative accountability options, and protections from arrest/conviction when conduct relates to trauma. Creates application priorities and technical assistance requirements for community organizations that receive grants, directs public posting of funded organizations for survivor access, and funds survivor needs surveys through the Bureau of Justice Statistics with modest annual authorizations in specified years. Provides statutory definitions for covered terms and excludes law enforcement and prosecuting agencies from eligible community-based organizations.
Official title: To encourage States to provide rights to survivors of violence, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 21, 2026 by Lateefah Simon · Last progress April 21, 2026