Sponsors (8)
The bill directs modest but dedicated federal funding and training to expand evidence-based lethality assessments and improve responder and survivor supports, trading a small recurring cost and potential disadvantages for small local providers against risks that standardized tools might be misapplied in marginalized communities.
First responders and local agencies (law enforcement, emergency responders) will receive training to better identify and respond to potentially lethal domestic violence, which can reduce homicides and improve immediate survivor safety.
Tribal, state, and local governments (and underserved communities) will get a dedicated federal funding stream ($5M/year starting FY2026) to scale evidence-based lethality assessment programs nationwide.
Survivors of domestic violence (including women and families) will gain faster connections to local victim service providers through funded national training and technical assistance.
Racial and indigenous communities risk misclassification if standardized lethality assessments are applied without appropriate cultural or local adaptation, potentially producing false positives or negatives that harm vulnerable groups.
Smaller or newer local victim service providers may be disadvantaged if the requirement for national experience limits grants to established organizations, reducing local capacity and equity in service delivery.
Taxpayers will fund the $5 million annual authorization, which is a small recurring federal cost that could displace other spending priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes grants to create a national training and technical assistance center to promote adoption of lethality assessment programs and authorizes $5 million annually starting FY2026.
Provides federal grant authority to create a national training and technical assistance center that promotes and supports statewide, local, and Tribal adoption of lethality assessment programs designed to reduce domestic violence–related homicides. The Attorney General may award grants to nonprofit or Tribal organizations with demonstrated national experience; the bill authorizes $5 million per year beginning in FY2026, with funds available until expended.
Official title: To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to establish a national training and technical assistance center to provide for the ongoing promotion and adoption of lethality assessment programs to reduce domestic violence-related homicides, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 11, 2026 by Sarah Elfreth · Last progress February 11, 2026