2005 California Health and Safety Code Sections 124250-124251 CHAPTER 6. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

124250.  (a) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of
this section:
   (1) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent female intimate
partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
against the woman, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive,
coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance
from or control over, that woman.
   (2) "Shelter-based" means an established system of services where
battered women and their children may be provided safe or
confidential emergency housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not
limited to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
   (3) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for battered women and
their children.
   (b) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State Department
of Health Services shall administer a comprehensive shelter-based
services grant program to battered women's shelters pursuant to this
section.
   (c) The Maternal and Child Health Branch shall administer grants,
awarded as the result of a request for application process, to
battered women's shelters that propose to maintain shelters or
services previously granted funding pursuant to this section, to
expand existing services or create new services, and to establish new
battered women's shelters to provide services, in any of the
following four areas:
   (1)  Emergency shelter to women and their children escaping
violent family situations.
   (2)  Transitional housing programs to help women and their
children find housing and jobs so that they are not forced to choose
between returning to a violent relationship or becoming homeless. The
programs may offer up to 18 months of housing, case management, job
training and placement, counseling, support groups, and classes in
parenting and family budgeting.
   (3) Legal and other types of advocacy and representation to help
women and their children pursue the appropriate legal options.
   (4) Other support services for battered women and their children.
   (d) (1) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State
Department of Health Services shall conduct a minimum of one site
visit per grant term to each agency funded to provide shelter-based
services to battered women and their children. The purpose of the
site visit shall be a performance assessment of, and technical
assistance for, each agency 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.
   (2) Subsequent to each site visit conducted under paragraph (1),
the Maternal and Child Health Branch shall provide a written report
to the agency summarizing the agency's performance, any deficiencies
noted, and any corrective action needed.
   (3) Where an agency receives funding from both the Maternal and
Child Health Branch of the State Department of Health Services and
the Domestic Violence Branch of the Office of Criminal Justice
Planning during any grant cycle, the Maternal and Child Health Branch
and the Domestic Violence Branch 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.
   (e) In implementing the grant program pursuant to this section,
the State Department of Health Services shall consult with an
advisory council that shall remain in existence until January 1,
2010. The council shall be composed of not to exceed 13 voting
members and two nonvoting members appointed as follows:
   (1) Seven members appointed by the Governor.
   (2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
   (3) Three members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
   (4) Two nonvoting ex officio members who shall be Members of the
Legislature, one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Any Member of the
Legislature appointed to the council shall meet with, and participate
in the activities of, the council to the extent that participation
is not incompatible with his or her position as a Member of the
Legislature.
   The membership of the council shall consist of domestic violence
advocates, battered women service providers, and representatives of
women's organizations, law enforcement, and other groups involved
with domestic violence. At least one-half of the council membership
shall consist of domestic violence advocates or battered women
service providers from organizations such as the California Alliance
Against Domestic Violence.
   It is the intent of the Legislature that the council membership
reflect the ethnic, racial, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
   (f) The department shall collaborate closely with the council in
the development of funding priorities, the framing of the Request for
Proposals, and the solicitation of proposals.
   (g) (1) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State
Department of Health Services shall administer grants, awarded as the
result of a request for application process, to agencies to conduct
demonstration projects to serve battered women, including, but not
limited to, creative and innovative service approaches, such as
community response teams and pilot projects to develop new
interventions emphasizing prevention and education, and other support
projects identified by the advisory council.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "agency" means a state
agency, a local government, a community-based organization, or a
nonprofit organization.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that services funded by
this program include services in underserved and ethnic and racial
communities. Therefore, the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the
State Department of Health Services shall do all of the following:
   (1)  Fund shelters pursuant to this section that reflect the
ethnic, racial, economic, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
   (2) Target geographic areas and ethnic and racial communities of
the state whereby, based on a needs assessment, it is determined that
no shelter-based services exist or that additional resources are
necessary.
   (i) The director may award additional grants to shelter-based
agencies when it is determined that there exists a critical need for
shelter or shelter-based services.
   (j) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this section,
battered women's shelters shall do all of the following:
   (1) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 20 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
   (2) 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.
124251.  (a) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State
Department of Health Services shall fund, through a competitive
selection process determined by the director, at least one agency to
provide expert technical assistance and training on domestic violence
issues and building agency capacity in order to obtain other funding
for services for battered women and their children, including, but
not limited to, grant writing and building coalitions.
   (b) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State Department
of Health Services shall fund at least one agency to conduct a
statewide evaluation of the services funded through Section 124250.
   (c) For purposes of subdivision (a), "agency" means a state
agency, local government, a community-based organization, or a
nonprofit agency.
   (d) Contracts awarded pursuant to this section are exempt from the
competitive bidding requirements of the Public Contract Code.