text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Violence Prevention, 
  Education, and Awareness Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds the following:
              (1) Nearly one-third of American women report being 
          physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some 
          point in their lives.
              (2) Family violence costs the nation between $5,000,000,000 
          and $10,000,000,000 each year in medical expenses, police and 
          court costs, shelters and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, 
          and nonproductivity.
              (3) The United States is becoming increasingly 
          multicultural, and racial and ethnic minorities are expected to 
          constitute approximately 50 percent of the United States 
          population by 2050.
              (4) Two-thirds of female immigrants to the United States 
          originate from Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the 
          Middle East, and they migrate here to seek economic security, 
          reunify their families, or escape prosecution.
              (5) Racial and ethnic minority women and immigrant women 
          face unique challenges to reporting and getting help for 
          domestic violence.
              (6) Structural inequalities experienced by racial and 
          ethnic minority communities and immigrant communities, 
          including poverty and discrimination, may contribute to higher 
          rates of violence.
              (7) Problems of domestic violence are exacerbated for 
          immigrants when spouses control the immigration status of their 
          family members, and abusers use threats of refusal to file 
          immigration papers and threats to deport spouses and children 
          as powerful tools to prevent battered immigrant women from 
          seeking help, trapping battered immigrant women in violent 
          homes because of fear of deportation.
              (8) Many racial and ethnic minority women and immigrant 
          women face cultural barriers to reporting abuse or seeking help 
          for domestic violence, including but not limited to strong 
          religious beliefs that stress the importance of keeping family 
          intact, fear of dishonor, or a belief that negative events 
          occur regardless of attempts to prevent them.
              (9) Many racial and ethnic minority women and immigrant 
          women also face institutional barriers to reporting abuse or 
          seeking help for domestic violence, including but not limited 
          to restrictions on public assistance, limited access to 
          immigration relief, lack of translators or bilingual 
          professionals, little educational material in the woman's 
          native language, treatment programs that do not take into 
          account ethnic and cultural differences, prohibitive fee 
          structures, and inflexible or inconvenient hours of operation.
  
  SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS TO EDUCATE RACIAL AND 
                ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES 
                ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
  
      (a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
  section, the Attorney General, acting through the Violence Against 
  Women Office, shall make grants to public or private nonprofit 
  entities, States, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry 
  out public information campaigns for the purpose of educating racial 
  and ethnic minority communities and immigrant communities about 
  domestic violence, including the effects of domestic violence, methods 
  of preventing or reducing domestic violence, and services available to 
  victims of domestic violence.
      (b) Use of Grant Amounts.--Grant amounts under this section may be 
  used only to carry out public information campaigns for the purpose 
  specified in subsection (a) and to provide staffing appropriate to 
  carrying out the campaigns.
      (c) Elements of Campaigns.--Each public information campaign 
  carried out under this section shall consist of one or more of the 
  following elements:
              (1) Public service announcements.
              (2) Paid educational messages for print media.
              (3) Public transit advertising.
              (4) Electronic broadcast media.
              (5) Any other mode of conveying information that the 
          Attorney General determines to be appropriate.
      (d) Requirements for Grant.--The Attorney General may award a grant 
  under this section to an applicant only if the Attorney General 
  determines that--
              (1) the campaign will be carried out in consultation with 
          local domestic violence advocates or State domestic violence 
          coalitions;
              (2) the campaign is designed to be conducted in a 
          culturally sensitive manner using one or more culturally 
          appropriate languages;
              (3) the applicant has an adequate plan to test-market the 
          campaign with a relevant community or group in the relevant 
          geographic area, and will carry out that plan; and
              (4) the applicant will use effectiveness criteria in 
          carrying out the campaign and an evaluation component to 
          measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
      (e) Award Criteria.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
  Attorney General shall consider the following criteria:
              (1) Whether the applicant has, or will be partnering with 
          an entity that has, a record of high quality campaigns of a 
          comparable type.
              (2) Whether the applicant has, or will be partnering with 
          an entity that has, a record of high quality campaigns that 
          educate the communities and groups at greatest risk of domestic 
          violence.
      (f) Application.--
              (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
          this section, a State or entity must submit to the Attorney 
          General an application that meets the requirements of paragraph 
          (2).
              (2) Requirements.--An application submitted under this 
          subsection shall be in such form, and submitted in such manner, 
          as the Attorney General may prescribe, and shall include the 
          following matters:
                      (A) A complete description of applicant's plan for 
                  the proposed public information campaign.
                      (B) An identification of the specific communities 
                  and groups to be educated by the campaign, and a 
                  description of how the campaign will educate the 
                  communities and groups at greatest risk of domestic 
                  violence.
                      (C) The plans of the applicant with respect to 
                  working with organizations that have expertise in 
                  developing culturally appropriate informational 
                  messages.
                      (D) A description of the geographic distribution of 
                  the campaign.
                      (E) An identification of the media organizations 
                  and other groups through which the campaign will be 
                  carried out and any memorandum of understanding or 
                  other agreement under which the campaign will be 
                  carried out.
                      (F) A description of the nature, amount, 
                  distribution, and timing of informational messages to 
                  be used in the campaign.
                      (G) Such information and assurances as the Attorney 
                  General may require to determine whether the 
                  requirements specified in subsection (d) will be 
                  satisfied, and whether the criteria specified in 
                  subsection (e) apply.
                      (H) Such other information and assurances as the 
                  Attorney General may require.
      (g) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``State'' 
  includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
  Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and any other territory or 
  possession of the United States.
      (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
  appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
target: Domestic Violence Prevention, Education, and Awareness Act - Requires the Attorney General, acting through the Violence Against Women Office, to make grants to public or private nonprofit entities, States, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry out public information campaigns to educate racial and ethnic minority communities and immigrant communities about domestic violence, including its effects, methods of preventing or reducing it, and available services to such victims.
feat_title: To provide grants for public information campaigns to educate racial and ethnic minority communities and immigrant communities about domestic violence.