text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Community Partnership Act of 2015''.
  
  SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE OFFICE FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS OF THE 
                DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
  
      (a) In General.--Title I of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
  U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
  
  ``SEC. 104. OFFICE FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
  
      ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
              ``(1) the term `countering violent extremism' means 
          proactive and relevant actions to counter efforts by extremists 
          to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize followers to violence and 
          to address the conditions that allow for violent extremist 
          recruitment and radicalization; and
              ``(2) the term `violent extremism' means ideologically 
          motivated violence as a method of advancing a cause.
      ``(b) Establishment.--There is in the Department an Office for 
  Community Partnerships.
      ``(c) Head of Office.--The Office for Community Partnerships shall 
  be headed by an Assistant Secretary for Community Partnerships, who 
  shall be designated by the Secretary.
      ``(d) Deputy Assistant Secretary; Assignment of Personnel.--The 
  Secretary shall--
              ``(1) designate a career Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
          Community Partnerships; and
              ``(2) assign or hire, as appropriate, permanent staff to 
          the Office for Community Partnerships.
      ``(e) Responsibilities.--The Assistant Secretary for Community 
  Partnerships shall be responsible for the following:
              ``(1) Leading the efforts of the Department to counter 
          violent extremism across all the components and offices of the 
          Department that conduct strategic and supportive efforts to 
          counter violent extremism. Such efforts shall include the 
          following:
                      ``(A) Partnering with communities to address 
                  vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent 
                  extremists in the United States and explore potential 
                  remedies for government and nongovernment institutions.
                      ``(B) Working with civil society groups and 
                  communities to counter violent extremist propaganda, 
                  messaging, or recruitment.
                      ``(C) In coordination with the Office for Civil 
                  Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, managing 
                  the outreach and engagement efforts of the Department 
                  directed toward communities at risk for radicalization 
                  and recruitment for violent extremist activities.
                      ``(D) Ensuring relevant information, research, and 
                  products inform efforts to counter violent extremism.
                      ``(E) Developing and maintaining Departmentwide 
                  plans, strategy guiding policies, and programs to 
                  counter violent extremism. Such plans shall, at a 
                  minimum, address each of the following:
                              ``(i) The Department's plan to leverage new 
                          and existing Internet and other technologies 
                          and social media platforms to improve 
                          nongovernment efforts to counter violent 
                          extremism, as well as the best practices and 
                          lessons learned of other Federal, State, local, 
                          tribal, territorial, and foreign partners 
                          engaged in similar counter-messaging efforts.
                              ``(ii) The Department's countering violent 
                          extremism-related engagement efforts.
                              ``(iii) The use of cooperative agreements 
                          with State, local, tribal, territorial, and 
                          other Federal departments and agencies 
                          responsible for efforts relating to countering 
                          violent extremism.
                      ``(F) Coordinating with the Office for Civil Rights 
                  and Civil Liberties of the Department to ensure all of 
                  the activities of the Department related to countering 
                  violent extremism fully respect the privacy, civil 
                  rights, and civil liberties of all persons.
                      ``(G) In coordination with the Under Secretary for 
                  Science and Technology and in consultation with the 
                  Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, 
                  identifying and recommending new research and analysis 
                  requirements to ensure the dissemination of information 
                  and methods for Federal, State, local, tribal, and 
                  territorial countering violent extremism practitioners, 
                  officials, law enforcement, and nongovernmental 
                  partners to utilize such research and analysis.
                      ``(H) Assessing the methods used by violent 
                  extremists to disseminate propaganda and messaging to 
                  communities at risk for recruitment by violent 
                  extremists.
              ``(2) Developing a digital engagement strategy that expands 
          the outreach efforts of the Department to counter violent 
          extremist messaging by--
                      ``(A) exploring ways to utilize relevant Internet 
                  and other technologies and social media platforms; and
                      ``(B) maximizing other resources available to the 
                  Department.
              ``(3) Serving as the primary representative of the 
          Department in coordinating countering violent extremism efforts 
          with other Federal departments and agencies and nongovernmental 
          organizations.
              ``(4) Serving as the primary Department-level 
          representative in coordinating with the Department of State on 
          international countering violent extremism issues.
              ``(5) In coordination with the Administrator of the Federal 
          Emergency Management Agency, providing guidance regarding the 
          use of grants made to State, local, and tribal governments 
          under sections 2003 and 2004 under the allowable uses 
          guidelines related to countering violent extremism.
              ``(6) Developing a plan to expand philanthropic support for 
          domestic efforts related to countering violent extremism, 
          including by identifying viable community projects and needs 
          for possible philanthropic support.
              ``(7) Administering the assistance described in subsection 
          (f).
      ``(f) Grants To Counter Violent Extremism.--
              ``(1) In general.--In accordance with this subsection, the 
          Secretary may award grants or cooperative agreements directly 
          to eligible recipients identified in paragraph (2) to support 
          the efforts of local communities in the United States to 
          counter violent extremism.
              ``(2) Eligible recipients.--The Secretary may award 
          competitive grants or cooperative agreements based on need 
          directly to--
                      ``(A) States;
                      ``(B) local governments;
                      ``(C) tribal governments;
                      ``(D) nonprofit organizations; or
                      ``(E) institutions of higher education.
              ``(3) Use of funds.--Each entity receiving a grant or 
          cooperative agreement under this subsection shall use the grant 
          or cooperative agreement for one or more of the following 
          purposes:
                      ``(A) To train or exercise for countering violent 
                  extremism, including building training or exercise 
                  programs designed to improve cultural competency and to 
                  ensure that communities, government, and law 
                  enforcement receive accurate, intelligence-based 
                  information about the dynamics of radicalization to 
                  violence.
                      ``(B) To develop, implement, or expand programs or 
                  projects with communities to discuss violent extremism 
                  or to engage communities that may be targeted by 
                  violent extremist radicalization.
                      ``(C) To develop and implement projects that 
                  partner with local communities to prevent 
                  radicalization to violence.
                      ``(D) To develop and implement a comprehensive 
                  model for preventing violent extremism in local 
                  communities, including existing initiatives of State or 
                  local law enforcement agencies and existing mechanisms 
                  for engaging the resources and expertise available from 
                  a range of social service providers, such as education 
                  administrators, mental health professionals, and 
                  religious leaders.
                      ``(E) To educate the community about countering 
                  violent extremism, including the promotion of 
                  community-based activities to increase the measures 
                  taken by the community to counter violent extremism.
                      ``(F) To develop or assist social service programs 
                  that address root causes of violent extremism and 
                  develop, build, or enhance alternatives for members of 
                  local communities that may be targeted by violent 
                  extremism.
                      ``(G) To develop or enhance State or local 
                  government initiatives that facilitate and build 
                  overall capacity to address the threats post by violent 
                  extremism.
                      ``(H) To support such other activities, consistent 
                  with the purposes of this subsection, as the Secretary 
                  determines appropriate.
              ``(4) Grant guidelines.--
                      ``(A) In general.--For each fiscal year, before 
                  awarding a grant or cooperative agreement under this 
                  subsection, the Secretary shall develop guidelines 
                  published in a notice of funding opportunity that 
                  describe--
                              ``(i) the process for applying for grants 
                          and cooperative agreements under this 
                          subsection;
                              ``(ii) the criteria that the Secretary will 
                          use for selecting recipients based on the need 
                          demonstrated by the applicant; and
                              ``(iii) the requirements that recipients 
                          must follow when utilizing funds under this 
                          subsection to conduct training and exercises 
                          and otherwise engage local communities 
                          regarding countering violent extremism.
                      ``(B) Considerations.--In developing the 
                  requirements under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary 
                  shall consider the following:
                              ``(i) Training objectives should be clearly 
                          defined to meet specific countering violent 
                          extremism goals, such as community engagement, 
                          cultural awareness, or community-based 
                          policing.
                              ``(ii) Engaging diverse communities in the 
                          United States to counter violent extremism may 
                          require working with local grassroots community 
                          organizations to develop engagement and 
                          outreach initiatives.
                              ``(iii) Training programs should--
                                      ``(I) be sensitive to 
                                  constitutional values, such as 
                                  protecting fundamental civil rights and 
                                  civil liberties, and eschew notions of 
                                  racial and ethnic profiling; and
                                      ``(II) adhere to the standards and 
                                  ethics of the Department, ensuring that 
                                  the clearly defined objectives are in 
                                  line with the strategies of the 
                                  Department to counter violent 
                                  extremism.
                              ``(iv) Establishing vetting procedures for 
                          self-selected countering violent extremism 
                          training experts who offer programs that may 
                          claim to counter violent extremism, but serve 
                          to demonize certain individuals or whole cross 
                          sections of a community.
                              ``(v) Providing a review process to 
                          determine if countering violent extremism 
                          training focuses on community engagement and 
                          outreach.
                              ``(vi) Providing support to law enforcement 
                          to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities to 
                          increase engagement techniques with diverse 
                          communities in the United States.
      ``(g) Annual Report.--Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning 
  after the date of enactment of this section, and in each of the next 5 
  fiscal years, the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Community 
  Partnerships shall submit to Congress an annual report on the Office 
  for Community Partnerships, which shall include--
              ``(1) a description of the status of the programs and 
          policies of the Department for countering violent extremism in 
          the United States;
              ``(2) a description of the efforts of the Office for 
          Community Partnerships to cooperate with and provide assistance 
          to other Federal departments and agencies;
              ``(3) qualitative and quantitative metrics for evaluating 
          the success of such programs and policies and the steps taken 
          to evaluate the success of such programs and policies; and
              ``(4) an accounting of--
                      ``(A) grants awarded by the Department to counter 
                  violent extremism; and
                      ``(B) all training specifically aimed at countering 
                  violent extremism sponsored by the Department.''.
      (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in 
  section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 
  116 Stat. 2135) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
  section 103 the following:
  
  ``Sec. 104. Office for Community Partnerships.''.
target: Community Partnership Act of 2015 This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) an Office for Community Partnerships, headed by an Assistant Secretary for Community Partnerships. The Assistant Secretary shall be responsible for:  leading strategic and supportive efforts by DHS components and offices to counter violent extremism; developing a digital engagement strategy that expands the outreach efforts of DHS to counter violent extremist messaging; serving as the primary DHS representative in coordinating countering violent extremism efforts with other federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations and in coordinating with the Department of State on international countering violent extremism issues;  providing guidance, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), regarding the use of grants made to state, local, and tribal governments under the Urban Area Security Initiative and the State Homeland Security Grant Program under the allowable uses guidelines related to countering violent extremism; developing a plan to expand philanthropic support for domestic efforts related to countering violent extremism; and  administering grants to counter extremism, as authorized below.  DHS may award grants or cooperative agreements directly, based on need, to states, local governments, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, or institutions of higher education to support the efforts of local communities in the United States to prevent and counter violent extremism.
feat_title: Community Partnership Act of 2015