H.R. 10565: Sexual Abuse Services in Detention Act

This bill would create a federal grant program to expand emotional support services for people in prisons, jails, and other detention facilities who have experienced sexual abuse at any point in their lives.

What the bill calls “emotional support services”

The bill defines these services broadly. They could include:

• counseling and crisis intervention
• education about sexual abuse and sexual harassment
• help finding resources
• safety planning and discussion of reporting options
• hotline services
• help dealing with trauma and building coping skills

Who could receive grants

The Attorney General, through the Office for Victims of Crime, could give grants to nonprofit organizations with experience providing sexual abuse or rape crisis counseling. To qualify, these groups would also need experience working with correctional settings, such as understanding prison or jail security concerns or training correctional staff.

What the grants could be used for

Grant funds could be used to work with federal, state, local, or tribal authorities to provide these services in correctional settings. The bill also creates a separate grant program for entities that can train correctional agencies and staff on how to offer these services. That training could go to prisons, jails, correctional officers, and administrators. Recipients would also have to collect biannual data on how much the training services are being used.

National resource center

The bill would require the Attorney General to establish a national resource center on sexual abuse services in detention settings. This center would:

• provide training and guidance to prisons, jails, and detention facilities
• provide similar guidance to service providers
• collect and share resources, including training materials, research, and best practices

The Attorney General could fund a nonprofit to set up and run the center.

Funding levels

The bill authorizes:

• $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 for emotional support services grants
• $5 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 for training grants
• $2 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 for the national resource center

The bill says this money would supplement, not replace, other funding sources.

Relevant Companies

None found