Rape Survivor Child Custody Act - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states that have in place a law that allows the mother of any child that was conceived through rape to seek court-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape.
Limits such a grant to: (1) an amount that is not greater than 10% of the average of the total funding of the 3 most recent awards a state received under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program; and (2) a 1-year term, subject to renewal for not more than 3 additional years.
Requires a state that receives such a grant to use: (1) 25% of grant funds for permissible uses under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, and (2) 75% of funds for permissible uses under the Sexual Assault Services Program.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2443 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2443
To direct the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in
place laws that terminate the parental rights of men who father
children through rape.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2014
Mr. Brown (for himself, Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Landrieu, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms.
Baldwin, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Nelson) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in
place laws that terminate the parental rights of men who father
children through rape.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rape Survivor Child Custody Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Men who father children through rape should be
prohibited from visiting or having custody of those children.
(2) Thousands of rape-related pregnancies occur annually in
the United States.
(3) A substantial number of women choose to raise their
child conceived through rape and, as a result, may face custody
battles with their rapists.
(4) Rape is one of the most under-prosecuted serious
crimes, with estimates of criminal conviction occurring in less
than 5 percent of rapes.
(5) The clear and convincing evidence standard is the most
common standard for termination of parental rights among the 50
States, territories, and the District of Columbia.
(6) The Supreme Court established that the clear and
convincing evidence standard satisfies due process for
allegations to terminate or restrict parental rights in
Santosky v. Kramer (455 U.S. 745 (1982)).
(7) Currently only 6 States have statutes allowing rape
survivors to petition for the termination of parental rights of
the rapist based on clear and convincing evidence that the
child was conceived through rape.
(8) A rapist pursuing parental or custody rights causes the
survivor to have continued interaction with the rapist, which
can have traumatic psychological effects on the survivor, and
can make it more difficult for her to recover.
(9) These traumatic effects on the mother can severely
negatively impact her ability to raise a healthy child.
(10) Rapists may use the threat of pursuing custody or
parental rights to coerce survivors into not prosecuting rape,
or otherwise harass, intimidate, or manipulate them.
SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.
The Attorney General shall make grants to States that have in place
a law that allows the mother of any child that was conceived through
rape to seek court-ordered termination of the parental rights of her
rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon
clear and convincing evidence of rape.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION.
A State seeking a grant under this Act shall submit an application
to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require,
including information about the law described in section 3.
SEC. 5. GRANT AMOUNT.
The amount of a grant to a State under this Act shall be in an
amount that is not greater than 10 percent of the average of the total
amount of funding of the 3 most recent awards that the State received
under the following grant programs:
(1) Part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg et seq.) (commonly
referred to as the ``STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant
Program'').
(2) Section 41601 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994
(42 U.S.C. 14043g) (commonly referred to as the ``Sexual
Assault Services Program'').
SEC. 6. GRANT TERM.
(a) In General.--The term of a grant under this Act shall be for
one year.
(b) Renewal.--A State that receives a grant under this Act may
submit an application for a renewal of such grant at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may
reasonably require.
(c) Limit.--A State may not receive a grant under this Act for more
than 4 years.
SEC. 7. USES OF FUNDS.
A State that receives a grant under this section shall use--
(1) 25 percent of such funds for any of the permissible
uses of funds under the grant program described in paragraph
(1) of section 5; and
(2) 75 percent of such funds for any of the permissible
uses of funds under the grant program described in paragraph
(2) of section 5.
SEC. 8. TERMINATION DEFINED.
(a) In General.--In this Act, the term ``termination'' means, when
used with respect to parental rights, a complete and final termination
of the parent's right to custody of, guardianship of, visitation with,
access to, and inheritance from a child.
(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require a State, in order to receive a grant under this
Act, to have in place a law that terminates any obligation of a person
who fathered a child through rape to support the child.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2014 through 2018.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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