Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Office of the Secretary of the
                         Commonwealth of Massachusetts
William F. Galvin
Secretary of the
Commonwealth
         Report to the Legislature on the
         Domestic Violence Service Provider
         Grants: FY2024
         Through Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023, line item 0511-0420, the Domestic Violence Service
         Provider Grants provided funds to support outreach activities to promote awareness of human
         trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and/or assisting survivors with leaving
         abusive situations.
         December 2024
         Address Confidentiality Program
         P.O. Box 9120, Chelsea, MA 02150-9120
         Phone: 617-727-3261; 1-866-SAFE-ADD
         www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/acp/address-confidentiality-program.htm
Table of Contents
I.      Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1
II.     Grant Awards 2023-2024 .................................................................................... 2
III.    Evaluation Activities .......................................................................................... 2
IV.     Summary ............................................................................................................. 2
Appendix A: Domestic Violence Service Provider Grantees ...................................... 3
Appendix B: Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023 ............................................................... 4
I.       Introduction
The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Address Confidentiality
Program (ACP) respectfully submits this Report to the Legislature: Domestic Violence Service
Provider Grants (2024), pursuant to Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023, line item 0511-0420:
         “…provided further, that not later than December 16, 2024, the secretary shall submit a
         report to the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing: (1) the efficacy
         of the grant program; (2) key accomplishments of the awarded funds; and (3) the
         estimated impact of the awarded funds….”
The ACP is an administrative program that protects survivors of domestic violence,
sexual assault, rape, and stalking as well as some legally protected healthcare providers.
Specifically, the ACP is a mail forwarding service that gives participants a protected
address to use with state and municipal agencies. This protected address helps keep a
participant’s actual address out of public records.
In the fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY2024) budget, the state appropriated not less than
$100,000 for ACP to provide for a grant program. Allowable uses of the funds included,
but were not limited to the following:
     •   location-specific social media or mobile advertising campaigns;
     •   workplace or classroom educational seminars or similar community-based
         programming; and
     •   the creation and distribution of digital training toolkits to promote awareness in
         workplace or extra-curricular settings.
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II.        Grant Awards 2023-2024
Nonprofit organizations that provide services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or
stalking and legally protected reproductive health and gender-affirming care service providers
were eligible to apply for funding.
The grants were competitively awarded in January of 2024. Four proposals were selected for
funding with grant awards ranging from $18,215 to $30,355. See Appendix A for a list of
grantees.
III.       Evaluation Activities
As part of the grant application, applicants were notified of a reporting requirement that
evaluated their grant-funded activities to measure the effectiveness and impacts of their grant.
Applicants were required to complete a report with prompts drafted by the ACP.
As reported to ACP, the grant funding supported the following items or activities:
       •   Workshops, seminars and panel events;
       •   Outreach into new communities;
       •   Upgraded technology;
       •   Redesigned website;
       •   Support groups;
       •   Partnership with public schools on programming;
       •   Legal consultation program for survivors;
       •   Promotional materials;
       •   Increased staff hours;
       •   Support services such as transportation, emergency housing, emergency phones,
           childcare and rent to victims.
IV.        Summary
Based on the feedback it received, the ACP determined the first iteration of the Domestic
Violence Service Provider Grant Program to be a success.
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  Appendix A: Domestic Violence Service Provider Grantees
                       Grantee Name                     Geographic Region
Employers Against Domestic Violence                Statewide
HarborCOV                                          Chelsea, Revere, East Boston,
                                                   Winthrop
Melrose Alliance Against Violence                  Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham,
                                                   Saugus, Medford, Malden,
                                                   Winchester, Danvers
Wakefield Alliance Against Violence                Wakefield
                                                                               3
Appendix B: Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023
0511-0420 Domestic Violence Service Provider Grant Report
“For the operation of the address confidentiality program; provided, that not less than $100,000
shall be expended for a statewide domestic violence service provider grant program; provided
further, that the grant program shall be administered by the secretary of the commonwealth
through a competitive request for proposals; provided further, that such proposals shall support
outreach activities to promote awareness of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault
and stalking; provided further, that entities eligible to apply shall be nonprofit organizations that
provide services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking and legally protected
reproductive health and gender-affirming care service providers; provided further, that eligible
outreach activities shall include: (i) location-specific social media or mobile advertising
campaigns; (ii) workplace or classroom educational seminars or similar community-based
programming; and (iii) the creation and distribution of digital training toolkits to promote
awareness in workplace or extra-curricular settings; provided further, that information presented
through those outreach activities shall include information on available services for victims of
domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, the nearest district attorney’s office and other
relevant statewide services including, but not limited to, the: (a) address confidentiality program;
(b) Massachusetts office for victim assistance; and (c) department of transitional assistance;
provided further, that the secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure a
geographically equitable disbursement of funds; provided further, that the secretary shall
provide technical assistance to eligible entities in the application process; provided further, that
the secretary shall develop reporting requirements for grant recipients; and provided further, that
not later than December 16, 2024, the secretary shall submit a report to the house and senate
committees on ways and means detailing: (1) the efficacy of the grant program; (2) key
accomplishments of the awarded funds; and (3) the estimated impact of the awarded funds..….”
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