AB 702

This bill creates the Office of Violence Prevention in the Department of Health

Services, establishes certain duties with respect to the office, and directs the office

to award grants for community violence intervention. The bill provides that the office

shall coordinate and expand violence prevention activities, and work to reduce the

incidences of interpersonal violence and reduce death by homicide. To achieve this

goal, the bill requires the office to accomplish all of the following:

1. Establish a violence prevention focus within DHS and any division of

government that receives funding from DHS.

2. Develop collaborative relationships with other state agencies that are

interested or active in the reduction of interpersonal violence.

3. Integrate violence prevention education into existing and planned state

funded substance use and abuse prevention programs.

4. Support the development and implementation of comprehensive

community-based violence prevention initiatives within cities and towns across the

state.

5. Develop sources of funding beyond state revenues to maintain the office and

expand its activities.

6. Create a directory of existing violence prevention services and activities in

each county.

7. Develop and recommend additional wrap around and support services that

include both interpersonal violence and suicide prevention programs and are funded

by local governing bodies.

8. Support local organizations that provide violence prevention services in

seeking out and applying for grant funding in support of their initiatives.

9. With the support of DHS, develop and implement a public health strategy.

Additionally, this bill directs the office to establish and implement a program

to award grants to support effective violence reduction initiatives in communities

that are disproportionately affected by violence. Grants are to be awarded

competitively to counties and cities that are disproportionately impacted by violence,

and to community-based organizations that serve the residents of those counties or

cities. Where appropriate, the bill allows two or more counties and cities to submit

joint applications to provide more comprehensive solutions. Grantees are required

to submit to the office at regular intervals reports that describe the grantee's

progress in achieving the grant objectives.