Rep. Young Kim Pushes for Resources to Prevent Domestic Violence and Support Victims

Washington, DC – This week U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39), who serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Working Group to End Domestic Violence, continued her steadfast support for victims of domestic violence by supporting House passage of the bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (H.R. 2119).  

“Nearly 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States every single minute, which adds up to more than 10 million women and men each year. Unfortunately, the impacts of domestic violence on victims were made worse during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Kim. “No victim should ever feel alone. Funding from the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act helps provide domestic violence resources to more than 1.3 million victims and their children every year. In my district, this funding directly supported the Women’s Transitional Living Center in Fullerton, which last year alone provided 12,629 supportive services to nearly 2,000 adults and children in need. I will continue to do all I can to support commonsense policies that uplift domestic violence victims and shelters that provide lifesaving resources and treatment in California’s 39th District.”  

“Women’s Transitional Living Center in Fullerton is grateful to Congresswoman Kim for her commitment to ensuring survivors in our community have access to the resources they need to find safety and healing” said Mark Lee, CEO, Women’s Transitional Living Center in Fullerton. “So many survivors of domestic violence come to us from a place of total isolation, with few resources for recovery. It is wonderful to see support for legislation that will create real change in the lives of survivors of abuse and exploitation.” 

“We applaud Congresswoman Young Kim for her leadership in passing the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA) through the House,” said Krista Colon, Public Policy Director, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. “FVPSA is at the cornerstone of our nation’s response to domestic violence and allows California’s domestic violence organizations to provide essential services and prevention responses. H.R. 2119 strengthens FVPSA to meet the needs of all survivors, including an increased focus on communities of color and traditionally marginalized and unserved communities. FVPSA will increase critical funding for services that promote safety and healing, while also creating more opportunities to prevent domestic violence before it starts.” 

The bipartisan Family Violence Prevention and Services Act funds emergency shelters and supports assistance for victims of domestic violence through FY2026, such as: 

• Local shelters and programs for adults and children who are escaping violence including Women’s Transitional Living Center in Fullerton;  
• An underserved populations grant program to improve access to culturally specific programs to address challenges facing victims from racial and ethnic minority populations, those who speak languages other than English, and those with disabilities as they seek services and protection from abuse; 
• State, territorial and tribal domestic violence coalitions that coordinate state-wide and territory-wide initiatives to address domestic violence;  
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline, which is often the first call made by survivors; 
• A national Domestic Violence Resource Network that provides training and technical assistance to programs;  
• A Children’s Program which supports abused parents and their children to disrupt the cycle of violence; and, 
• DELTA Prevention Grants, which help communities to stop abuse before it starts. 

In 2019, California domestic violence programs received $9,585,570 in FVPSA funds that in 2019-2020 helped contribute to 215,187 answered hotline calls and 622,646 bed nights for victims and their children. In 2020, California law enforcement agencies received 160,646 domestic violence related calls. Learn more about eligibility for FVPSA funding here. 

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Young Kim has been a leader on issues empowering women and mothers. In addition to FVPSA, she is a proud supporter of the following efforts:  

• The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1620), which reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and modifies the law to include new economic and housing protections for victims of domestic violence, as well as grants to law enforcement and non-profits to ensure victim security and recovery; 
• The Care for Her Act (H.R. 5163), which would facilitate services to pregnant women to help meet the emotional, physical, social, financial and other needs they may encounter during pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing; 
• The TRIUMPH for New Moms Act (H.R. 4217), which would create a maternal mental health task force of federal agencies to review maternal mental health programs, coordinate resources and create a national strategy to better support new mothers and more efficiently spend taxpayer dollars; 
• A bipartisan resolution (H.Res. 547) to reaffirm Congress’ support for Afghan women and girls as the Biden administration withdraws U.S. troops from the region and the Taliban expands its presence in the region; 
• The Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2021 (H.R. 3875), which would identify barriers and promote new public sector programs and plans to foster women’s business enterprise;  
• The Keeping Girls in School Act (H.R. 4134), which would support empowerment, economic security and educational opportunities for adolescent girls around the world, among other provisions; and, 
• A bipartisan resolution to designate October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.