Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA): Background and Funding

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides federal funding for shelter and direct services for victims of domestic violence and their families. While the law’s name references family violence, FVPSA focuses on violence committed by a spouse or other intimate partner (domestic violence or intimate partner violence); other federal programs address child abuse and elder abuse. A related law, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) (administered by the U.S. Department of Justice) focuses on the criminal justice response to domestic violence and additional services for victims. Estimates of the population impacted by domestic violence tend to be limited due to sensitivity around collecting data from victims. The most recent nationally representative estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that roughly 7% of both women and men experienced intimate partner violence in 2016-2017 (representing approximately 9 million women and 8 million men). When asked about domestic violence over their lifetimes, 47% of women and 44% of men reported experiencing intimate partner violence. Women were more likely than men to report an impact from such violence, including having injuries, being fearful, being concerned for their safety, missing work or school, needing medical care, or needing help from law enforcement. Throughout much of the 20th century, domestic violence remained a hidden problem. Victims, or survivors, of this abuse often endured physical and emotional abuse in silence out of fear of retaliation by their spouses or partners. In the 1970s, women with personal experiences of abuse, civic organizations, and professionals began to open shelters and provide services to abused women and their children. As a result of these efforts and greater national attention to domestic violence, Congress conducted a series of hearings in the early 1980s to understand the scope of domestic violence and explore possible responses. FVPSA was enacted in 1984 (Title III of P.L. 98-457), and has been reauthorized seven times since—most recently by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-320). FVPSA authorizes three primary sets of activities (described below). The first two activities are administered by HHS’s Administration for Children and Families and the third activity is administered by CDC. They are authorized through FY2015, per the 2010 reauthorization, and funds (which are discretionary) have continually been appropriated in each subsequent year. Total available funding for FVPSA was approximately $268 million in FY2025, consistent with FY2024. Shelter and direct services: The bulk of FVPSA funding supports shelter and direct services for victims and their families, including victims in underserved communities and children exposed to domestic violence. Most of this funding is awarded via grants to states, territories, and tribes, which then distribute the funds to local domestic violence service organizations. These organizations provide shelter and a number of services—counseling, referrals, development of safety plans, advocacy, legal advocacy, and other services. This funding also supports state domestic violence coalitions that provide training and support for service providers, and national resource centers that provide training and technical assistance on various domestic violence issues for a variety of stakeholders. Domestic violence hotlines: The second major FVPSA activity is a national domestic violence hotline that receives calls for assistance related to domestic violence, as well as hotlines that focus on subpopulations such as a youth hotline and Native American hotline. The hotlines provide crisis intervention and counseling, maintain a database of service providers throughout the United States and the territories, and provide referrals for victims and others affected by domestic violence. Prevention: FVPSA funds prevention efforts through a program known as Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA). The program supports efforts in selected communities to prevent domestic violence. FVPSA was the first federal law to address domestic violence. Since the law was enacted, it has retained a primary focus on providing shelter and services for survivors and has increasingly provided support to children exposed to domestic violence and teen dating violence. With the enactment of VAWA, the federal response to domestic violence expanded to include investigating and prosecuting crimes and providing additional services to victims and abusers. VAWA activities are primarily administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.