Urges Congress and President to reauthorize "Family Violence Prevention and Services Act."

ACR115

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 115

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Urges Congress and President to reauthorize �Family
Violence Prevention and Services Act.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A
Concurrent Resolution
urging Congress and the
President of the United States to reauthorize the �Family Violence Prevention
and Services Act.�

Whereas,

The �Family Violence Prevention and Services Act� (FVPSA) was the first federal
law to address domestic violence, and today provides the primary federal
funding stream in support of victims of domestic and dating violence and their
dependents; and

Whereas,

Each year, more than 1,600 community-based programs receiving FVPSA funds
provide emergency shelter, counseling, legal assistance, crisis intervention,
and domestic and dating violence prevention education to 1.3 million victims;
and

Whereas,

The FVPSA funds programs such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which
operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fiscal year 2017, trained operators
and advocates on the Hotline provided important victim assistance services by
answering 323,081 total phone calls, text messages, and online chats; and

Whereas,

A study conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)
revealed that in just one day in 2017, 72,245 victims of domestic violence
across the United States received crucial services such as refuge in emergency
shelters and transitional housing, counseling, legal advocacy, and children�s
support groups; and

Whereas,

The same study found that 1,288 of those victims were located in New Jersey;
and

Whereas,

Despite the volume of services that FVPSA-funded shelters and programs provide
daily, the NNEDV study noted that 11,441 requests for services, 131 of which
were in New Jersey, went unmet due to lack of funding and resources; and

Whereas,

A federal law enacted in 2010 reauthorized, or allowed for formal continued
federal funding of, FVPSA through 2015, but the FVPSA has not been reauthorized
since; and

Whereas,

Bipartisan legislation, introduced in the United States Senate and House of
Representatives as S.2784 and H.R.6014 during the 115th Congress, would have
reauthorized FVPSA funding from 2019 to 2023; and

Whereas,

While FVPSA has continued to receive federal appropriations since its
authorization ended in 2015, funding has left an unacceptable gap between
desperate need and available resources; and

Whereas,

Passage and enactment of FVPSA reauthorization legislation would help to
protect the law from significant future funding cuts and a reduction in
life-saving services to victims of domestic and dating violence; now,
therefore,

����
Be It
Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

���� 1.��� The Legislature of this
State respectfully urges Congress and the President of the United States to
reauthorize the �Family Violence Prevention and Services Act�.

���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority
and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority
Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of
Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

���� This concurrent resolution
urges Congress and the President of the United States to reauthorize the
�Family Violence Prevention and Services Act� (FVPSA). �A federal law enacted
in 2010 reauthorized, or allowed for formal continued federal funding of, the
FVPSA until 2015, but the FVPSA has not been reauthorized since. �Bipartisan
legislation, introduced before the United States Senate and House of
Representatives as S.2784 and H.R.6014, during the 115th Congress, would have reauthorized
FVPSA funding from 2019 to 2023.

���� FVPSA provides the primary
federal funding stream in support of victims of domestic and dating violence
and their dependents. �Each year, the FVPSA, through various grants, helps fund
over 1,600 community-based programs that provide emergency shelter, counseling,
legal assistance, crisis intervention, and domestic and dating violence
prevention education to 1.3 million victims nationwide. �The law also funds the
National Domestic Violence Hotline, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, and has a staff of trained operators and advocates who, in fiscal year
2017, answered 323,081 total phone calls, text messages, and online chats.

���� A study conducted by the
National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) revealed that in just one day
in 2017, 72,245 victims of domestic violence across the United States, 1,288 of
whom were from New Jersey, received crucial services supported by the FVPSA. �Despite
the volume of services that FVPSA-funded shelters and programs provide daily,
the NNEDV study noted that 11,441 requests for services, 131 of which were in
New Jersey, went unmet due to lack of funding and resources.

���� During a time in which
domestic violence shelters overwhelmingly report that they struggle to meet
demand for critical services, reauthorization of the FVPSA will help ensure protection
against significant future funding cuts.