Chapter 477

2007 -- S 0742 SUBSTITUTE A

Enacted 07/07/07

A N A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT

Introduced By: Senator C Levesque

Date Introduced: February 15, 2007

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 12-29-5.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-29 entitled "Domestic

Violence Prevention Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

12-29-5.2. Duties and responsibilities of committee. -- (a) The committee shall have the

duties and responsibilities to:

      (1) Establish and promulgate minimum standards for batterers intervention programs

serving persons mandated pursuant to section 12-29-5, revise the standards as is deemed

necessary, and make the standards available to the public, provided that the standards shall

include, but not be limited to, the following:

      (i) Batterers intervention programs shall be conducted in the context of psycho-

educational groups, i.e., groups of domestic violence perpetrators led by one or more professional

group leaders trained and experienced in batterers intervention programming and conducted for

the purposes of learning and enacting non-abusive behaviors through didactic instruction,

interaction among participants and leaders, and teaching of skills within the groups;

      (ii) The duration of batterers intervention programs shall be a minimum of forty (40)

contact hours over the course of twenty (20) weeks; and

      (iii) Batterers intervention programs shall require that all mandated batterers pay fees for

the programs in accordance with the provisions of section 12-29-5; provided, that programs shall

accommodate varying levels of ability to pay by means of sliding fee scales and may elect to

offer alternatives to payment in the form of community restitution and/or deferred payment for a

portion of the fees; and

(iv) Provisions shall be established defining the circumstances under which defendants

who have attended a batterers program while incarcerated, and/or a batterers program in another

jurisdiction which is certified under that jurisdiction's standards or not subject to standards in that

jurisdiction, may request that their documented participation in such program be accepted in

satisfaction of some portion of their obligation to attend forty (40) hours of a certified batterers

intervention program as described in subdivision 12-29-5.2(a)(1)(ii).

      (2) Monitor and review batterers intervention programs seeking certification with respect

to compliance with the standards, including periodic on-site review;

      (3) Certify those batterers intervention programs which are in compliance with the

standards established pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection; and

      (4) Investigate and decide appeals, complaints, requests for variances, and post-

enrollment certification applications.

      (b) For purposes of this chapter, "post-enrollment certification applications" means those

applications made to the committee by a batterer mandated to attend a certified batterers

intervention program in accordance with section 12-29-5 who has, prior to adjudication, enrolled

in a program not certified by the committee. The application shall include supporting

documentation from the batterers intervention program and a request that participation in the

batterers intervention program be accepted in lieu of the equivalent number of hours of a certified

batterers intervention program. The committee shall act upon a post-enrollment certification

application within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00660/SUB A

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