(a) (1) The Secretary shall establish a program in the Department of Human
Resources to help victims of domestic violence and their children.
(2) The purpose of the program is to provide for victims of domestic
violence and their children, in each region of this State:
(i) temporary shelter or help in obtaining shelter;
(ii) counseling;
(iii) information;
(iv) referral; and
(v) rehabilitation.
(b) As a part of the domestic violence program, there shall be, in a major
population center of this State, at least 1 program serving the area.
(c) Any program established under this section shall be subject to the
following conditions:
(1) the program shall provide victims of domestic violence and their
children with a temporary home and necessary counseling;
(2) the Department of Human Resources shall:
(i) supervise the program;
(ii) set standards of care and admission policies;
(iii) monitor the operation of the program and annually evaluate the
effectiveness of the program; and
(iv) adopt rules and regulations that set fees for services at and govern
the operation of each program;
(3) the program shall accept from the police or any other referral source
in the community any victim of domestic violence and the child of any
victim of domestic violence; and
(4) housing may not be provided under this subtitle to an applicant for
housing who is not a resident of this State at the time the application
for housing is made.
(d) (1) As funds become available, the Secretary may extend the domestic
violence program to other areas in this State.
(2) Expansion of the domestic violence program may include:
(i) establishing additional shelters; or
(ii) providing funds and technical assistance to a local organization or
agency that shows that it is able and willing to run a domestic
violence program.
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