The department of social and health services, in consultation with relevant state departments, the domestic violence coalition, and individuals or groups having experience and knowledge of the prevention of, and the problems facing victims of domestic violence, including those with experience providing culturally appropriate services to populations that have traditionally been underserved or unserved, shall:
(1) Develop and maintain a plan for delivering domestic violence victim services, prevention efforts, and access to emergency shelter across the state. In developing the plan under this section, the department shall consider the distribution of community-based domestic violence programs and emergency shelter programs in a particular geographic area, population density, and specific population needs, including the needs in rural and urban areas, the availability and existence of domestic violence outreach and prevention activities, and the need for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. The department shall also develop and maintain a plan for providing a statewide toll-free information and referral hotline or other statewide accessible information and referral service for victims of domestic violence;
(2) Establish minimum standards for community-based domestic violence programs, emergency shelter programs, programs providing culturally or linguistically specific services, programs providing prevention and intervention services to children or youth, and programs conducting domestic violence outreach and prevention activities applying for grants from the department under this chapter;
(3) Receive grant applications for the development and establishment of community-based domestic violence programs, emergency shelter programs, and culturally or linguistically specific services for victims of domestic violence, programs providing prevention and intervention services to children who have been exposed to domestic violence or youth who have been victims of dating violence, and programs conducting domestic violence outreach and prevention activities;
(4) Distribute funds to those community-based domestic violence programs, emergency shelter programs, programs providing culturally or linguistically specific services, programs providing prevention and intervention services to children or youth, and programs conducting domestic violence outreach and prevention activities meeting departmental standards;
(5) Evaluate biennially each community-based domestic violence program, emergency shelter program, program providing culturally or linguistically specific services, program providing prevention and intervention services to children or youth, and program conducting domestic violence outreach and prevention activities receiving departmental funds for compliance with the established minimum standards;
(6) Review the minimum standards each biennium to ensure applicability to community and client needs;
(7) Administer funds available from the domestic violence prevention account under RCW
70.123.150 to provide for:
(a) Culturally specific prevention efforts and culturally appropriate community-based domestic violence services for victims of domestic violence from populations that have been traditionally underserved or unserved;
(b) Age appropriate prevention and intervention services for children who have been exposed to domestic violence or youth who have been victims of dating violence; and
(c) Outreach and education efforts by community-based domestic violence programs designed to increase public awareness about, and primary and secondary prevention of, domestic and dating violence; and
(8) Receive applications from, and award grants or issue contracts to, eligible nonprofit groups or organizations with experience and expertise in the field of domestic violence and a statewide perspective for:
(a) Providing resources, ongoing training opportunities, and technical assistance relating to domestic violence for community-based domestic violence programs across the state to develop effective means for preventing domestic violence and providing effective and supportive services and interventions for victims of domestic violence;
(b) Providing resource information, technical assistance, and collaborating to develop model policies and protocols to improve the capacity of individuals, governmental entities, and communities to prevent domestic violence and to provide effective, supportive services and interventions to address domestic violence; and
(c) Providing opportunities to persons working in the area of domestic violence to exchange information and resources.
