AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE SAFETY OF VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 25I the following section:-
Section 25J. (a) The department of public health, in consultation with other executive office of health and human services agencies and the executive office of public safety and security, shall develop guidelines regarding the establishment of programs to protect the safety of victims of violence including, but not limited to, intimate partners. The guidelines shall assure that program coordinate services with existing state, community-based, and clinical resources to the maximum extent possible. The guidelines shall be developed in consultation with an advisory group to be appointed by the commissioner, composed of experts in the field of violence prevention, representatives from various health care provider associations and survivors of violence.
(b) The department shall establish a program to disseminate the guidelines and train health care providers and others considered appropriate by the department regarding the establishment of programs under the guidelines.
Approved June 4, 2008