U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
Frequently Asked Questions on the VAWA Confidentiality Provision (34 U.S.C. § 12291(b)(2)) | 4
9. What if the grantee is a large umbrella organization but only one division of the
organization is providing grant-funded services?
Under the VAWA Confidentiality Provision, the division of the organization that is
providing grant-funded services may not share personally identifying information with
other divisions of the organization. Per regulation, 28 CFR 90.4(b)(2)(iii), the VAWA
Confidentiality Provision applies to disclosures from “the victim services divisions or
components of an organization, agency, or government” to other non-victim services
divisions within an organization, agency, or government.
“Victim services division or component of an organization, agency, or government” is
defined as “a division within a larger organization, agency, or government, where the
division has as its primary purpose to assist or advocate for domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking victims and has a documented history of work
concerning such victims.” 20 CFR 90.2(h).
Example 1: A grantee organization operates a domestic violence shelter, a
counseling program, and a food bank. The organization partners with a medical
service provider. If Client A comes to the domestic violence shelter, the shelter
would need a release from the client before the shelter may contact the food bank
on the client’s behalf. If Client B comes to the food bank because she is homeless
(even if she is homeless as a result of domestic violence), and the food bank
contacts the partner medical provider, the food bank would not need a release
from the client because the client had never sought victim services from the
organization. As with the example in Question 8 above, although the food bank is
not required to obtain a client’s consent before sharing the client’s information,
OVW would encourage the food bank to “opt-in” to the VAWA Confidentiality
Provision in order to better protect the safety and privacy of all of the grantee
organization’s clients.
Example 2: The grantee is a tribal government. The tribal domestic violence
program is providing victim services through the grant. The tribal domestic
violence program cannot share identifying information about victims with other
divisions of the tribal government without a statutory or court mandate or a
signed, written, informed, and reasonably time-limited release from the victim.
10. Can a victim services division or component of an organization, agency, or
government share victim information with the leadership of the larger organization,
agency, or government (e.g., executive director or chief executive)?
In the absence of a statutory or court mandate or a signed, written, informed, and
reasonably time-limited release, the victim services division or component may only
share identifying information about victims with the leadership of the larger organization,
agency, or government in extraordinary and rare circumstances. Such circumstances do
not include routine monitoring or supervision. One example of an extraordinary and rare