On November 16, the House Financial Services Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 2695) to protect the personally identifying information of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who are receiving housing assistance. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI).
Viewing the Safe Housing Identity Exception for the Lives of Domestic Violence Victims Act or SHIELD Act as “a simple solution to protect a vulnerable population,” Rep. Moore explained that “currently, all domestic violence shelters, transitional housing programs, homeless shelters, and emergency shelters receiving funds from the HUD McKinney-Vento Act are required to submit the names and other personal information of all who use the facility into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) tracking database. Employees and contractors of federal, state, and local agencies—some of whom may be abusers—have access to the HMIS database.” The SHIELD Act would exempt shelters from having to submit personal information—such as first and last name, Social Security number, date of birth, ethnicity and race—about each person who seeks safety and shelter at their facility. The exemption also would apply to the parent of a minor victim and the dependent or minor child of a victim.
