Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title II Chapter 17
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 17, § 20 (2026)

Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance Fund

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 20. There shall be established and placed within the department of public health a fund to be known as the Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance Fund, in this section referred to as the fund, to support innovative practices to prevent domestic and sexual violence and provide assistance to victims of domestic violence in the commonwealth. The fund shall be credited any appropriations, bond proceeds or other monies authorized by the general court, which may properly be applied in furtherance of the objectives of the fund, domestic and sexual violence prevention and victim assistance assessments, as specified in section 8 of chapter 258B, and any other monies which may be available for the purposes of the fund from any other source or sources. Any revenues, deposits, receipts or funds received shall be deposited in the fund and shall be available for the purposes described in this section, without further appropriation. Money remaining in the fund at the end of the year shall not revert to the General Fund.

The fund shall be under the control of the department of public health and not subject to appropriation. The fund shall be used for innovative practices, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) community-based domestic and sexual violence prevention and assistance programs and service providers; (ii) multi-disciplinary teams addressing victims of domestic and sexual violence at high risk of homicide or fatality; and (iii) other programs and service providers that support victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2019–2019 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 118 N.E.3d 107 (Mass. 2019).
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Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 118 N.E.3d 107 (Mass. 2019). “258B, § 3 ( o ) (right, among others, "to request that restitution be an element of the final disposition of a case"), and created the Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance Fund, G. L. c. 17, § 20. And, as we have recognized, "[w]hen a serious crime has…”
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