| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | VAWO | FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 1999 | 202/307-0703 |
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES $21.9 MILLION TO ASSIST
VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced $21.9 million in FY 1999 Civil Legal Assistance grant funds to strengthen civil legal assistance for domestic violence victims. The grants will be distributed to law school legal clinics, victims and legal services organizations, battered women's shelters and bar associations in 31 states and Puerto Rico. "Many women who are victims of domestic violence cannot afford or do not have access to legal services," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "These funds will allow organizations to improve victims' access to attorneys and advocates, often at no cost, to help women navigate the civil legal system."
Grant funds can be used to establish legal advocacy programs to help victims, regardless of income, with securing and enforcing protection orders, divorces or separations, spousal and child support orders and resolving child custody and visitation conflicts. Funds can also help victims with other matters related to their abuse, such as access to benefits and health care, housing and eviction matters and matters related to employment. In addition, grant funds can be used to recruit and train attorneys who will provide pro bono civil legal assistance to domestic violence victims.
"By helping battered women address issues related to their financial and safety concerns, we're giving them the autonomy they need to end the violence," added Bonnie Campbell, Director of the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Violence Against Women Office (VAWO). "We are funding programs that respond to victims' need to bring order to their lives."
This is the second year that VAWO is awarding these funds. Applicants were encouraged to link civil legal services and domestic violence victim advocacy programs. They were also asked to reach out to underserved populations such as rural, Spanish-speaking and Asian and Pacific Islander victims who are often isolated by language and cultural barriers.
Grant funds will be used to establish and strengthen law school clinical programs, such as the one which the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is forming with the Georgia State University College of Law, to train law students to represent victims in protective order hearings. The University of Southern Maine will provide students enrolled in clinical courses with training in domestic violence and available civil legal remedies and give every law student experience in representing a domestic violence victim.
In Duluth, Minnesota, the American Indian Community Housing Organization will provide culturally-sensitive legal services to Native American battered women, such as helping them develop safety plans, file assault charges and representing them in cases involving cross-jurisdictional issues between Indian reservations and non-reservation areas.
Grantees are also using these funds to provide a comprehensive approach to serving victims beyond securing basic orders of protection. The Greater Boston Legal Service Corporation will implement a legal and medical liaison project linking abuse prevention programs at six Boston hospitals with their domestic violence court projects.
Attached is a list of the specific grant awards. More information about the civil legal assistance program and other violence against women efforts is available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/VAWO or OJP's Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov, or call the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free on 1/800-851-3420.
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VAW99137
After hours contact: Adam Spector on 202/307-3912 or page on 202/516-6843
|
STATE |
JURISDICTION |
GRANTEE |
AMOUNT |
| ALABAMA | Montgomery | Legal Services Corporation of Alabama |
$318,500 |
| CALIFORNIA | San Jose | Community Legal Services, Inc. |
$318,500 |
| Berkeley | Family Violence Law Center |
$317,569 | |
| Los Angeles | Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles |
$318,500 | |
| San Rafael | Legal Aid of the
North Bay |
$318,605 | |
| San Mateo County | Legal Aid Society of
San Mateo County |
$265,205 | |
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, Inc. |
$272,727 | |
| San Francisco | Nihonmachi Legal Outreach |
$318,500 | |
| Santa Ana | Public Law Center |
$157,160 | |
| San Pedro | Rainbow Services, Inc. |
$300,300 | |
| Pacoima | San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. |
$284,814 | |
| Ventura County | Ventura County Commission on Human Concerns |
$317,393 | |
| COLORADO | Denver | Legal Aid Society of
Metro Denver |
$318,281 |
| FLORIDA | Brevard County | Brevard County Legal Aid, Inc. |
$208,048 |
| FLORIDA | Daytona Beach | Central Florida Legal Services, Inc. |
$303,411 |
| Dade County | Dade County Bar Association Legal Aid |
$221,755 | |
| Tallahassee | Florida State University |
$235,442 | |
| Pensacola | Northwest Florida Legal Services, Inc. |
$86,631 | |
| GEORGIA | Atlanta | Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, Inc. |
$121,231 |
| HAWAII | Honolulu | Hawai'i Lawyers Care |
$243,371 |
| ILLINOIS | Springfield | Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence |
$262,942 |
| Alton | Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation |
$132,070 | |
| Chicago | Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago |
$313,435 | |
| Evanston | Northwestern University |
$309,865 | |
| Rockford | Prairie State Legal
Services, Inc. |
$293,357 | |
| Joliet | Will County Legal Assistance Program |
$123,391 | |
| INDIANA | Indianapolis | Legal Services Organization of Indiana, Inc. |
$146,473 |
| South Bend | Legal Services Program of Northern Indiana, Inc. |
$292,338 | |
| INDIANA | Valparaiso | The Lutheran University Association Valparaiso University School of Law |
$74,198 |
| KENTUCKY | Louisville | The Center for Women and Families |
$52,084 |
| Covington | Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Inc. |
$61,692 | |
| LOUISIANA | Natchitoches | Kisatchie Legal Services Corporation |
$144,004 |
| New Orleans | New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation |
$284,717 | |
| MAINE | Portland | Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc. |
$318,500 |
| Portland | University of Southern Maine |
$162,325 | |
| MARYLAND | Bel Air | Sexual Assault/Spouse Abuse Resource Center, Inc. |
$236,082 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | Boston | Greater Boston Legal Service Corporation |
$309,191 |
| MICHIGAN | Lansing | Legal Aid of Central Michigan |
$317,671 |
| Ann Arbor | Legal Services of Southeastern Michigan, Inc. |
$194,580 | |
| Ann Arbor | Legal Services of Southeast Michigan |
$314,652 | |
| Grand Rapids | Legal Aid of Western Michigan |
$268,956 | |
| MICHIGAN | Pontiac | Oakland Livingston
Legal Aid |
$275,314 |
| Saginaw | Underground Railroad, Inc. |
$183,625 | |
| MINNESOTA | Duluth | American Indian Community Housing Organization |
$151,132 |
| Moorhead | Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota |
$288,855 | |
| Saint Paul | Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services |
$259,200 | |
| MISSISSIPPI | Jackson | Central Mississippi Legal Services |
$84,218 |
| MISSOURI | Saint Louis | Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc. |
$318,500 |
| NEBRASKA | Lincoln | Legal Services of Southeast Nebraska |
$255,578 |
| NEW JERSEY | Edison | Legal Services of New Jersey |
$133,060 |
| NEW MEXICO | San Juan Pueblo | Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc. |
$118,144 |
| Santa Fe | Northern New Mexico Legal Services, Inc. |
$318,500 | |
| NEW YORK | Bronx | Bronx Legal Services |
$296,658 |
| Brooklyn | Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation |
$313,290 | |
| Brooklyn | Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation, Inc. |
$258,748 | |
| NEW YORK | Albany | Capital District Women's Bar Association |
$193,106 |
| Elmira | Chemung County Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. |
$36,524 | |
| Binghamton | Legal Aid for Broome and Chenango |
$72,323 | |
| Albany | Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. |
$248,415 | |
| Albany | Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. |
$169,997 | |
| Rochester | The Legal Aid Society of Rochester, Inc. |
$318,500 | |
| Middletown | Legal Aid Society of Rockland |
$79,706 | |
| Middletown | Legal Aid Society of Rockland/Orange County Safe Homes |
$79,706 | |
| Middletown | Legal Aid Society of Rockland/Woodstock |
$79,706 | |
| Hempstead | Nassau-Suffolk Law Services Commission |
$311,701 | |
| Buffalo | Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. |
$272,856 | |
| White Plains | Pace University Battered Women's Justice Center |
$145,280 | |
| New York | Sanctuary for Families, Inc. |
$317,590 | |
| NEW YORK | Bath | Southern Tier Legal Services |
$248,964 |
| White Plains | Westchester/Putnam Legal Service |
$318,500 | |
| Lockport | Women's Law Center |
$168,254 | |
| NORTH CAROLINA | Raleigh | Legal Services of North Carolina, Inc. |
$318,500 |
| Charlotte | Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, Inc. |
$209,455 | |
| OHIO | Akron | Battered Women's Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties |
$272,186 |
| Columbus | The Legal Aid Society of Columbus |
$207,070 | |
| OREGON | Portland | Oregon Legal Services Corporation |
$294,335 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | Harrisburg | Central Pennsylvania Legal Services |
$262,306 |
| Harrisburg | Legal Services, Inc. |
$182,450 | |
| PUERTO RICO | San Juan | Municipality of San Juan |
$282,799 |
| Santurce | Puerto Rico Legal Services, Inc. |
$210,589 | |
| TENNESSEE | Nashville | Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee |
$261,807 |
| Memphis | Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc. |
$314,405 | |
| TEXAS | Nacogdoches | East Texas Legal Services, Inc. |
$318,500 |
| TEXAS | Dallas | Legal Services of North Texas, Inc. |
$315,999 |
| Spring | Montgomery County Women's Center |
$209,137 | |
| San Antonio | Saint Mary's University of San Antonio |
$211,893 | |
| Weslaco | Texas Rural Legal Aid, Inc. |
$306,633 | |
| Fort Worth | West Texas Legal Services |
$318,500 | |
| Arlington | The Women's Shelter, Inc. |
$131,500 | |
| VIRGINIA | Harrisonburg | Blue Ridge Legal Services, Inc. |
$160,441 |
| Leesburg | Loudoun Citizens for Social Justice |
$102,579 | |
| WASHINGTON | Bellingham | Lummi Indian Nation |
$117,830 |
| WEST VIRGINIA | Charleston | West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence |
$307,372 |
| Charleston | West Virginia Legal Services Plan, Inc. |
$317,787 | |
| WISCONSIN | Black River Falls | Ho-Chunk Nation |
$150,908 |
| TOTAL |
95 |
95 |
$21,959,397 |
June 1999