The legal assistance for victims (LAV) grant program, authorized by authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20121, is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively…

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women awarded a $399,306 Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program award to The Doves Program, doing business as Spouse Abuse Crisis Line, a non-profit organization in Gering, Nebraska. The 2-year grant funds The Doves Program to establish a legal assistance program providing comprehensive civil and criminal legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Morrill, Kimball, Banner, Box Butte, Dawes, Sheridan, and Sioux counties in Nebraska. Legal services cover a range of matters related to or arising from the abuse, including divorce, child custody, housing, employment, and criminal justice proceedings. The Doves Program has also received federal grant sub-awards from the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services and Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to provide direct services, prevention efforts, and domestic violence/sexual assault services in compliance with state and federal laws.

The legal assistance for victims (LAV) grant program, authorized by authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20121, is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively aid adult and youth (ages 11 to 24) victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault, by providing funds for comprehensive direct legal services to victims in legal matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence. Legal assistance is assistance in: a) divorce, parental rights, child support, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, administrative agency, housing, campus, education, healthcare, privacy, contract, consumer, civil rights, protection or other injunctive proceedings, related enforcement proceedings, and other similar matters; b) criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, and post-conviction matters (including sentencing, parole, and probation) that impact the victims safety, privacy, or other interests as a victim; c) alternative dispute resolution, restorative practices, or other processes intended to promote victim safety, privacy, and autonomy, and offender accountability, regardless of court involvement; or d) post-conviction relief proceedings in state, local, tribal, or territorial court, with respect to a conviction of a victim relating to or arising from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or SEX trafficking victimization of the victim. The LAV grant programs expanding legal services initiative (elsi) is intended to enable eligible organizations that do not currently offer legal services to establish a program that provides legal representation to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Through this new legal assistance for victims expanding legal services project, the doves program will establish a program to provide comprehensive legal services, including in the areas of child custody, divorce, housing, and employmentto victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking across scotts bluff, cheyenne, morrill, kimball, banner, box butte, dawes, sheridan, and sioux counties in nebraska.