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

The legal assistance for victims (LAV) grant program, authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20121, is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively aid victims (ages 11 and older) of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking 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 includes assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in: a) family, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, administrative agency, housing matters, campus administrative, or protection or stay away order proceedings, and other similar matters; b) criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, and post-trial matters (including sentencing, parole, and probation) that impact the victims safety and privacy; c) alternative dispute resolution, restorative practices, or other processes intended to promote victim safety, privacy, and autonomy; and d) post-conviction relief proceedings in state, local, tribal, or territorial court where the conviction of a victim is related to or arising from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or SEX trafficking. 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(24)(c) and (d). Through this continuation legal assistance for victims project, the illinois coalition against sexual assault (icasa), in partnership with the chicago alliance against sexual exploitation (caase), mujeres latinas EN accion (mlea), northwest center against sexual assault (nwcasa), pillars community health (PCH), resilience, and the ywca metropolitan chicago (ywca), will provide holistic and trauma-informed legal services to non-intimate partner sexual assault victims in cook county, illinois. The project will address the following priority area: increasing legal services to victims of sexual assault. All activities of the sajp are focused on providing legal services to victims of non-intimate partner sexual assault. This award is a continuation of 15JOVW-21-GG-00368-lega.