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 Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded $750,000 to WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence Inc. on October 1, 2025, under the Legal Assistance for Victims (CFDA 16.524) grant program to provide comprehensive civil and criminal legal services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking ages 11 and older.

The recipient, in partnership with Legal Aid of West Virginia, will deliver representation in housing, employment, public benefits, name change, custody, divorce, protective order, and expungement cases across eight counties in West Virginia: Cabell, Clay, Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam, and Wayne. The project will also produce an informational brochure in English and Spanish describing the civil legal services provided. Performance takes place in Charleston, West Virginia, with a project period extending through September 30, 2028.

The Legal Assistance for Victims program funds civil and criminal legal assistance in matters relating to or arising from abuse or violence, including family, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, administrative agency, housing, and campus administrative proceedings; criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, and post-trial matters affecting victim safety and privacy; alternative dispute resolution and restorative practices; and post-conviction relief proceedings where a victim's conviction is related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or sex trafficking.

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). Through this new legal assistance for victims project, west virginia coalition against domestic violence, in partnership with legal aid of west virginia, will provide representation in housing, employment, public benefits, name change, custody, divorce, protective order, and expungement cases to victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking in cabell, clay, boone, kanawha, lincoln, mason, putnam, and wayne counties, west virginia. The following product will be developed during the project period: a brochure in english and spanish that will provide information about the civil legal services provided by the project.