Columnist Sandra Thompson: Abuse victims need money for legal services

Sandra Thompson

Sunday, Aug. 8, 1999 | 9:39 a.m.

Sandra Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or through e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com

IT'S TIME TO expand the focus of domestic violence grants.

Since the vast majority of those funds come from the STOP Violence Against Women grant program, changes must be realized at the federal level.

According to the Nevada attorney general's office, $1.1 million in grants was distributed throughout the state. There are strict federal guidelines on how the money can be spent, though, with emphasis on law enforcement, prosecution, victim services and education/training.

Little is spent on what's becoming a growing need among domestic violence victims: legal services. Some assistance is available to obtain temporary protection orders. But victims themselves cite a greater legal need in other areas, particularly in divorce and child custody matters.

There is a "huge need," says Wayne Pressel, executive director of Nevada Legal Services, "and it's broader than you think."

"The first focus is on marriage, family, custody," he says. "We see problems with spin-off issues caused by the destabilization of the family. When women and children leave (an abusive) home, I'll show you a housing problem, a public benefits problem, a health problem and a school problem."

Although he prefers a more humanistic approach than getting tangled up in the legal process, Pressel adds: "We need lawyers when we emotionally or intellectually can't help ourselves."

Veronica Boyd-Frenkel, Nevada's domestic violence ombudsman who works out of Reno, says federal grant agencies are beginning to hear a cry around the country about the need for legal services.

Locally, the Nevada Law Foundation provides about $300,000 to such agencies as the Clark County Pro Bono Project, Temporary Assistance for Domestic Crisis and Nevada Legal Services. The Pro Bono Project, which primarily handles domestic violence issues, can't keep up with the demand.

The majority of the foundation's funds comes from interest earned from attorneys' trust accounts. The accounts contain retainers clients give attorneys, and the average daily balance generates interest.

According to Suzan Baucum, executive director of the Nevada Law Foundation, 90 percent of its money goes to pro-bono legal services and 10 percent to law-related education programs.

But, she says, more money is needed.

Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has advocated a loosening of the federal grant guidelines so more can be spent on legal services.

Such services, Del Papa says, shouldn't just apply to the battered woman. "STOP Violence Against Women is a good program, but the one area where it misses the boat is in terms of children," she says.

That's a major concern echoed by domestic violence victims, especially those embroiled in Family Court custody battles. Often, allegations of domestic abuse are given short-shrift in court, they say. They can't afford an attorney, but need legal help to keep and protect their children.

Certainly, judicial and law enforcement training is needed in the area of domestic violence. Money to provide shelter and other basics for victims should be continued. Also notable are initiatives such as the attorney general's outreach to businesses to understand how domestic violence affects their bottom line, absenteeism and health costs.

But there is a definite need for legal services for domestic violence victims, particularly in child support and custody matters. There are reduced attorney fee programs, but in some cases domestic violence victims don't even have enough money for an apartment much less to pay a legal fee.

Some attorneys would be more likely to offer assistance if they could just get reimbursed to pay their overhead.

Boyd-Frenkel says there is a greater public awareness today that domestic violence is not acceptable and affects us all. But, she adds, there is a lack of awareness of what we can do on an individual basis and how we can support a friend, colleague, etc.

Government can't provide a shoulder to cry on, but it can offer legal help that would directly benefit victims. It might be the ladder they need to climb out of an abusive abyss.