II 

Calendar No. 909 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1515 

To establish a domestic violence volunteer attorney network to represent 

domestic violence victims. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. BAYH, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. BROWN, 

Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. 

SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JULY 29 (legislative day, JULY 28), 2008 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a domestic violence volunteer attorney network 

to represent domestic violence victims. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Domestic Vio5 lence Volunteer Attorney Network Act’’. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
2 

•S 1515 RS

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the terms ‘‘dating partner’’, ‘‘dating vio3 lence’’, ‘‘domestic violence’’, ‘‘legal assistance’’, ‘‘linguis4 tically and culturally specific services’’, ‘‘stalking’’, and 

5 ‘‘State domestic violence coalitions’’ shall have the same 

6 meaning given such terms in section 3 of the Violence 

7 Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthoriza8 tion Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–162). 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER AT10 TORNEY NETWORK. 

11 Section 1201 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

12 2000 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–6) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER

15 ATTORNEY NETWORK.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may 

18 award grants to the American Bar Association 

19 Commission on Domestic Violence to work in 

20 collaboration with the American Bar Associa21 tion Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service 

22 and other organizations to create, recruit law23 yers for, and provide training, mentoring, and 

24 technical assistance for a National Domestic Vi25 olence Volunteer Attorney Network. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
3 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to 

2 the American Bar Association’s Commission on 

3 Domestic Violence under this subsection shall 

4 be used to— 

5 ‘‘(i) create and maintain a network to 

6 field and manage inquiries from volunteer 

7 lawyers seeking to represent and assist vic8 tims of domestic violence; 

9 ‘‘(ii) solicit lawyers to serve as volun10 teer lawyers in the network; 

11 ‘‘(iii) retain dedicated staff to support 

12 volunteer attorneys by— 

13 ‘‘(I) providing field technical as14 sistance inquiries; 

15 ‘‘(II) providing on-going men16 toring and support; 

17 ‘‘(III) collaborating with national 

18 domestic violence legal technical as19 sistance providers and statewide legal 

20 coordinators and local legal services 

21 programs; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) developing legal education 

23 and other training materials; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) maintain a point of contact with 

25 the statewide legal coordinator in each 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
4 

•S 1515 RS

1 State regarding coordination of training, 

2 mentoring, and supporting volunteer attor3 neys representing victims of domestic vio4 lence. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

6 be appropriated to carry out this subsection 

7 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 and 

8 2009 and $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

9 2010 through 2013. 

10 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A re11 ceipt of an award under this subsection by the Com12 mission on Domestic Violence of the American Bar 

13 Association shall not preclude the Commission from 

14 receiving additional grants under the Office on Vio15 lence Against Women’s Technical Assistance Pro16 gram to carry out the purposes of that program. 

17 ‘‘(4) OTHER CONDITIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION ON TORT LITIGA19 TION.—Funds appropriated for the grant pro20 gram under this subsection may not be used to 

21 fund civil representation in a lawsuit based on 

22 a tort claim. This subparagraph shall not be 

23 construed as a prohibition on providing assist24 ance to obtain restitution. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
5 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON LOBBYING.—Any 

2 funds appropriated under this subsection shall 

3 be subject to the prohibitions in section 1913 of 

4 title 18, United States Code, relating to lob5 bying with appropriated moneys.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY RE7 FERRAL PROGRAM. 

8 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2008 and 

10 2009, the Office on Violence Against Women of the 

11 Department of Justice, in consultation with the Do12 mestic Violence Legal Advisory Task Force, shall 

13 designate 5 States in which to implement the pilot 

14 program of the National Domestic Violence Volun15 teer Attorney Referral Project and distribute funds 

16 under this subsection. 

17 (2) CRITERIA.—Criteria for selecting the States 

18 for the pilot program under this subsection shall in19 clude— 

20 (A) equitable distribution between urban 

21 and rural areas, equitable geographical distribu22 tion; 

23 (B) States that have a demonstrated ca24 pacity to coordinate among local and statewide 

25 domestic violence organizations; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
6 

•S 1515 RS

1 (C) organizations serving immigrant 

2 women; and 

3 (D) volunteer legal services offices 

4 throughout the State. 

5 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the pilot pro6 gram under this subsection is to— 

7 (A) provide for a coordinated system of en8 suring that domestic violence victims through9 out the pilot States have access to safe, cul10 turally, and linguistically appropriate represen11 tation in all legal matters arising as a con12 sequence of the abuse or violence; and 

13 (B) support statewide legal coordinators in 

14 each State to manage referrals for victims to 

15 attorneys and to train attorneys on related do16 mestic violence issues. 

17 (4) ROLE OF STATEWIDE LEGAL COORDI18 NATOR.—A statewide legal coordinator under this 

19 subsection shall— 

20 (A) be employed by the statewide domestic 

21 violence coalition, unless the statewide domestic 

22 violence coalition determines that the needs of 

23 victims throughout the State would be best 

24 served if the coordinator was employed by an25 other statewide organization; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
7 

•S 1515 RS

1 (B) develop and maintain an updated data2 base of attorneys throughout the State, includ3 ing— 

4 (i) legal services programs; 

5 (ii) volunteer programs; 

6 (iii) organizations serving immigrant 

7 women; 

8 (iv) law school clinical programs; 

9 (v) bar associations; 

10 (vi) attorneys in the National Domes11 tic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network; 

12 and 

13 (vii) local domestic violence programs; 

14 (C) consult and coordinate with existing 

15 statewide and local programs including volun16 teer representation projects or statewide legal 

17 services programs; 

18 (D) provide referrals to victims who are 

19 seeking legal representation in matters arising 

20 as a consequence of the abuse or violence; 

21 (E) participate in biannual meetings with 

22 other Pilot Program grantees, American Bar 

23 Association Commission on Domestic Violence, 

24 American Bar Association Committee on Pro 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
8 

•S 1515 RS

1 Bono and Public Service, and national domestic 

2 violence legal technical assistance providers; 

3 (F) receive referrals of victims seeking 

4 legal representation from the National Domes5 tic Violence Hotline and other sources; 

6 (G) receive and disseminate information 

7 regarding volunteer attorneys and training and 

8 mentoring opportunities; and 

9 (H) work with the Office on Violence 

10 Against Women, the American Bar Association 

11 Commission on Domestic Violence, and the Na12 tional Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task 

13 Force to assess the effectiveness of the Pilot 

14 Program. 

15 (5) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The Attorney 

16 General shall award grants to statewide legal coordi17 nators under this subsection. 

18 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated $750,000 

20 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to fund the 

21 statewide coordinator positions and other costs asso22 ciated with the position in the 5 pilot program 

23 States under this subsection. 

24 (7) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 

25 receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
9 

•S 1515 RS

1 to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 

2 activities taken with the grant funds, including such 

3 additional information as the agency shall require. 

4 (b) NATIONAL PROGRAM.— 

5 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the national 

6 program under this subsection is to— 

7 (A) provide for a coordinated system of en8 suring that domestic violence victims through9 out the country have access to safe, culturally 

10 and linguistically appropriate representation in 

11 legal matters arising as a consequence of the 

12 abuse or violence; and 

13 (B) support statewide legal coordinators in 

14 each State to coordinate referrals to domestic 

15 violence attorneys and to train attorneys on re16 lated domestic violence issues, including immi17 gration matters. 

18 (2) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall 

19 award grants to States for the purposes set forth in 

20 subsection (a) and to support designated statewide 

21 legal coordinators under this subsection. 

22 (3) ROLE OF THE STATEWIDE LEGAL COORDI23 NATOR.—The statewide legal coordinator under this 

24 subsection shall be subject to the requirements and 

25 responsibilities provided in subsection (a)(4). 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
10 

•S 1515 RS

1 (4) GUIDELINES.—The Office on Violence 

2 Against Women, in consultation with the Domestic 

3 Violence Legal Advisory Task Force and the results 

4 detailed in the Study of Legal Representation of Do5 mestic Violence Victims, shall develop guidelines for 

6 the implementation of the national program under 

7 this section, based on the effectiveness of the Pilot 

8 Program in improving victims’ access to culturally 

9 and linguistically appropriate legal representation in 

10 the pilot States. 

11 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 

13 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013 to fund 

14 the statewide coordinator position in every State and 

15 other costs associated with the position. 

16 (6) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 

17 receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 

18 to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 

19 activities taken with the grant funds, including such 

20 additional information as the agency shall require. 

21 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE NATIONAL DO22 MESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY 

23 NETWORK. 

24 (a) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this section is to 

25 allow— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
11 

•S 1515 RS

1 (1) national domestic violence legal technical as2 sistance providers to expand their services to provide 

3 training and ongoing technical assistance to volun4 teer attorneys in the National Domestic Violence 

5 Volunteer Attorney Network; and 

6 (2) providers of domestic violence law to receive 

7 additional funding to train and assist attorneys in 

8 the areas of— 

9 (A) custody and child support; 

10 (B) employment; 

11 (C) housing; 

12 (D) immigrant victims’ legal needs (includ13 ing immigration, protection order, family and 

14 public benefits issues); and 

15 (E) interstate custody and relocation law. 

16 (b) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall award 

17 grants to national domestic violence legal technical assist18 ance providers to expand their services to provide training 

19 and ongoing technical assistance to volunteer attorneys in 

20 the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Net21 work, statewide legal coordinators, the National Domestic 

22 Violence Hotline and Internet-based legal referral organi23 zations described in section 1201(i)(1) of the Violence 

24 Against Women Act of 2000, as added by section 6. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
12 

•S 1515 RS

1 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A receipt of 

2 an award under this section shall not preclude the national 

3 domestic violence legal technical assistance providers from 

4 receiving additional grants under the Office on Violence 

5 Against Women’s Technical Assistance Program to carry 

6 out the purposes of that program. 

7 (d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, an eligible 

8 entity is a national domestic violence legal technical assist9 ance provider that— 

10 (1) has expertise on legal issues that arise in 

11 cases of victims of domestic violence, dating violence 

12 and stalking, including family, immigration, housing, 

13 protection order, public benefits, custody, child sup14 port, interstate custody and relocation, employment 

15 and other civil legal needs of victims; and 

16 (2) has an established record of providing tech17 nical assistance and support to lawyers representing 

18 victims of domestic violence. 

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $800,000 for national domestic violence legal technical as22 sistance providers for each fiscal year from 2008 through 

23 2013. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
13 

•S 1515 RS

1 SEC. 6. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE LEGAL 

2 REFERRALS. 

3 Section 1201 of the Violence Against Women Act of 

4 2000 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–6) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) LEGAL REFERRALS BY THE NATIONAL DOMES7 TIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

9 award grants to the National Domestic Violence 

10 Hotline (as authorized by section 316 of the Family 

11 Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 10416)) to provide information about statewide legal 

13 coordinators and legal services. 

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to the 

15 National Domestic Violence Hotline under this sub16 section shall be used to— 

17 ‘‘(A) update the Hotline’s technology and 

18 systems to reflect legal services and referrals to 

19 statewide legal coordinators; 

20 ‘‘(B) collaborate with the American Bar 

21 Association Commission on Domestic Violence 

22 and the national domestic violence legal tech23 nical assistance providers to train and provide 

24 appropriate assistance to the Hotline’s advo25 cates on legal services; and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
14 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(C) maintain a network of legal services 

2 and statewide legal coordinators and collaborate 

3 with the American Bar Association Commission 

4 on Domestic Violence. 

5 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are to be appro6 priated to carry out this subsection $500,000 for 

7 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 

8 ‘‘(i) LEGAL REFERRALS BY INTERNET-BASED SERV9 ICES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

11 award grants to Internet-based non-profit organiza12 tions with a demonstrated expertise on domestic vio13 lence to provide State-specific information about 

14 statewide legal coordinators and legal services 

15 through the Internet. 

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to 

17 Internet-based organizations under this subsection 

18 shall be used to— 

19 ‘‘(A) collaborate with the American Bar 

20 Association Commission on Domestic Violence 

21 and the national domestic violence legal tech22 nical assistance providers to train and provide 

23 appropriate assistance to personnel on referring 

24 legal services; and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
15 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(B) maintain a network of legal services 

2 and statewide legal coordinators, and collabo3 rate with the American Bar Association Com4 mission on Domestic Violence and the National 

5 Domestic Violence Hotline. 

6 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are to be appro7 priated to carry out this subsection $250,000 for 

8 each fiscal years of 2008 through 2013.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. STUDY OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF DOMESTIC 

10 VIOLENCE VICTIMS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The General Accountability Office 

12 shall study the scope and quality of legal representation 

13 and advocacy for victims of domestic violence, dating vio14 lence, and stalking, including the provision of culturally 

15 and linguistically appropriate services. 

16 (b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The General Accountability 

17 Office shall specifically assess the representation and ad18 vocacy of— 

19 (1) organizations providing direct legal services 

20 and other support to victims of domestic violence, 

21 dating violence, and stalking, including Legal Serv22 ices Corporation grantees, non-Legal Services Cor23 poration legal services organizations, domestic vio24 lence programs receiving Legal Assistance for Vic25 tims grants or other Violence Against Women Act 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
16 

•S 1515 RS

1 funds to provide legal assistance, volunteer programs 

2 (including those operated by bar associations and 

3 law firms), law schools which operate domestic vio4 lence, and family law clinical programs; and 

5 (2) organizations providing support to direct 

6 legal services delivery programs and to their volun7 teer attorneys, including State coalitions on domestic 

8 violence, National Legal Aid and Defender Associa9 tion, the American Bar Association Commission on 

10 Domestic Violence, the American Bar Association 

11 Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, State 

12 bar associations, judicial organizations, and national 

13 advocacy organizations (including the Legal Re14 source Center on Violence Against Women, and the 

15 National Center on Full Faith and Credit). 

16 (c) ASSESSMENT.—The assessment shall, with re17 spect to each entity under subsection (b), include— 

18 (1) what kind of legal assistance is provided to 

19 victims of domestic violence, such as counseling or 

20 representation in court proceedings; 

21 (2) number of lawyers on staff; 

22 (3) how legal services are being administered in 

23 a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, 

24 and the number of multi-lingual advocates; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
17 

•S 1515 RS

1 (4) what type of cases are related to the abuse, 

2 such as protective orders, divorce, housing, and child 

3 custody matters, and immigration filings; 

4 (5) what referral mechanisms are used to 

5 match a lawyer with a domestic violence victim; 

6 (6) what, if any, collaborative partnerships are 

7 in place between the legal services program and do8 mestic violence agencies; 

9 (7) what existing technical assistance or train10 ing on domestic violence and legal skills is provided 

11 to attorneys providing legal services to victims of do12 mestic violence; 

13 (8) what training or technical assistance for at14 torneys would improve the provision of legal services 

15 to victims of domestic violence; 

16 (9) how does the organization manage means17 testing or income requirements for clients; 

18 (10) what, if any legal support is provided by 

19 non-lawyer victim advocates; and 

20 (11) whether they provide support to or sponsor 

21 a pro bono legal program providing legal representa22 tion to victims of domestic violence. 

23 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the General Accountability Office 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
18 

•S 1515 RS

1 shall submit to Congress a report on the findings and rec2 ommendations of the study required by this section. 

3 SEC. 8. ESTABLISH A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL ADVI4 SORY TASK FORCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab6 lish the Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task Force to 

7 provide guidance for the implementation of the Study of 

8 Legal Representation of Domestic Violence Victims, the 

9 Pilot Program for the National Domestic Violence Volun10 teer Attorney Referral Project, and the National Program 

11 for the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney 

12 Referral Project. 

13 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force established 

14 under this section shall be composed of experts in pro15 viding legal assistance to domestic violence victims and de16 veloping effective volunteer programs providing legal as17 sistance to domestic violence victims, including judges with 

18 expertise on domestic violence, individuals with experience 

19 representing low-income domestic violence victims, and 

20 private bar members involved with volunteer legal services. 

21 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force shall pro22 vide— 

23 (1) ongoing advice to the American Bar Asso24 ciation Commission on Domestic Violence, the Na25 tional Domestic Violence Hotline, and the Statewide 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
19 

•S 1515 RS

1 Coordinators regarding implementation of the Pilot 

2 Program and the National Program of the Domestic 

3 Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral Project; 

4 (2) recommendations to the Office on Violence 

5 Against Women regarding the selection of the 5 sites 

6 for the Pilot Program; and 

7 (3) attend regular meetings covered by Amer8 ican Bar Association Commission or Domestic Vio9 lence. 

10 (d) REPORT.—The Task Force shall report to Con11 gress every 2 years on its work under this section. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

14 $100,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 

15 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Domestic Vio17 lence Volunteer Attorney Network Act’’. 

18 SEC. 2. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER AT19 TORNEY NETWORK. 

20 The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (Public Law 

21 103–322) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
20 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘Subtitle Q—National Domestic Vi2 olence Volunteer Attorney Net3 work 

4 ‘‘SEC. 41601. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER 

5 ATTORNEY NETWORK. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may 

8 award grants to the American Bar Association Com9 mission on Domestic Violence to work in collaboration 

10 with the American Bar Association Committee on Pro 

11 Bono and Public Service and other organizations to 

12 create, recruit lawyers for, and provide training, 

13 mentoring, and technical assistance for a National 

14 Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network. 

15 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to the 

16 American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic 

17 Violence under this section shall be used to— 

18 ‘‘(A) create and maintain a network to field 

19 and manage inquiries from volunteer lawyers 

20 seeking to represent and assist victims of domes21 tic violence; 

22 ‘‘(B) solicit lawyers to serve as volunteer 

23 lawyers in the network; 

24 ‘‘(C) retain dedicated staff to support volun25 teer attorneys by— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
21 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(i) providing field technical assistance 

2 inquiries; 

3 ‘‘(ii) providing on-going mentoring 

4 and support; 

5 ‘‘(iii) collaborating with national do6 mestic violence legal technical assistance 

7 providers and statewide legal coordinators 

8 and local legal services programs; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) developing legal education and 

10 other training materials; and 

11 ‘‘(D) maintain a point of contact with the 

12 statewide legal coordinator in each State regard13 ing coordination of training, mentoring, and 

14 supporting volunteer attorneys representing vic15 tims of domestic violence. 

16 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of 

18 the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and $3,000,000 for each of 

19 the fiscal years 2010 through 2013. 

20 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A receipt of 

21 an award under this section by the Commission on Domes22 tic Violence of the American Bar Association shall not pre23 clude the Commission from receiving additional grants 

24 under the Office on Violence Against Women’s Technical As25 sistance Program to carry out the purposes of that program. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
22 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(d) OTHER CONDITIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED PARTNERSHIPS.—In developing 

3 and implementing the national volunteer attorney 

4 network described in this section, the American Bar 

5 Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence shall 

6 partner, when possible, with 1 or more national do7 mestic violence organizations with demonstrated ex8 pertise in providing training and technical assistance 

9 to a national audience. Any such partner must be 

10 fairly compensated for its participation in developing 

11 and implementing the network. 

12 ‘‘(2) STANDARD GRANT CONDITION.—Any award 

13 made to the American Bar Association’s Commission 

14 on Domestic Violence under this section shall be sub15 ject to the Office on Violence Against Women’s stand16 ard grant award conditions and reporting require17 ments. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 41602. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY 

19 REFERRAL PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal years 2008 and 

22 2009, the Office on Violence Against Women of the 

23 Department of Justice, in consultation with the Do24 mestic Violence Legal Advisory Task Force, shall des25 ignate 5 States in which to implement the pilot proVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:54 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1515.RS S1515

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
23 

•S 1515 RS

1 gram of the National Domestic Violence Volunteer At2 torney Referral Project and distribute funds under 

3 this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—Criteria for selecting the States 

5 for the pilot program under this subsection shall in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(A) equitable distribution between urban 

8 and rural areas, equitable geographical distribu9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(B) States that have a demonstrated ca11 pacity to coordinate among local and statewide 

12 domestic violence organizations; 

13 ‘‘(C) organizations serving immigrant 

14 women; and 

15 ‘‘(D) volunteer legal services offices through16 out the State. 

17 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the pilot pro18 gram under this subsection is to— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide for a coordinated system of en20 suring that domestic violence victims throughout 

21 the pilot States have access to safe, culturally, 

22 and linguistically appropriate representation in 

23 all legal matters arising as a consequence of the 

24 abuse or violence; and 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
24 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(B) support statewide legal coordinators in 

2 each State to manage referrals for victims to at3 torneys and to train attorneys on related domes4 tic violence issues. 

5 ‘‘(4) ROLE OF STATEWIDE LEGAL COORDI6 NATOR.—A statewide legal coordinator under this 

7 subsection shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) be employed by the statewide domestic 

9 violence coalition, unless the statewide domestic 

10 violence coalition determines that the needs of 

11 victims throughout the State would be best served 

12 if the coordinator was employed by another 

13 statewide organization; 

14 ‘‘(B) be an attorney in good standing li15 censed to practice law in the applicable State; 

16 ‘‘(C) have or obtain training to gain exper17 tise in providing legal assistance to victims of 

18 domestic violence; 

19 ‘‘(D) develop and maintain an updated 

20 database of attorneys throughout the State, in21 cluding— 

22 ‘‘(i) legal services programs; 

23 ‘‘(ii) volunteer programs; 

24 ‘‘(iii) organizations serving immigrant 

25 women; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
25 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(iv) law school clinical programs; 

2 ‘‘(v) bar associations; 

3 ‘‘(vi) attorneys in the National Domes4 tic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(vii) local domestic violence pro7 grams; 

8 ‘‘(E) consult and coordinate with existing 

9 statewide and local programs including volun10 teer representation projects or statewide legal 

11 services programs; 

12 ‘‘(F) provide referrals to victims who are 

13 seeking legal representation in matters arising as 

14 a consequence of the abuse or violence; 

15 ‘‘(G) participate in biannual meetings with 

16 other Pilot Program grantees, American Bar As17 sociation Commission on Domestic Violence, 

18 American Bar Association Committee on Pro 

19 Bono and Public Service, and national domestic 

20 violence legal technical assistance providers; 

21 ‘‘(H) receive referrals of victims seeking 

22 legal representation from the National Domestic 

23 Violence Hotline and other sources; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
26 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(I) receive and disseminate information re2 garding volunteer attorneys and training and 

3 mentoring opportunities; and 

4 ‘‘(J) work with the Office on Violence 

5 Against Women, the American Bar Association 

6 Commission on Domestic Violence, and the Na7 tional Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task 

8 Force to assess the effectiveness of the Pilot Pro9 gram. 

10 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The Attorney 

11 General shall award grants to statewide legal coordi12 nators under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated $750,000 for 

15 each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to fund at least 

16 1 statewide coordinator positions and other costs asso17 ciated with the position in the 5 pilot program States 

18 under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(7) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 

20 receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 

21 to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 

22 activities taken with the grant funds, including such 

23 additional information as the agency shall require. 

24 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL PROGRAM.— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
27 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the national 

2 program under this subsection is to— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide for a coordinated system of en4 suring that domestic violence victims throughout 

5 the country have access to safe, culturally and 

6 linguistically appropriate representation in legal 

7 matters arising as a consequence of the abuse or 

8 violence; and 

9 ‘‘(B) support statewide legal coordinators in 

10 each State to coordinate referrals to domestic vi11 olence attorneys and to train attorneys on re12 lated domestic violence issues, including immi13 gration matters. 

14 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall 

15 award grants to States for the purposes set forth in 

16 subsection (a) and to support designated statewide 

17 legal coordinators under this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(3) ROLE OF THE STATEWIDE LEGAL COORDI19 NATOR.—The statewide legal coordinator under this 

20 subsection shall be subject to the requirements and re21 sponsibilities provided in subsection (a)(4). 

22 ‘‘(4) GUIDELINES.—The Office on Violence 

23 Against Women, in consultation with the Domestic 

24 Violence Legal Advisory Task Force and the results 

25 detailed in the Study of Legal Representation of DoVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:54 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1515.RS S1515

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
28 

•S 1515 RS

1 mestic Violence Victims, shall develop guidelines for 

2 the implementation of the national program under 

3 this subsection, based on the effectiveness of the Pilot 

4 Program in improving victims’ access to culturally 

5 and linguistically appropriate legal representation in 

6 the pilot States. 

7 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 

9 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013 to fund the 

10 statewide coordinator position in every State and 

11 other costs associated with the position. 

12 ‘‘(6) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 

13 receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 

14 to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 

15 activities taken with the grant funds, including such 

16 additional information as the agency shall require. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 41603. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE NATIONAL 

18 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY 

19 NETWORK. 

20 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this section is to 

21 allow— 

22 ‘‘(1) national domestic violence legal technical 

23 assistance providers to expand their services to pro24 vide training and ongoing technical assistance to volVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:54 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1515.RS S1515

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
29 

•S 1515 RS

1 unteer attorneys in the National Domestic Violence 

2 Volunteer Attorney Network; and 

3 ‘‘(2) providers of domestic violence law to receive 

4 additional funding to train and assist attorneys in 

5 the areas of— 

6 ‘‘(A) custody and child support; 

7 ‘‘(B) employment; 

8 ‘‘(C) housing; 

9 ‘‘(D) immigrant victims’ legal needs (in10 cluding immigration, protection order, family 

11 and public benefits issues); and 

12 ‘‘(E) interstate custody and relocation law. 

13 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall award 

14 grants to national domestic violence legal technical assist15 ance providers to expand their services to provide training 

16 and ongoing technical assistance to volunteer attorneys in 

17 the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Net18 work, statewide legal coordinators, the National Domestic 

19 Violence Hotline, and Internet-based legal referral organi20 zations described in section 1201(i)(1). 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A receipt of 

22 an award under this section shall not preclude the national 

23 domestic violence legal technical assistance providers from 

24 receiving additional grants under the Office on Violence 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
30 

•S 1515 RS

1 Against Women’s Technical Assistance Program to carry 

2 out the purposes of that program. 

3 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, an eligible 

4 entity is a national domestic violence legal technical assist5 ance provider that— 

6 ‘‘(1) has expertise on legal issues that arise in 

7 cases of victims of domestic violence, dating violence 

8 and stalking, including family, immigration, housing, 

9 protection order, public benefits, custody, child sup10 port, interstate custody and relocation, employment 

11 and other civil legal needs of victims; and 

12 ‘‘(2) has an established record of providing tech13 nical assistance and support to lawyers representing 

14 victims of domestic violence. 

15 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $800,000 for national domestic violence legal technical as18 sistance providers for each fiscal year from 2008 through 

19 2013. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 41604. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE 

21 LEGAL REFERRALS. 

22 ‘‘(a) LEGAL REFERRALS BY THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC

23 VIOLENCE HOTLINE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

25 award grants to the National Domestic Violence HotVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:54 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1515.RS S1515

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
31 

•S 1515 RS

1 line (as authorized by section 316 of the Family Vio2 lence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10416)) 

3 to provide information about statewide legal coordi4 nators and legal services. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to the 

6 National Domestic Violence Hotline under this sub7 section shall be used to— 

8 ‘‘(A) update the Hotline’s technology and 

9 systems to reflect legal services and referrals to 

10 statewide legal coordinators; 

11 ‘‘(B) collaborate with the American Bar As12 sociation Commission on Domestic Violence and 

13 the national domestic violence legal technical as14 sistance providers to train and provide appro15 priate assistance to the Hotline’s advocates on 

16 legal services; and 

17 ‘‘(C) maintain a network of legal services 

18 and statewide legal coordinators and collaborate 

19 with the American Bar Association Commission 

20 on Domestic Violence. 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are to be appro22 priated to carry out this subsection $500,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 

24 ‘‘(b) LEGAL REFERRALS BY INTERNET-BASED SERV25 ICES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS.— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
32 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

2 award grants to Internet-based non-profit organiza3 tions with a demonstrated expertise on domestic vio4 lence to provide State-specific information about 

5 statewide legal coordinators and legal services through 

6 the Internet. 

7 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to Inter8 net-based organizations under this subsection shall be 

9 used to— 

10 ‘‘(A) collaborate with the American Bar As11 sociation Commission on Domestic Violence and 

12 the national domestic violence legal technical as13 sistance providers to train and provide appro14 priate assistance to personnel on referring legal 

15 services; and 

16 ‘‘(B) maintain a network of legal services 

17 and statewide legal coordinators, and collaborate 

18 with the American Bar Association Commission 

19 on Domestic Violence and the National Domestic 

20 Violence Hotline. 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are to be appro22 priated to carry out this subsection $250,000 for each 

23 fiscal years of 2008 through 2013. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
33 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘SEC. 41605. STUDY OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF DO2 MESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Justice 

4 shall study the scope and quality of legal representation and 

5 advocacy for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 

6 and stalking, including the provision of culturally and lin7 guistically appropriate services. 

8 ‘‘(b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The National Institute of 

9 Justice shall specifically assess the representation and advo10 cacy of— 

11 ‘‘(1) organizations providing direct legal services 

12 and other support to victims of domestic violence, dat13 ing violence, and stalking, including Legal Services 

14 Corporation grantees, non-Legal Services Corporation 

15 legal services organizations, domestic violence pro16 grams receiving Legal Assistance for Victims grants 

17 or other funds under this Act to provide legal assist18 ance, volunteer programs (including those operated by 

19 bar associations and law firms), law schools which 

20 operate domestic violence, and family law clinical 

21 programs; and 

22 ‘‘(2) organizations providing support to direct 

23 legal services delivery programs and to their volunteer 

24 attorneys, including State coalitions on domestic vio25 lence, the National Legal Aid and Defender Associa26 tion, the American Bar Association Commission on 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
34 

•S 1515 RS

1 Domestic Violence, the American Bar Association 

2 Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, State bar 

3 associations, judicial organizations, and national ad4 vocacy organizations (including the Legal Resource 

5 Center on Violence Against Women, and the National 

6 Center on Full Faith and Credit). 

7 ‘‘(c) ASSESSMENT.—The assessment shall, with respect 

8 to each entity under subsection (b), include— 

9 ‘‘(1) what kind of legal assistance is provided to 

10 victims of domestic violence, such as counseling or 

11 representation in court proceedings; 

12 ‘‘(2) number of lawyers on staff; 

13 ‘‘(3) how legal services are being administered in 

14 a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, 

15 and the number of multilingual advocates; 

16 ‘‘(4) what type of cases are related to the abuse, 

17 such as protective orders, divorce, housing, and child 

18 custody matters, and immigration filings; 

19 ‘‘(5) what referral mechanisms are used to match 

20 a lawyer with a domestic violence victim; 

21 ‘‘(6) what, if any, collaborative partnerships are 

22 in place between the legal services program and do23 mestic violence agencies; 

24 ‘‘(7) what existing technical assistance or train25 ing on domestic violence and legal skills is provided 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
35 

•S 1515 RS

1 to attorneys providing legal services to victims of do2 mestic violence; 

3 ‘‘(8) what training or technical assistance for at4 torneys would improve the provision of legal services 

5 to victims of domestic violence; 

6 ‘‘(9) how does the organization manage means7 testing or income requirements for clients; 

8 ‘‘(10) what, if any legal support is provided by 

9 nonlawyer victim advocates; and 

10 ‘‘(11) whether they provide support to or sponsor 

11 a pro bono legal program providing legal representa12 tion to victims of domestic violence. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

14 of enactment of this title, the National Institute of Justice 

15 shall submit to Congress a report on the findings and rec16 ommendations of the study required by this section. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 41606. ESTABLISH A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL AD18 VISORY TASK FORCE. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab20 lish the Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task Force to 

21 provide guidance for the implementation of the Study of 

22 Legal Representation of Domestic Violence Victims, the 

23 Pilot Program for the National Domestic Violence Volunteer 

24 Attorney Referral Project, and the National Program for 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
36 

•S 1515 RS

1 the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral 

2 Project. 

3 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force established under 

4 this section shall be composed of experts in providing legal 

5 assistance to domestic violence victims and developing effec6 tive volunteer programs providing legal assistance to do7 mestic violence victims, including judges with expertise on 

8 domestic violence, individuals with experience representing 

9 low-income domestic violence victims, and private bar 

10 members involved with volunteer legal services. 

11 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force shall pro12 vide— 

13 ‘‘(1) ongoing advice to the American Bar Asso14 ciation Commission on Domestic Violence, the Na15 tional Domestic Violence Hotline, and the Statewide 

16 Coordinators regarding implementation of the Pilot 

17 Program and the National Program of the Domestic 

18 Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral Project; 

19 ‘‘(2) recommendations to the Office on Violence 

20 Against Women regarding the selection of the 5 sites 

21 for the Pilot Program; and 

22 ‘‘(3) attend regular meetings covered by Amer23 ican Bar Association Commission or Domestic Vio24 lence. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
37 

•S 1515 RS

1 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—The Task Force shall report to Con2 gress every 2 years on its work under this section. 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

4 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $100,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
Calendar No. 909 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1515 

A BILL 

To establish a domestic violence volunteer attorney 

network to represent domestic violence victims. 

JULY 29 (legislative day, JULY 28), 2008 

Reported with an amendment 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS