A recent clarification from the federal government that restricts grants from the Violence Against Women Act will make it too expensive for many low-income women to hire divorce lawyers, officials said. Last year, federal officials decided grants from the act can't be used to fund divorce or custody cases, even though the women often are involved in abusive relationships.
Attorneys still can help battered women with legal advocacy, such as obtaining protective orders.
Federal officials said they are following the law, and are not trying to create hardships. Of the state's 68 women's shelters, only a few have raised enough money to fund their own in-house attorneys. Officials with Legal Services of North Texas, which helps battered women obtain federally-funded lawyers, said they can continue to help only a fraction of the women they were helping last year. Unfortunately, we have to tell these people there is really nothing we can do for them. E.W. Scripps Publications , All Rights Reserved.