‘‘Subtitle Q—National Domestic Vi-
olence Volunteer Attorney Net-
work 
‘‘SEC. 41701. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER 
ATTORNEY NETWORK. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may 
award grants to the American Bar Association Com-
mission on Domestic Violence to work in collabora-
tion with the American Bar Association Committee 
on Pro Bono and Public Service and other organiza-
tions to create, recruit lawyers for, and provide 
training, mentoring, and technical assistance for a 
National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Net-
work. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to the 
American Bar Association’s Commission on Domes-
tic Violence under this section shall be used to— 
‘‘(A) create and maintain a network to 
field and manage inquiries from volunteer law-
yers seeking to represent and assist victims of 
domestic violence; 
‘‘(B) solicit lawyers to serve as volunteer 
lawyers in the network; 
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‘‘(C) retain dedicated staff to support vol-
unteer attorneys by— 
‘‘(i) providing field technical assist-
ance inquiries; 
‘‘(ii) providing on-going mentoring 
and support; 
‘‘(iii) collaborating with national do-
mestic violence legal technical assistance 
providers and statewide legal coordinators 
and local legal services programs; and 
‘‘(iv) developing legal education and 
other training materials; and 
‘‘(D) maintain a point of contact with the 
statewide legal coordinator in each State re-
garding coordination of training, mentoring, 
and supporting volunteer attorneys representing 
victims of domestic violence. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2009 and $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2010 through 2013. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A receipt of 
an award under this section by the Commission on Domes-
tic Violence of the American Bar Association shall not pre-
clude the Commission from receiving additional grants 
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under the Office on Violence Against Women’s Technical 
Assistance Program to carry out the purposes of that pro-
gram. 
‘‘(d) OTHER CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIRED PARTNERSHIPS.—In developing 
and implementing the national volunteer attorney 
network described in this section, the American Bar 
Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence shall 
partner, when possible, with 1 or more national do-
mestic violence organizations with demonstrated ex-
pertise in providing training and technical assistance 
to a national audience. Any such partner must be 
fairly compensated for its participation in developing 
and implementing the network. 
‘‘(2) 
STANDARD
GRANT
CONDITION.—Any 
award made to the American Bar Association’s 
Commission on Domestic Violence under this section 
shall be subject to the Office on Violence Against 
Women’s standard grant award conditions and re-
porting requirements. 
‘‘SEC. 41702. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY 
REFERRAL PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2009, the 
Office on Violence Against Women of the Depart-
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ment of Justice, in consultation with the Domestic 
Violence Legal Advisory Task Force, shall designate 
5 States in which to implement the pilot program of 
the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney 
Referral Project and distribute funds under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—Criteria for selecting the 
States for the pilot program under this subsection 
shall include— 
‘‘(A) equitable distribution between urban 
and rural areas and equitable geographical dis-
tribution; 
‘‘(B) States that have a demonstrated ca-
pacity to coordinate among local and statewide 
domestic violence organizations; 
‘‘(C) States that have organizations serv-
ing immigrant women; and 
‘‘(D) States that have volunteer legal serv-
ices offices throughout the State. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the pilot pro-
gram under this subsection is to— 
‘‘(A) provide for a coordinated system of 
ensuring 
that 
domestic 
violence 
victims 
throughout the pilot States have access to safe, 
culturally, and linguistically appropriate rep-
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resentation in all legal matters arising as a con-
sequence of the abuse or violence; and 
‘‘(B) support statewide legal coordinators 
in each pilot State to manage referrals for vic-
tims to attorneys and to train attorneys on re-
lated domestic violence issues. 
‘‘(4) ROLE
OF
STATEWIDE
LEGAL
COORDI-
NATOR.—A statewide legal coordinator under this 
subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) be employed by the State domestic vi-
olence coalition, unless the State domestic vio-
lence coalition determines that the needs of vic-
tims throughout the State would be best served 
if the coordinator was employed by another 
statewide organization; 
‘‘(B) be an attorney in good standing li-
censed to practice law in the applicable State; 
‘‘(C) have or obtain training to gain exper-
tise in providing legal assistance to victims of 
domestic violence; 
‘‘(D) develop and maintain an updated 
database of attorneys throughout the State, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) legal services programs; 
‘‘(ii) volunteer programs; 
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‘‘(iii) organizations serving immigrant 
women; 
‘‘(iv) law school clinical programs; 
‘‘(v) bar associations; 
‘‘(vi) attorneys in the National Do-
mestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Net-
work; and 
‘‘(vii) local domestic violence pro-
grams; 
‘‘(E) consult and coordinate with existing 
statewide and local programs including volun-
teer representation projects or statewide legal 
services programs; 
‘‘(F) provide referrals to victims who are 
seeking legal representation in matters arising 
as a consequence of the abuse or violence; 
‘‘(G) participate in biannual meetings with 
other pilot program grantees, American Bar As-
sociation Commission on Domestic Violence, 
American Bar Association Committee on Pro 
Bono and Public Service, and national domestic 
violence legal technical assistance providers; 
‘‘(H) receive referrals of victims seeking 
legal representation from the National Domes-
tic Violence Hotline and other sources; 
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‘‘(I) receive and disseminate information 
regarding volunteer attorneys and training and 
mentoring opportunities; and 
‘‘(J) work with the Office on Violence 
Against Women, the American Bar Association 
Commission on Domestic Violence, and the Na-
tional Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task 
Force to assess the effectiveness of the pilot 
program. 
‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—The Attorney 
General shall award grants to statewide legal coordi-
nators under this subsection for purposes of the 
pilot program established under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated $750,000 
for fiscal year 2009 to fund at least 1 statewide co-
ordinator position and other costs associated with 
the position in the 5 pilot program States under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(7) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 
receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 
to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 
activities taken with the grant funds, including such 
additional information as the agency shall require. 
‘‘(b) NATIONAL PROGRAM.— 
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‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the national 
program under this subsection is to— 
‘‘(A) provide for a coordinated system of 
ensuring 
that 
domestic 
violence 
victims 
throughout the country have access to safe, cul-
turally, and linguistically appropriate represen-
tation in legal matters arising as a consequence 
of the abuse or violence; and 
‘‘(B) support statewide legal coordinators 
in each State to coordinate referrals to domestic 
violence attorneys and to train attorneys on re-
lated domestic violence issues, including immi-
gration matters. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall 
award grants to States for the purposes set forth in 
subsection (a) and to support designated statewide 
legal coordinators under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) ROLE OF THE STATEWIDE LEGAL COORDI-
NATOR.—The statewide legal coordinator under this 
subsection shall be subject to the requirements and 
responsibilities provided in subsection (a)(4). 
‘‘(4) GUIDELINES.—The Office on Violence 
Against Women, in consultation with the Domestic 
Violence Legal Advisory Task Force and the results 
detailed in the Study of Legal Representation of Do-
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mestic Violence Victims, shall develop guidelines for 
the implementation of the national program under 
this subsection, based on the effectiveness of the 
Pilot Program in improving victims’ access to cul-
turally and linguistically appropriate legal represen-
tation in the pilot States. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2013 to 
fund the statewide coordinator position in every 
State and other costs associated with the position. 
‘‘(6) EVALUATION AND REPORTING.—An entity 
receiving a grant under this subsection shall submit 
to the Department of Justice a report detailing the 
activities taken with the grant funds, including such 
additional information as the agency shall require. 
‘‘SEC. 41703. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE NATIONAL 
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VOLUNTEER ATTOR-
NEY NETWORK. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this section is to 
allow— 
‘‘(1) national domestic violence legal technical 
assistance providers to expand their services to pro-
vide training and ongoing technical assistance to vol-
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unteer attorneys in the National Domestic Violence 
Volunteer Attorney Network; and 
‘‘(2) providers of domestic violence law to re-
ceive additional funding to train and assist attorneys 
in the areas of— 
‘‘(A) custody and child support; 
‘‘(B) employment; 
‘‘(C) housing; 
‘‘(D) immigrant victims’ legal needs (in-
cluding immigration, protection order, family 
and public benefits issues); and 
‘‘(E) interstate custody and relocation law. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Attorney General shall award 
grants to national domestic violence legal technical assist-
ance providers to expand their services to provide training 
and ongoing technical assistance to volunteer attorneys in 
the National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Net-
work, statewide legal coordinators, the National Domestic 
Violence Hotline, and Internet-based legal referral organi-
zations described in section 1201(i)(1). 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GRANTS.—A receipt of 
an award under this section shall not preclude the national 
domestic violence legal technical assistance providers from 
receiving additional grants under the Office on Violence 
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Against Women’s Technical Assistance Program to carry 
out the purposes of that program. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, an eligi-
ble entity is a national domestic violence legal technical 
assistance provider that— 
‘‘(1) has expertise on legal issues that arise in 
cases of victims of domestic violence, dating violence 
and stalking, including family, immigration, housing, 
protection order, public benefits, custody, child sup-
port, interstate custody and relocation, employment 
and other civil legal needs of victims; and 
‘‘(2) has an established record of providing 
technical assistance and support to lawyers rep-
resenting victims of domestic violence. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$800,000 for national domestic violence legal technical as-
sistance providers for each of the fiscal years 2009 
through 2013. 
‘‘SEC. 41704. NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE 
LEGAL REFERRALS. 
‘‘(a) LEGAL REFERRALS BY THE NATIONAL DOMES-
TIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 
award grants to the National Domestic Violence 
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Hotline (as authorized by section 316 of the Family 
Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 
10416)) to provide information about statewide legal 
coordinators and legal services. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds allocated to the 
National Domestic Violence Hotline under this sub-
section shall be used to— 
‘‘(A) update the Hotline’s technology and 
systems to reflect legal services and referrals to 
statewide legal coordinators; 
‘‘(B) collaborate with the American Bar 
Association Commission on Domestic Violence 
and the national domestic violence legal tech-
nical assistance providers to train and provide 
appropriate assistance to the Hotline’s advo-
cates on legal services; and 
‘‘(C) maintain a network of legal services 
and statewide legal coordinators and collaborate 
with the American Bar Association Commission 
on Domestic Violence. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
$500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2013. 
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‘‘(b) LEGAL REFERRALS BY INTERNET-BASED SERV-
ICES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 
award grants to Internet-based non-profit organiza-
tions with a demonstrated expertise on domestic vio-
lence to provide State-specific information about 
statewide legal coordinators and legal services 
through the Internet. 
‘‘(2) USE
OF
FUNDS.—Funds allocated to 
Internet-based organizations under this subsection 
shall be used to— 
‘‘(A) collaborate with the American Bar 
Association Commission on Domestic Violence 
and the national domestic violence legal tech-
nical assistance providers to train and provide 
appropriate assistance to personnel on referring 
legal services; and 
‘‘(B) maintain a network of legal services 
and statewide legal coordinators, and collabo-
rate with the American Bar Association Com-
mission on Domestic Violence and the National 
Domestic Violence Hotline. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
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$250,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2013. 
‘‘SEC. 41705. STUDY OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF DO-
MESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Jus-
tice shall study the scope and quality of legal representa-
tion and advocacy for victims of domestic violence, dating 
violence, and stalking, including the provision of culturally 
and linguistically appropriate services. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The National Institute of 
Justice shall specifically assess the representation and ad-
vocacy of— 
‘‘(1) organizations providing direct legal serv-
ices and other support to victims of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, and stalking, including Legal 
Services Corporation grantees, non-Legal Services 
Corporation legal services organizations, domestic vi-
olence programs receiving Legal Assistance for Vic-
tims grants or other funds under this Act to provide 
legal assistance, volunteer programs (including those 
operated by bar associations and law firms), law 
schools which operate domestic violence, and family 
law clinical programs; and 
‘‘(2) organizations providing support to direct 
legal services delivery programs and to their volun-
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teer attorneys, including State coalitions on domestic 
violence, the National Legal Aid and Defender Asso-
ciation, the American Bar Association Commission 
on Domestic Violence, the American Bar Association 
Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, State 
bar associations, judicial organizations, and national 
advocacy organizations (including the Legal Re-
source Center on Violence Against Women, and the 
National Center on Full Faith and Credit). 
‘‘(c) ASSESSMENT.—The assessment shall, with re-
spect to each entity under subsection (b), include— 
‘‘(1) what kind of legal assistance is provided to 
victims of domestic violence, such as counseling or 
representation in court proceedings; 
‘‘(2) number of lawyers on staff; 
‘‘(3) how legal services are being administered 
in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner, 
and the number of multilingual advocates; 
‘‘(4) what type of cases are related to the 
abuse, such as protective orders, divorce, housing, 
and child custody matters, and immigration filings; 
‘‘(5) what referral mechanisms are used to 
match a lawyer with a domestic violence victim; 
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‘‘(6) what, if any, collaborative partnerships are 
in place between the legal services program and do-
mestic violence agencies; 
‘‘(7) what existing technical assistance or train-
ing on domestic violence and legal skills is provided 
to attorneys providing legal services to victims of do-
mestic violence; 
‘‘(8) what training or technical assistance for 
attorneys would improve the provision of legal serv-
ices to victims of domestic violence; 
‘‘(9) how does the organization manage means- 
testing or income requirements for clients; 
‘‘(10) what, if any legal support is provided by 
nonlawyer victim advocates; and 
‘‘(11) whether they provide support to or spon-
sor a pro bono legal program providing legal rep-
resentation to victims of domestic violence. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this title, the National Institute of Justice 
shall submit to Congress a report on the findings and rec-
ommendations of the study required by this section. 
‘‘SEC. 41706. ESTABLISH A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL AD-
VISORY TASK FORCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall es-
tablish the Domestic Violence Legal Advisory Task Force 
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to provide guidance for the implementation of the Study 
of Legal Representation of Domestic Violence Victims 
under section 41705, the Pilot Program for the National 
Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral Project 
under section 41702(a), and the National Program for the 
National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral 
Project under section 41702(b). 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force established 
under this section shall be composed of experts in pro-
viding legal assistance to domestic violence victims and de-
veloping effective volunteer programs providing legal as-
sistance to domestic violence victims, including judges with 
expertise in domestic violence, individuals with experience 
representing low-income domestic violence victims, and 
private bar members involved with volunteer legal services. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force shall— 
‘‘(1) provide ongoing advice to the American 
Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, 
the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the 
Statewide Coordinators regarding implementation of 
the pilot program under section 41702(a) and the 
National Program of the Domestic Violence Volun-
teer 
Attorney 
Referral 
Project 
under 
section 
41702(b); 
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