FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV OVW (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today that the Department of Justice is awarding more than $20 million to 15 communities chosen under President Bushs Family Justice Center Initiative to prevent and respond to violence against women, and to five communities that will receive technical assistance grants to provide specialized expertise and consultation to them. The Presidents Family Justice Center Initiative, unveiled by President Bush in October 2003, is an unprecedented pilot program that will make a victims search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of necessary services together under one roof. The Justice Departments Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has taken the lead on this pilot program to develop comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers in these 15 communities across the country.
The Family Justice Center Initiative Awards will make a tremendous difference for women in these communities who are victimized by domestic violence, allowing those who desperately need help to find it in one place, said Attorney General John Ashcroft. The cause of justice is served not only when we prosecute criminals, but also when we reach out to the victims of crime. The Family Justice Centers will ease their burden and demonstrate that the most compassionate way of helping victims can also be the best and most effective way. Offering centralized, comprehensive services to domestic violence victims is the coordinated community response at its best, said Office on Violence Against Women Director Diane M. Stuart. Whether its obtaining a protection order, talking to an advocate, or meeting with a prosecutor, these centers will enable victims to get the assistance they need to put their lives and their childrens lives back on track. Often, the services designed to help these victims are uncoordinated and scattered throughout communities. The Presidents Family Justice Center Initiative sites are designed to bring together advocates from non-profit, non-governmental domestic violence victim services organizations, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, probation officers, governmental victim assistants, forensic medical professionals, civil legal attorneys, chaplains, and representatives from community-based organizations into one centralized location.
The 15 Family Justice Centers are encouraged to look to the family justice centers pioneered in San Diego, CA; Indianapolis, IN; and Hennepin County, MN for the comprehensive development and creation of their own centers. Justice Department efforts will be further supported by its partners from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Labor.
The Department of Justice selected the recipients of the Family Justice Center Initiative Awards based on several criteria, including geographic distribution, economic and cultural diversity, service to underserved populations, and coordination with Native American communities. The 15 communities receiving the awards are: 2004 PRESIDENTS FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER INITIATIVE AWARD AMOUNTS AND CONTACTS Site County of Alameda: $ 1,227,250 Oakland, California - Joline Owyang, (510) 272-6217 Family Violence Law Center: $ 150,000 Julia Arno, (510) 540-5370 Bexar County: $ 1,227,250 San Antonio, Texas - Kaye Whitcomb, (210) 335-2342 Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid: $ 150,000 Michele Clark, (512) 447-7707 City of Boston: $ 1,046,880 Boston, Massachusetts - Cathy Greene, (617) 619-4265 Greater Boston Legal Services: $ 150,000 Barbara Mitchell, (617) 603-1550 Defiance Municipal Court: $ 1,214,086 Defiance, Ohio - Pam Weiner, (419) 784-9558 Legal Aid of Western Ohio: $ 150,000 Pam Weiner, (419) 784-9558 County of Erie: $ 945,712 Buffalo, New York - Amy Rockwood, (716) 858-4941 Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.: $ 150,000 Alexis Dickerson, (716) 847-0655 Hillsborough County: $ 1,098,008 Tampa, Florida - Vicki Adelson, (813) 301-7352 Bay Area Legal Services: $ 150,000 Richard Woltmann, (813) 232-1222 City of Knoxville: $ 1,077,000 Knoxville, Tennessee - Judith Martin, (865) 215-2040 Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Inc.: $ 150,000 David R. Yoder, (865) 637-0484 City of Nampa: $ 915,566 Nampa, Idaho - Sabrina Bowman, (208) 468-5419 Idaho Legal Aid Services: $ 150,000 Kelly Miller, (208) 336-8980 City of New York: $ 1,227,000 Brooklyn, New York - Dina Doriotis, (212) 788-6815 Sanctuary For Families, Inc.: $ 150,000 Hilary Maddux, (212) 349-6009 Ouachita Parish Police Jury: $ 1,034,220 Monroe, Louisiana - Kim Golden, (318) 323-9300 Legal Assistance for Victims: $ 150,000 Kim Golden, (318) 323-9300 Sitka Tribe of Alaska: $ 1,115,000 Sitka, Alaska - Alicia Gassman, (907) 747-3207 Alaska Network on Domestic: $ 150,000 Violence and Sexual Assault Kari Robinson, (907) 586-5643 Somos Familia Family Institute, Inc. : $ 726,470 Las Vegas, New Mexico - Angelina Salmeron, (505) 425-8120 St. Joseph County: $ 1,047,591 South Bend, Indiana - Catherine Wilson, (574) 245-6635 Legal Assistance for Victims: $ 150,000 Catherine Wilson, (574) 245-6635 City of St. Louis: $ 1,250,695 St. Louis, Missouri -Anna Ginsburg, (314) 622-4623 Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc.: $ 150,000 Cyra Lohman, (314) 534-7888 City of Tulsa: $ 1,079,321 Tulsa, Oklahoma Monica Hamilton, (918) 596-7413 San Diego Family Justice Center Foundation: *$ 1,606, 950 San Diego, California Comprehensive Technical Assistance Provider Casey Gwinn, (619) 236-6220 City of Indianapolis: *$ 143,125 Indianapolis, Indiana Technical Assistance Provider Liz Allison, (317) 327-3552 Hennepin County: *$ 143,125 Minneapolis, Minnesota Technical Assistance Provider Cathy McMahon, (612) 348-6202 Safe Havens: *$ 414,198 Boston, Massachusetts Faith-Based Technical Assistance Provider Anne Marie Hunter, (617) 227-6992 National Network to End Domestic Violence: *$ 125,000 Washington, D.C.
Technical Assistance Provider Lynn Rosenthal, (202) 543-5566 Total: $ 20,604,197 *Technical Assistance Grant for providing specialized expertise and consultation to the 15 new Family Justice Centers.
More information about the Presidents Family Justice Center Initiative and other initiatives involving the Office on Violence Against Women is available on OVWs website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo. 04-499
Source: US Department of Justice
