Grants: Summaries
Committee to Aid Abused Women (CAAW)
Provides advocacy and legally- related services to victims of domestic violence and stalking who are seeking protection and related orders. Project Staff and volunteers offer services to applicants and provide educational outreach to the community. They will use NLF funds to pay part of the personnel costs. Funding will be used as matching sources for other government grantors.
CASA of Carson City
Provides the First Judicial District (includes Carson City and Storey counties) with guardian ad litem advocacy from children in child welfare cases. Approximately 25 cases served by 22 and 26 volunteer CASA advocates at any one time. They served 60 children in 423b dependency case during 2008 plus 20 in high conflict divorce cases.
CASA of Douglas County
Provides a voice for children in court and advocate for the best interests of children. Community volunteers are recruited, trained, supervised, recognized so they will investigate and monitor cases where children need a strong, reasonable voice.
CASA of Northeastern Nevada
CASA of Northeastern Nevada requested funding to support the program’s salaries and general operating expenses. The budget allotted to CASA will allow the organization to continue to support staff to recruit, evaluate, accept, train, and supervise volunteers who advocate for abused, abandoned, and/ or neglected children of Elko County.
CASA of Washoe County
CASA of Washoe County strengthens court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children by providing attorney support to trained CASA volunteers who serve as lay guardians ad litem. The attorney’s legal expertise, combined with the volunteer’s knowledge of the child, ensures that the child’s voice is heard at every court proceeding and the Court’s attention remains child-centered.
City of Las Vegas Senior Citizens Law Project
Provides free legal service to senior citizens age 60 and over residing in Clark County. Emphasis is on helping individuals maintain autonomy and manage their own affairs. Focus is on persons with the greatest socio-economic need by conducting an aggressive outreach campaign. The Senior Law Project offers legal advocacy, information and referrals, and assists clients with preparation of legal documents. They also provide assistance and representation for public entitlements.
Clark County Law Foundation (Trial by Peers)
TBP is a juvenile diversion program of the CCLF in cooperation with the Department of Family and Youth Services. TBP is based on the youth court concept. This allows first/ second and some third time juvenile offenders charged with misdemeanors to be tried, defended, and sentenced by their peers (teens around their own age). The only adult participating in the proceedings is the judge.
Douglas County SAFE
Will cooperate with the Washoe Tribe to provide advocacy for fragile and elderly tribe members. The advocates may investigate for the Court; speak for the best interest of the (potential) ward, and liaison with family members to ensure that the ward receives the resources he or she needs. They will attempt to provide additional service based on needs recognized by the community and understood by the Court.
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
Their primary mission is to ensure that the abused and neglected children in our child welfare system have their own voice in court through legal representation. Legal Aid helps families who are victims of consumer fraud, are in danger of losing their homes and who are struggling financially. They represent victims of domestic violence by obtaining protective orders against their abuser, divorce and custody orders and child support orders so they can live a life free of violence.
Nevada Disability Advocacy & Law Center
Provides legal advice and representation for Nevadans with mental illness. NDALC is authorized by law to pursue legal, administrative, and other appropriate remedies in order to uphold and enforce the legal and human rights of people with disabilities.
Nevada Legal Services
Provides free legal assistance to all Nevadans, representation in court, at administrative hearings and in informal hearings. They also provide community education; training for lawyers; a pro bono attorney project; and two Self-help centers that provide legal info and forms in Family Law and Landlord/Tenant Law. Funding from the Nevada Law Foundation was used to shift some of NLS’s resources to their mortgage foreclosure program.
Nevada P.E.P.
Nevada P.E.P. describes itself as “a family of families caring, supporting and guiding one another through the challenges of raising children with special needs.” PEP services are about empowering families to be life- long advocates for their children through education and skill- building. They recognize that parents are experts on their children and must learn about disabilities, intervention needs, and how to develop a support system to meet those needs. Nevada P.E.P. will maintain law-related education services to parents and their service providers from ethically diverse populations.
Project REAL
The purpose of this curriculum project is to better inform teachers and students about the complex issues raging about immigration in the U.S. today, and how to teach this controversial subject. The materials cover the history and trends in immigration law, a glossary of immigration related terms, and presents a “real life” situation regarding a major current immigration issue – approaching families that include both legal citizens and illegal immigrants.
S.A.F.E. House
S.A.F.E. House is committed to stopping abuse in the family environment by providing outreach, crisis intervention, shelter, and support services to victims of domestic violence. The program is designed to empower victims of domestic violence in their efforts to create safe and abuse free lives for themselves and their children.
Temporary Assistance for Domestic Crisis (Safe Nest)
Provides services to victims of domestic violence through a Protection Order Advocate in Family Court to provide: assistance with TPO & Extended Orders applications; explanation of court procedures; assessment of other needs; advocacy and referral to community resources.
Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevadans
Provides free civil legal services to applicants who fall below 125% of federal poverty guidelines and domestic violence victims, regardless of income. VARN offers legal representation in uncontested divorces, guardianships, adoptions, name changes, wills, and more. They also assist eligible applicants with self- help divorce packets and clinics conducted by volunteer attorneys. They provide direct legal representation, counsel, and advice and brief services to victims of domestic violence for divorce, child custody, guardianship, termination of parental rights matters and also, emergency representation for hearings to extend or modify protection orders.
Washoe Legal Services
WLS will help ensure quality, meaningful access to justice in civil legal matters for low- income individuals and groups. These services will be focused on matters that promote safety and personal well being, assist in meeting basic needs, and help achieve self- sufficiency.
Amount Requested: $202,500
Washoe County Senior Law Project
Provides civil legal services and representation to lower income senior citizens. Allocation of NLF funds will be used for cases involving housing, public entitlements, such as Social Security, and matters in which clients are homebound.