Public Administration of a Domestic

public administration of a DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE PROGRAM in DECATUR, ALABAMA

Domestic violence is a problem of great magnitude among the poverty-level population in the City of Decatur, Alabama. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that the local Legal Services program was curtailed to a great extent five years ago and clients are required to travel to Huntsville, Alabama, to apply for assistance. Prior to the curtailment of this program, a Legal Services satellite office was located on Vine Street, just adjacent to the poverty level neighborhoods in the City of Decatur and within walking distance for the majority of poverty level individuals who generally seek out the services provided through this satellite office.

According to coordinating agencies to include the local police department, the local Department of Human Resources Department, and the local emergency rooms in the City, domestic violence is on the rise in the poverty level areas of the city and there is a need for assistance for domestic violence victims in the City of Decatur which is going unanswered since the Legal Services Corporation curtailed the satellite offices provision of these services.

I. LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM DESIGN OVERVIEW

Evaluation of the assistance provided to alleviating social problems is important in the process of providing that assistance. For instance in the initiative to make an assessment of the needs of a population for legal services provisions in a service population area there are specific necessary steps that must be taken in order to understand what the precise needs are and then it required is presentation to those in the roles of decision-maker to convince these individuals of the need and in order to gain funding and other support necessary to implement a program that is designed to answer this need in a target population. This scenario will be based upon implementation of a Domestic Violence focused Legal Services program in a population of predominantly low-income individuals and will be in the following design and the steps as follows:

1) Identification of individuals in need of legal services for Domestic Violence -This initiative would involve polling residents of an area as to their need and what specific needs are present in the area. Therefore, the committee in charge of this should call a community meeting with community leaders and participants in order to identify the needs of the population in this area. This step would also involve accessing demographics from local officials relating to the age, race, income-level, education-level, and other necessary information for planning a Legal Services initiative in the population service area.

2) Description of Target Population and Service Environment - a description of the residents of the area along with the service environment to include transportation, demographics, restrictions of eligibility and the capacity of service. For instance, what type of cases will the legal services provide to this population and what type of legal services will not be provided should be identified. Eligibility is generally governed by laws and legislations relating to these types of provisions, which are generally, at least in part government-funded.

4) Needs Identification in relation to Assistance for Domestic Violence through Legal Services - This step involve analyzing the problems of the population in the area where assistance will be given. This involves surveying the population, community forum meetings as well as observation to make identification of the needs of this population.

3) Needs assessment of the population for Domestic Violence Assistance through Legal Services - a needs assessment would also involve meeting with the community leaders and community representatives. For instance, in the Decatur, Alabama area which provides legal services to community members there is a great need for housing assistance, debt collection and eviction-related assistance as well as Social Security Disability assistance. Uncontested divorces are also generally handled by legal services but only in the case where domestic violence is involved or in cases where there are minor children of the marriage.

5) Communication of the Established Need of assistance for Domestic Violence through Legal Services Assistance - This is the fifth step in this process. After all the foregoing steps have been taken then the information necessary for presenting this information to those in the roles of decision-making is available. This information should be communicated to those individuals in the roles, which allow for funding and implementation of this assistance to begin in its implementation.

Diagram of Steps to be Taken for Intervention Program Design

II. PLAN for IMPLEMENTATION of NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

In this scenario the following steps are implemented:

1) the individuals in charge of this program assessment have set up meetings with the following community agencies:

1) Police Department representative;

2) Department of Human Resources representative;

3) Homeless Shelter representative;

4) Hospital Emergency Care representative, 5) Officer of the Court representative; and 6) Local private attorney representative.

Secondly, the individuals in charge of this program assessment will meet with representatives of the community through posting notice of a meeting in public places at least 30 days prior to the meeting date along with a telephone number that members of the community can call for additional information. The thirty days allows community members time to discuss among themselves and to prepare statements of need at the meeting.

2) This step involves collecting data that provides social indicators to inform this initiative. The following will be collected by individuals who are in charge of the needs assessment in this initiative:

a) police reports;

b) hospital reports;

reports from the Department of Human Resources; and d) reports from the local Housing Authority.

3) Surveys and Questionnaires - Surveys and questionnaires will be sent out to key informant agencies to include:

a) police department;

b) judicial offices;

hospital emergency rooms;

d) local attorneys and advocate agencies; and e) local housing authority agency.

4) Evaluation of Evidence - the evidence, once gathered will be evaluated and a report prepared for presentation to decision-making bodies.

III. ANALYSIS of EVIDENCE

Evidence gathered in this initiative includes the following reports:

Demographics of Decatur, Alabama

There are presently 53,929 individuals and 21, 824 households residing in the City of Decatur with the population density being 1,009.7 individuals per square mile.

The racial composition of the city is found to be as follows:

White - 75.50%

Black/African-American - 19.56%

Native American: 0.70%

Hispanic/Latino: 5.64%

Other races: 1.33%

Household composition was found to be as follows:

31.8% of households have children under the age of 18

50.7% married couples

13.4% female head of household

32.4%: non-families

10.7%: elderly living alone

Household income information is as follows:

Per capita income: $20,431

Households under the poverty line:

11.9% of families

14.9% of population

21.2% those under age 18

11.1% those over age 65

Domestic Violence findings are those shown in the two following charts labeled Figure 2 and Figure 3 in this study.

Domestic Violence - Aggravated Assault

Domestic Violence - Simple Assault

The source of the data utilized in this study is data for the State of Alabama at-large since there is no available such data for the City of Decatur at this time, however the State data has been generalized for the purpose of this assessment. Statistics include the following:

Of the 11.019 aggravated assaults of 2007, 1675 were domestic aggravated assaults.

Of these 30% of the victims were the wife or ex-wife of the offender and 42% of the victims were a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend of the offender.

55% of offenders were black and 74% of offenders were males.

In the case of assault the victim was as follows:

Wife - 22%

Ex-wife - 5%

Common-law wife - 2%

Husband - 8%

Common-law husband - 1%

Ex-husband - 2%

Girlfriend - 28%

Ex-girlfriend - 18%

Boyfriend - 9%

Ex-boyfriend - 5%

III. EVALUATION of EXISTING EVIDENCE

Existing evidence indicates a need for Legal Services related to Domestic Violence assistance in the City of Decatur and this is based upon statistical data and information gained through surveys/questionnaires sent to the police department, judicial offices, hospital emergency rooms, local attorney and advocate agencies and local housing authority agency. Key informant surveys have revealed a real need for assistance in this area, which is to include relief in the form of advocacy in divorce actions and protective orders as well as referral to shelter agencies for women and their children who are in abusive situations of domestic violence.

IV. FORECASTING NEEDS

Data gathered in this study has resulted in the forecasting of needs, which include those as follows:

1) Legal Services - representation of women who are in situations of domestic violence in obtaining protective orders and restraining orders;

2) Domestic Violence Shelter referral - women and children living in situations in which domestic violence is being perpetrated will require referrals to domestic violence shelters for their immediate protection pending a restraining and protective order from the court system;

3) Meeting with police officers in this service area concerning the process of referral to the Domestic Violence sector of Legal Services of potential clients in needs of these services;

4) Meeting with hospital emergency rooms to outline a process for referral of potential clients for Domestic Violence assistance through Legal Services;

5) Meeting with local attorneys and other advocates and advocate agencies for planning and referral process for these potential clients in need of Domestic Violence related Legal Services.

6) Attorney staff and support staff in the Decatur, Alabama location.

7) Facilities for intake and appointments with future clients seeking legal representation and other relief from being victimized by domestic violence.

8) Information Technology System for record keeping, document preparation and conflict of interest checking.

There will be a need for packets to be prepared in alliance with other agencies and their provision for relief from domestic violence victimization.

V. NATURE of SERVICES to BE PROVIDED

The nature of services that will be provided by this initiative includes:

1) Legal Services assistance - all legal services related assistance in dealing with the situation of Domestic Violence in the home for any and all victims of domestic violence regardless of the individuals race, age, and based upon eligibility according to income and assets guidelines which are set by the agency providing federal funding for this initiative.

2) Referral to all agencies and shelters that have the capacity and resources to provide relief of any type of the victims of domestic violence;