Civil legal services for domestic violence survivors who are a party to a divorce proceeding.

A Local Law in relation to civil legal services for domestic violence survivors who are a party to a divorce proceeding

This bill would require the Office of the Civil Justice Coordinator (“Coordinator”) to establish a two-year-long pilot program to provide free brief legal assistance and full legal representation to domestic violence survivors in divorce proceedings. In establishing the program, the Coordinator would convene a working group by February 15, 2022—consisting of representatives from the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV), the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and the Human Resources Administration (HRA)—which would consult with service providers and produce a report with recommendations for the pilot program by May 15, 2022. The Coordinator would then be required to identify designated organizations to provide legal representation and establish the pilot program by September 1, 2022, ensuring that such pilot would cover all associated filing fees. The working group would then produce two subsequent reports: (1) a progress report on the number and types of cases and fees, to be submitted by April 1, 2023, and (2) a final report with additional assessments of the pilot and recommendations for potentially expanding the pilot, to be completed by November 1, 2024. Finally, ENDGBV would also be required to work with the Coordinator to offer trauma-informed training and create outreach related to the availability of the program by September 1, 2022.