Legal Access Works (LAW) Legal Assistance Program

Potentially Eligible Case Types

OAESV and ODVN uses these criteria for accepting cases:

• Survivors of sexual assault (intimate partner sexual assault), stalking and/or domestic violence (non-intimate partner sexual assault cases are accepted by OAESV)
• Case type complies with program guidelines. OAESV’s priority areas in 2022 include but are not limited to:
  • K-12 and Campus Survivors
  • Immigrant Survivors
  • Rural Communities
• Survivor’s personal income is at or below 225% of the federal poverty line (see Financial Eligibility chart); consideration will be made for extenuating circumstances for survivors with income above this level (i.e. paying on school loan, large medical debt, etc.) OAESV LAV Clinic does not have income restrictions, although priority may be given to lower income survivors.
• Survivor is referred by an agency partner which has attended a training on project guidelines and related project content, and has signed an agreement outlining their responsibilities to screen cases, honor confidentiality guidelines and ensure the provision of safety planning and related support to survivors referred for legal assistance.
• Survivor cannot be assisted at all, or in a timely manner through Legal Aid, Crime Victim’s compensation legal assistance reimbursement, and cannot afford private counsel.
• Survivor has one of the following needs (case types). Priorities may change from time to time due to funding constraints; updates are posted on the advocacy list serve:
  • Protection Orders (for teen and adult CPOs, domestic violence, stalking and sexually oriented offense CPOs) and related contempt actions or modifications of violations of protection orders.
  • Divorce cases can be accepted, with priority given when:
    • There are children, with higher priority placed on cases where there is abuse or risk of harm to the children, and/or,
    • The divorce is needed to address current safety, i.e. to sever ties with a violent partner (i.e. we generally do not do divorces in cases with no safety issues, such as when the violence occurred a long time ago or the main abuse was emotional), and/or,
    • The divorce is needed to protect the survivor’s interests, such as the ability to access modest resources needed to recover and become stable, and,
    • There are no large assets that can be converted to pay for private counsel (in these cases, private counsel may take the case with a payment plan)
  • Contempt actions related to basic survival (i.e. non-payment of child support, housing, health insurance, utilities, etc.)
  • Custody and visitation actions (either custody/visitation cases in Juvenile Court or modifications of custody/visitation in Domestic Relations Court) generally when there is a history or clear risk of harm to the children
  • Economic Relief, where the legal need is related to the victimization:
    • Housing (private landlord, HUD, Section 8, foreclosure)
    • Employment
    • Foreclosure
    • Public benefits (TANF, Disability – SSDI, Unemployment, HUD etc.) – securing waivers (for child support collection, participation in TANF program requirements), administrative appeals, injunctive relief (such as refusals to transfer survivors in public housing), administrative appeals
    • Consumer (i.e. credit report issues, debtor issues, etc.)
    • Child Support (seeking to reduce obligations when appropriate for survivors re-entering communities from jails or prisons, seeking to enforce child support orders when state resources are not available for substantial periods of time)
  • Educational issues (safety issues on campuses, Title IX cases, other school issues related to victimization)
  • Immigration issues, such as VAWA self-petitions, U and T Visas; priority is given to cases where the survivor faces harm if returned to their home country (from war, famine, violence oppression, or harm by or on behalf of the abuser)
  • Civil legal assistance and advocacy regarding criminal prosecution (case negotiations, recovery of seized property for evidence, advocating in law enforcement interviews to protect victims from polygraphs, help with victim impact statements, and protection from other potential violations of their rights as crime victims, etc.) If this is the only legal need, these cases should be referred to the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center; if Legal Access Works is providing legal counsel for other civil needs, the contract attorney will direct the involvement of any other legal counsel in the case.

Referring partners will provide eligible survivors with services without consideration of their actual or perceived sex, age, immigration status, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health condition, physical health condition, criminal record, work in the sex industry, or the age and/or sex of their children.

• Representation in child abuse cases where the jurisdiction’s Juvenile Court provides the child or parents with counsel;
• Representing a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault in a child protection proceeding, unless the client is the non-abusive parent and the jurisdiction does not appoint free counsel;
• Class action suits;
• Criminal defense;
• Bankruptcy;
• Tort actions (i.e. suing someone or being sued by someone)

Survivor, preferably with an advocate, should complete and submit the online form below.

Once done OAESV will send to the provided email:

1. Release of Information
2. Participant Agreement Form

Survivor will sign and return both completed forms to OAESV.

OAESV will complete application review process.

OAESV will approve or deny case and provide update to provided email.

Family size includes all family members living full time in the home.
Income includes all income from all family members including child support.

Survivors at higher income levels may be eligible if they have extenuating financial circumstances such as high expenses or debt incurred for medical bills, legal bills, etc. (Generally high credit card debt is not considered.) Please call to check if you feel an exception should be made.

*The Federal Poverty Level is adjusted periodically, and we adjust financial eligibility for the legal services program accordingly.