WisTAF awards 2024-2025 grants for civil legal services related to domestic violence and sexual abuse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, August 2, 2024

CONTACT: Benson Gardner, communications and development manager, 608-620-0711, bgardner@wistaf.org

The Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Inc. (WisTAF) will distribute $450,000 to 11 organizations to help people throughout Wisconsin to address civil legal needs related to domestic violence and sexual abuse (DVSA). Legal problems can be a chief barrier to victims' securing safety and independence for themselves and their families.

The grants will go to public interest law firms and other non-profit organizations to provide legal advice, information, and representation to people unable to pay for an attorney. The assistance is particularly valuable because victims are often prevented from accessing their own funds by their abusers.

Many hundreds of survivors and their families are expected to benefit from the DVSA Legal Services grants.

During 2023, a similar amount of funds allowed more than 1,000 clients to achieve safety and independence.

Grant recipients help survivors accomplish critical legal tasks, such as securing restraining orders, carrying out divorces, and negotiating child placement and guardianship.

After an open application process, WisTAF's Board of Directors determined the grant amounts for 2024-2025, below.

The State of Wisconsin created the Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse (DVSA) Civil Legal Services program in 2015. The program taps funds from the federal Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) program. Clients in the DSVA program are parents, caretakers of children, or pregnant, with limited incomes or limited access to their own money. WisTAF administers the DVSA program, reporting to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

The table below shows details of this year's grants. Funds are distributed on a reimbursement basis.

Grant Recipient	Area Served	Grant Amount
Center Against Sexual & Domestic Abuse (CASDA) provides free services to individuals hurt by domestic, sexual, or child abuse, as they advocate for a community effort to end violence.	Ashland, Bayfield, and Douglas counties	$62,100
Centro Legal is a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is to provide legal representation to the poor and those with limited resources for a reasonable and accessible price in the Milwaukee area.	Milwaukee and Waukesha counties	$57,500
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin (RISE Law Center) provides quality, affordable direct legal representation to low income survivors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Abuse, primarily immigrants and refugees with limited English proficiency, in an effort to prevent and eliminate violence in intimate partner relationships.	Statewide	$20,700
Golden House, Inc. is a private, nonprofit agency that provides safety and support for victims of domestic abuse, while leading community efforts to end domestic violence in Brown County.	Brown and Kewaunee counties	$36,600
Household Abuse Victims Emergency Network (HAVEN, Inc.) is a free community service providing a safe and confidential environment to empower all survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through sheltering, advocacy, and education.	Lincoln County	$19,400
Indianhead Community Action Agency is a private, nonprofit agency that assists individuals in achieving self-sufficiency by providing the resources, education, and services necessary to develop healthy families, sustainable communities, and strong local businesses.	Barron, Burnett, Clark, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, and Washburn counties	$48,800
Judicare Legal Aid provides civil legal assistance, information and education to low-income people, Native Americans, and others who might otherwise be denied access to justice.	33 counties in northern Wisconsin, and Native American clients statewide	$63,200
Kids Matter Inc. provides legal services and other advocacy for children in foster and kinship care in the greater Milwaukee area.	Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, limited services statewide	$39,000
Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. serves low-income clients in the areas of family law and domestic violence, housing, public benefits, special education, and economic development.	39 counties in southern Wisconsin	$66,100
Rainbow House Domestic Abuse Services, Inc. provides prevention, education, and information to communities, families, and schools with the goal of obtaining safety and empowerment for all victims of domestic abuse.	Marinette and Oconto counties	$22,000
The Women's Center provides safety, shelter, and support to all affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse in Waukesha County.	Southeastern Wisconsin	$14,600