Legal Representation

The Goal of the Legal Department is Justice and Safety for Battered Women

The Women’s Center has a Legal Coordinator and Advocate who assists clients with legal options and safety planning. Services include:

Assistance in filing Protection From Abuse petitions;
Accompanies the victims to PFA hearings and related criminal hearings
Provide emotional support to the victims
Helps assist clients to identify her own needs and preferred outcomes.

Some of the many options that the Women’s Center provides through the legal department are:

Protection From Abuse orders also known as PFA’s. This document is a binding civil order that prohibits batterers from harming their victims again. This provides the victim with a means of closing gaps in the criminal justice system because traditional approaches to crime may be inadequate as a single solution to domestic violence.

There are three types of orders:

Emergency Order: Issued by a hearing officer, usually by a district justice, in an emergency situation when the court is unavailable.
Temporary Order: issued by the court to provide immediate safety for a battered woman and/or her children until a hearing is held.
Final Order: issued by the court for a period of up to 18 months after a hearing is held, or upon consent of both parties, and may include a broad array of protections for the battered woman and her children.

The Women’s Center also retains an attorney that will represent our clients at their PFA hearing at no cost.

PA Law Protects Utility Customers with PFAs

Visit http://www.pcadv.org/Utility-Protections-For-Domestic-Violence-Victims.asp to learn more.

Our legal department offers informational packets to help survivors understand and explore their options when faced with the complex issues surrounding domestic and sexual violence.

Our Informational Packets include:

Abuse of Technology
Cell Phone Harassment
Child Support
Choosing an Attorney
Civil Justice System
Community Resources & Services
Criminal Justice System
Criminal Offenses Common to Domestic Violence Situations
NEW PACKET: Cyber Stalking
Divorce
Firearms and Domestic Violence
Identity Theft/Fraud
Immigration
Landlord/Tenant
New Identity
PA Law Protecting Utility Customers with Protection Orders
Personal Property
Protection From Abuse (PFA)
Phone/Internet Safety
Photographs for Evidence
Renters Rights
Safety Planning
Schools and Safety Issues
Self-Defense & Rape Prevention
Sexual Assault
Spousal Support
Stalking
Victim’s Compensation Assistance Program (VCAP) Overview
Victim’s Compensation Assistance Program (VCAP) Utilizing the Program
Working: Entering the Working World & Safety at Work
Your Credit and Domestic Violence

All informational packets are offered at no cost to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. For more information or to receive an informational packet please contact our Legal Department at (570)784-6632, Monday through Friday, 9AM-5PM, or call 1-800-544-8293 to speak with an advocate.

In addition to our administration office in Bloomsburg, our legal department also offers office hours in Danville for victims of domestic and sexual assault. Our outreach office hours are on Tuesdays 9:00am-1:00pm and Thursdays 9:00am-5:00pm. The office is located at the Grove Presbyterian Church Office building at 330 Bloom Road. Our legal advocate can be reached during these hours by calling (570)275-4857.

The Scope of our Services — Advocates provide advocacy and empowerment, not representation, related to legal and/or social issues. The advocacy provided is for the purpose of enhancing the safety, autonomy, empowerment and economic viability of battered women. Pennsylvania law prohibits the practice of law by any person who is not a lawyer.

All services provided by the Women’s Center are offered at no cost.