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The Service Tree lists all services in "branched" groups, starting with the very general and moving to the very specific. Click on the name of any group name to see the sub-groups available within it. Click on a service code to see its details and the providers who offer that service.
Family Law
Programs that provide assistance for people who want to independently adopt a child, legally relinquish a child for adoption or initiate or respond to litigation which involves the placement or removal of a child.
Programs that provide assistance for people who want to request spousal support, change the amount of a spousal support award, dispute the award of spousal support or enforce payment of spousal support monies in cases where the supporting spouse is delinquent in paying or refuses to pay altogether. Spousal support payments are allowances which husbands or wives pay, by court order, for the maintenance of the other spouse while they are separated, pending divorce, or divorced.
Programs that operate centers which facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation and treatment of child abuse cases. Services generally include videotaped interviews of child abuse victims in safe, child-friendly surroundings to avoid multiple interviews, reduce the trauma of disclosure and preserve statements for court purposes; crisis intervention and emotional support for victims and non-offending family members; forensic medical examinations; psychotherapy services including play therapy, family therapy and individual counseling for parents; support groups; case management; and interdisciplinary review of cases by teams of professionals including law enforcement, children's protective services, prosecution, medical, mental health, victim assistance, and child advocacy personnel.
Child Support Assistance/Enforcement
Programs that provide assistance which helps to ensure that parents fulfill their mutual obligation to financially support and provide health care for their children. Included are services for people who want to locate an absent parent; establish paternity; establish a child support order; request that the non-custodial parent provide health insurance for a child in conjunction with a child support order; change the amount of a child support award; dispute a child support award; or enforce payment of child support monies in cases where the supporting parent is delinquent in paying or refuses to pay or make health insurance arrangements altogether. Child support is money paid by one parent to another for the maintenance, including the education, of their children following the dissolution of their marriage or other relationship. Non-custodial parents enrolled in an insurance plan at work may be required to include the child under this coverage while those not covered by any insurance plan may be required to obtain medical coverage, if available at a reasonable cost. Child support assistance/enforcement may be provided by private attorneys, legal clinics, family law facilitators' offices or child support enforcement programs which are available in all states, often as a component of the district attorney's office.
Comprehensive Family Law Services
Programs that provide information and advice, help with documents, legal counseling and/or representation and other forms of legal assistance which deal broadly with family law issues such as divorce and separation, child custody and access, and support payments rather than specializing in a particular issue that concerns relationships and rights within families.
Programs that provide assistance for people who are initiating or responding to a suit for an annulment of their marriage, which establishes that a marital status never existed; a legal separation, which suspends the marriage so far as concerns the cohabitation of the two parties; or a divorce, which totally dissolves the marriage relationship. These programs may also discuss and represent the individual's interests regarding distribution of property assets and parenting issues regarding any children.
Domestic/Family Violence Legal Services
Programs that provide information and guidance and/or representation in court proceedings for individuals who have been abused in an intimate relationship and/or for people who are facing a summary conviction offence or criminal charge for perpetrating abuse. Included are domestic violence law clinics and other legal assistance programs that represent victims of domestic abuse at restraining order hearings or in other civil or criminal actions involving charges against an abuser. Most also represent the person's interests in complexities that arise as part of the legal process such as restitution, payment of debts or child support, custody and visitation and property control. Some programs may also represent victims of domestic abuse who have been charged with a crime and/or handle cases involving accusations of child abuse filed by one parent against the other, abuse of an elderly person by an adult child or abuse of an adult child by a parent.
Programs that operate centers which provide comprehensive services including medical care, counseling, law enforcement, social services, employment assistance and housing assistance for people who have experienced domestic abuse. Many of the centers in the U.S. are part of a presidential initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Their objective is to reduce the fragmentation and lack of coordination among services available to this population.
Programs that provide legal assistance for children and youth in foster care, children for whom parental rights have been terminated ("legal orphans" for whom the state is now the parent), youth transitioning into adulthood and others who have contact with the foster care system that informs them of their rights, helps them understand their options and enables them to have a voice in decisions about where they live, their health care, their education, their basic needs and other critical issues.