the essential guide - Texas Council on Family Violence
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the essential guide - Texas Council on Family Violence

the essential guide - Texas Council on Family Violence the essential guide - Texas Council on Family Violence

tcfv.org
11.07.2015 Views

These protections fall into a few different categories:1. Right to call ong>theong> policeA victim of family violence in a rental property has ong>theong> right to seek police and emergency assistancein response to family violence. Landlords are prohibited from: Limiting tenants’ rights to call for help. Imposing penalties for calling for assistance. Requiring tenants to waive ong>theong>ir rights to call for assistance in order to be eligible to rent.2. Right to terminate a lease without penalty:A victim of family violence or sexual assault has ong>theong> right to terminate a lease in a rental propertywithout penalty.This right applies to: Victims of family violence who have been living with ong>theong>ir abuser and who have provided ong>theong>landlord a Final Protective Order or Temporary Injunction to stop family violence within adivorce. Victims of family violence who do not live with ong>theong>ir abuser and who have provided ong>theong> landlorda Temporary ex parte Protective Order, Final Protective Order, OR Temporary Injunction within adivorce AND given ong>theong> landlord a 30-day notice of termination of ong>theong> lease in writing. Victims of sexual assault who were assaulted in ong>theong>ir own home or on ong>theong> premises of ong>theong>victim’s residence within ong>theong> previous six months and who have provided ong>theong> landlord a 30-daynotice of termination in writing AND written documentation of ong>theong> assault that may include: Statement from a licensed health or mental health service provider who examined orevaluated ong>theong> victim, Authorized sexual assault prevention and crisis services provider who provided ong>theong> victimservices, OR A sexual assault protective order.This law also applies if ong>theong> tenant’s child is a victim of sexual assault or continuous sexual abuse. Contact TCFV policy department at 1-800-525-1978 for assistance with ong>theong> 30-day notice form.3. Help to overcome financial barriers to relocationCrime Victims’ Compensation Relocation Rental Assistance Benefits can assist victims withrelocation expenses and up to three months of rental assistance. These benefits are described indetail in Chapter 6.Deposit Waivers: Victims of family violence in most areas throughout ong>Texasong> can receive waiversof deposit for gas, telephone, and electric services. To download waiver forms, go to www.tcfv.org/policy/forms-and-information/.4. Help to promote safetyong>Texasong> offers an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) to help victims of family violence, sexualassault and stalking keep ong>theong>ir address confidential. ACP is administered by ong>theong> Office of ong>theong> AttorneyTHE ESSENTIAL GUIDE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ADVOCATING FOR SURVIVORS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE48 | P a g e

General (OAG) and provides victims with a substitute post office box address and free mailforwarding service.To apply: Applicants must meet with a local domestic violence shelter, sexual assault center, lawenforcement or prosecution staff member to discuss a safety plan and enroll in ong>theong> program. Theadvocate ong>theong>n submits ong>theong> application directly to OAG. OAG will not accept applications directly fromvictims.Program DetailsOnce ong>theong> application is approved, ong>theong> participant will receive an authorization card from ong>theong> ACP with asubstitute post office box address. The substitute address may be used to receive first class mail and legal papers, and for mostState and local government agencies Magazines, catalogues and packages (including prescriptions) will NOT be forwarded Nongovernmental entities such as banks, credit unions, credit card companies and privateutilities are NOT required to accept ong>theong> ACP address, but ong>theong>y may be willing to do so.Participants must renew ong>theong>ir application every three years with a trained advocate.Participants must notify ong>theong> ACP of a name or address change ten days prior to ong>theong> change toavoid withdrawal from ong>theong> program. For information for ACP participants about registering to vote, getting a ong>Texasong> Driver’s License,and registering children in school, visits ong>theong> OAG website athttps://www.oag.state.tx.us/victims/acp.shtml.Limits to Confidentiality: The OAG must disclose a participant’s true residential, business or schooladdress if: Required by court order, Requested by a law enforcement agency, Requested by ong>theong> Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) for ong>theong> purpose of CPSinvestigation, or Requested by Department of State Health Services (DSHS) or a local health authority for ong>theong>purpose of making a notification of a communicable disease.These requirements for disclosure might mean that ong>theong> ACP is not an appropriate safety tool for victimswhose offenders work or have connections in law enforcement, DFPS, or DSHS. It is important to discussong>theong> limits of ong>theong> ACP with victims during ong>theong> screening process to ensure that it is a good fit for ong>theong>irsafety needs.Housing Resources You can search for housing programs in your area at www.texashousingcounselor.org. Visit 2-1-1 ong>Texasong> at www.211texas.org to search for housing resources in your area. Continuum of Care (CoC): HUD allocates homeless assistance grants to organizations thatparticipate in local homeless assistance program planning networks. Each network is called aContinuum of Care (CoC). CoCs allow local organizations to coordinate ong>theong>ir efforts to addressTHE ESSENTIAL GUIDE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ADVOCATING FOR SURVIVORS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE49 | P a g e

These protecti<strong>on</strong>s fall into a few different categories:1. Right to call <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> policeA victim of family violence in a rental property has <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> right to seek police and emergency assistancein resp<strong>on</strong>se to family violence. Landlords are prohibited from: Limiting tenants’ rights to call for help. Imposing penalties for calling for assistance. Requiring tenants to waive <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir rights to call for assistance in order to be eligible to rent.2. Right to terminate a lease without penalty:A victim of family violence or sexual assault has <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> right to terminate a lease in a rental propertywithout penalty.This right applies to: Victims of family violence who have been living with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir abuser and who have provided <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>landlord a Final Protective Order or Temporary Injuncti<strong>on</strong> to stop family violence within adivorce. Victims of family violence who do not live with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir abuser and who have provided <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> landlorda Temporary ex parte Protective Order, Final Protective Order, OR Temporary Injuncti<strong>on</strong> within adivorce AND given <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> landlord a 30-day notice of terminati<strong>on</strong> of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> lease in writing. Victims of sexual assault who were assaulted in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir own home or <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> premises of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>victim’s residence within <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> previous six m<strong>on</strong>ths and who have provided <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> landlord a 30-daynotice of terminati<strong>on</strong> in writing AND written documentati<strong>on</strong> of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> assault that may include: Statement from a licensed health or mental health service provider who examined orevaluated <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> victim, Authorized sexual assault preventi<strong>on</strong> and crisis services provider who provided <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> victimservices, OR A sexual assault protective order.This law also applies if <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> tenant’s child is a victim of sexual assault or c<strong>on</strong>tinuous sexual abuse. C<strong>on</strong>tact TCFV policy department at 1-800-525-1978 for assistance with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 30-day notice form.3. Help to overcome financial barriers to relocati<strong>on</strong>Crime Victims’ Compensati<strong>on</strong> Relocati<strong>on</strong> Rental Assistance Benefits can assist victims withrelocati<strong>on</strong> expenses and up to three m<strong>on</strong>ths of rental assistance. These benefits are described indetail in Chapter 6.Deposit Waivers: Victims of family violence in most areas throughout <str<strong>on</strong>g>Texas</str<strong>on</strong>g> can receive waiversof deposit for gas, teleph<strong>on</strong>e, and electric services. To download waiver forms, go to www.tcfv.org/policy/forms-and-informati<strong>on</strong>/.4. Help to promote safety<str<strong>on</strong>g>Texas</str<strong>on</strong>g> offers an Address C<strong>on</strong>fidentiality Program (ACP) to help victims of family violence, sexualassault and stalking keep <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir address c<strong>on</strong>fidential. ACP is administered by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Office of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> AttorneyTHE ESSENTIAL GUIDE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ADVOCATING FOR SURVIVORS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE48 | P a g e

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