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
Child Custody/Visitation Assistance
Programs that provide assistance for people who want to obtain custody of their children as a part of a divorce or separation action, who want to appeal all or a portion of the terms of a previous child custody decision, or in the case of a noncustodial parent, who want to establish or appeal the terms of a visitation award or a court-ordered visitation schedule. Included are programs that provide child custody/visitation assistance for people who are not legally married but have children together.
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.