Manuals and training curricula.
Breaking Barriers is a comprehensive tool that provides information that will be useful to advocates, attorneys, justice, and social services professionals working with and assisting immigrant survivors of domestic and family violence. This Manual provides a detailed overview explanation of immigrant survivors’ legal rights under immigration, family, public benefits, and criminal laws and their rights to access a broad range of victim services without regard to immigration status of the immigrant crime victim or their children. Breaking Barriers provides social science research findings, information about laws, policies and best practices, legislative history, tools and checklists that will help professionals working with immigrant survivors navigate intersecting legal and social services options that are legally available to assist all immigrant victims including those who are undocumented.
Empowering Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (July 2013)
This is a comprehensive tool that provides information that will be useful to advocates, attorneys, justice, and social services professionals working with and assisting immigrant survivors of sexual assault. This manual will help advocates and professionals expand their knowledge and capacity to aid immigrant victims of sexual assault in accessing justice under federal and state civil, immigration, public benefits, social services, language access legal services and criminal laws in the United States. The goal is to help provide resources, assistance, and support to help immigrant victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment recover, heal, and rebuild their lives. The chapter and tools included in this manual may also be useful to advocates, attorneys, and social services professionals working with immigrant victims of domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Bench Book (March 31, 2018)
The Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Bench Book: A National Guide to Best Practices for Judges and Courts is a comprehensive tool that provides information that will be useful to Judges and Courts working with immigrant children. Special Immigrant Juveniles Status (SIJS) is a form of humanitarian immigration relief that provides for a path to lawful permanent residence (LPR) for children who are unable to be reunited with one or both parents due to abuse, abandonment, neglect, or a similar basis under state law. The SIJS bench book provides a detailed overview explanation of SIJS and the role that Congress created for state court judges in an immigrant child’s application process. The bench book provides information about laws and regulations, policies and best practices, legislative history, quick-guides tools that will help Judges and Courts staffs working with immigrant children and juveniles.
Office on Violence Against Women and State Justice Institute funded training manual for judges, magistrates, commissioners, and court personnel on the legal rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse and human trafficking. These materials also address issues that arise in state court cases involving immigrant children and immigrant parents. Included in these training materials are the U visa certification toolkit for courts.
This helpful, informative U visa certification tool kit for judges and magistrates covers materials on topics such as: what is the role of judges in U visa certification, U visa quick references for judges, U visa certification introduction, U visa application flow chart, judges and the U visa certification requirement, U visa statutory and regulatory background, frequently asked questions, redacted I-918 supplement B (U nonimmigrant status certification), form I-918 supplement B (sample judges’ certification), sample information flyer for victims, resource list, sample memorandum in support of a motion for U visa certification, sample declaration for a motion for certification, glossary of terms, and collection of U visa news articles.
This is a comprehensive training manual, funded by the Office on Violence Against Women, for law enforcement officials and prosecutors that provides useful information and resources regarding U Visas, T Visas, and language access. It includes the U Visa Toolkit, documents providing information for how to best work with interpreters, and a quick reference guide on U-Visa and VAWA confidentiality related case law. It also includes information on how to identify limited English proficient (LEP) individuals, laws governing law enforcement agency provision of language assistance, and how to obtain interpreters. It also includes the DHS Resource Guide on T and U Visa Certification, DHS resources and materials, U Visa certification forms, webinars, and roll call videos. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors may receive technical assistance from a national team of law enforcement officers and prosecutors and may join bi-monthly law enforcement and prosecutor only roundtables calling: (202)274-4457 or info@niwap.org
By providing U‐visa certifications and T visa declarations law enforcement and prosecution officials add to their arsenal of crime fighting tools when immigrant victims feel safer coming forward to report crimes. This document provides the following background information on the U‐visa and T visa programs: an overview of the U‐visa and T visa; Quick Reference guides on the U and T visas, Statutory and Regulatory Background on U and T visas, Flow Charts, Protections for Family Members, Frequently Asked Questions, Timelines, Sample forms, Model policies, Screening tools, DHS brochures and infographics, and links to resource materials and news articles on U and T visa certification.
Toolkit for Adult Protective Services’ Use of The U-Visa (February 2014)
Office on Violence Against Women funded toolkit. Toolkit focusing on the U-Visa as well as an introduction to other options which may be available to immigrant adults you come across in your work. Having an awareness of these options can help you identify the best options available for immigrant victims you encounter.
Public Benefits Manual (June 2021)
This is a comprehensive tool that provides information relating to public benefits. This manual is composed of chapters and training tools providing overview of immigrant crime victims’ legal rights to services and public benefits, programs open to all without regard to immigration status, federal public benefits (by topic), state benefits comparison charts (by topic), drivers licenses and Social Security numbers, screening and eligibility, and additional government documents relevant to access to public benefits and services for immigrant crime victims.
A comprehensive manual covering topics such as: domestic violence and battered immigrant issues, cultural competency training, cross-cultural interviewing, recruiting and hiring multilingual and multicultural staff, shelter protocols, outreach and community collaboration, shelter access for battered immigrant women, VAWA immigration cases and victim advocacy confidentiality, creative use of protection orders, protections orders enforcement and criminal prosecution, access to public benefits, verification and reporting requirements under the U.S. Attorney General’s guidance and order, and model programs.
Health and Human Services Funded training manual. The goal of this training manual is to provide a background for TANF eligibility workers on qualified alien battered immigrant access to TANF. It will also provide direction to TANF workers on how to assess battered immigrant eligibility for TANF following the Guidance issued by the Attorney General of the United States setting out a four step process for making eligibility determinations in cases of battered immigrants and other immigrants applying for public benefits. This pilot training manual will focus only on TANF eligibility workers on qualified alien battered immigrants. Addressing each of the major benefits programs (e.g. Medicaid, SCHIP, Food Stamps, Public Housing) is beyond the scope of this training manual, and is an endeavor that we hope to undertake in the future once this pilot TANF training manual has been field tested, updated, revised, and published in its final form. However, because battered immigrant women and children who qualify for TANF will also likely qualify for other federal public benefits, including other federal means tested public benefits, we will discuss some of those programs basic requirements at appropriate points in this manual.