Access to Civil Legal Services funded by the State Bar of California / Equal Access Fund

The Equal Access Fund Project complements the legal services of GBLA’s Domestic Violence Reduction Project (funded by First 5 Kern).  It provides legal services and representation to victims of domestic violence who either do not have children or who have children ages 6 and above.  

The Equal Access Fund Project also provides an array of other legal services in civil matters (including health, housing, income maintenance, consumer) outside the greater Bakersfield area (within Kern County) to eligible low-income individuals and families.  

For more information please call: 661-325-5943

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children 

For years, we thought of domestic violence and child maltreatment as distinctly separate social problems. The more we learn, the more we come to see that these problems are intertwined.  Studies suggest that sixty percent of American children have been exposed to violence, crime, or abuse in their homes, schools, and communities.* 

The exposure to violence can be dangerous, confusing, and detrimental to a child’s health, well being, and development. The consequences of these experiences negatively impact children well into their adulthood. While there is still more to learn about the variances of effects, resiliency, and children’s ability to cope with these stressful experiences, we do understand that children and youth who are exposed to violence are at greater risk for psychological, behavioral, or physical health problems.

There is a high correlation between growing up in an abusive home and becoming either a victim or perpetrator as an adult.  The important message here is that witnessing violence affects children in profound ways that shapes their personality and coping abilities throughout their lives.  If your child is watching abuse, get help NOW.  If you do nothing, he/she will carry this burden alone throughout his/her own life, and the legacy of violence will pass to the next generation. 

Adult and child victims are likely to suffer at the hands of the same perpetrator. Children are sometimes at risk of maltreatment from the parent who is a perpetrator of violence, while others may be neglected by the parent who is battered, who may be overwhelmed by domestic violence or abusing drugs or alcohol to cope. It is important that we understand the dynamics of domestic violence, and the ways domestic violence impacts children who have experienced abusive and/or neglectful care.

Access to Legal Assistance Matters! The research of two economists showed that the only public service that reduces domestic abuse in the long term is women’s access to legal assistance.  Legal aid is the most effective use of tax dollars in breaking the cycle of violence.  The national study showed that social services such as shelters, counseling, hot lines and emergency transport help secure a victim’s immediate safety, all important services, but access to legal assistance is the one service that enables a woman to permanently escape a violent home.

“Legal services provide real, tangible, long-run economic help: an Attorney, a chance to maintain custody of the children, potential child support, and alimony,” according to one of the Researchers, Amy Farmer, Associate Professor of Economics in the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business.

*USDOJ, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey (Juvenile Justice Bulletin), (Oct 2009).