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The Alexandria Office on Women is dedicated to empowering women and their families, by promoting equality, safety, and access to opportunities and services through advocacy and education.

Description:
Upon completion of a 1974 study on the status of women, the Alexandria City Council established the Commission for Women in order to elimate gender discrimination and to encourage equal opportunity for women in all aspects of their lives. Today, the Commission's 15 members continue to provide advice and consultation to City Council on issues concerning women.

The City of Alexandria’s Domestic Violence Program is pleased to announce that an Internet-based system is now available to help residents filing for Family Abuse Protective Orders in Virginia. The Interactive Community Assistance Network, I-CAN!, provides convenient and easy assistance with preparing court forms and obtaining information about local Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts. The system can be accessed through the Supreme Court of Virginia’s web site at www.courts.state.va.us, under Programs & Services, Assistance with Family Abuse Protective Orders.

The I-CAN! system creates properly formatted petitions and educates users on court practices, the law and the steps needed to pursue their matter. I-CAN! asks the user a series of questions and then uses the responses to properly complete a petition for a Family Abuse Protective Order that can be brought to Intake (the Domestic Relations Services of the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court) for filing. The system can be used anywhere a person has access to the Internet, for example, at home, at a local library, in a domestic violence shelter, or at an attorney's office.

History:
I-CAN! was created by the Legal Aid Society of Southern California and adapted for use in Virginia by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia through a VSTOP grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia convened a work group of Alexandria agencies and organizations who were trained on the use of the system and reviewed Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court’s practices and policies. The group developed information for citizens to assist them in using the Court such as: how to find the Court, what to expect in court, what time the Court reviews petitions for protective orders, and how to find other services and legal assistance. This information is posted on the Virginia I-CAN! site and provides detailed Alexandria-specific information regarding available services and Court practices.

Contact people:

Parmenia Garcia, Program Manager, (703) 838-4911 Betsy Greene, Program Manager, (703) 838-4911 Nancy Pearson, Program Manager, (703) 838-5030

Address:

421 King Street, Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22314 (See a map)