Victims Who are Immigrants are Eligible for Emergency and Immediate Shelter and Supportive Services

Battered immigrants are eligible for emergency and immediate shelter and supportive services funded by the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program Act (FVPSA). This means that all 21 domestic violence shelters and transitional housing providers in Kansas can and must serve victims of domestic violence who are immigrants.

FVPSA has no immigration restrictions, and its services do not qualify as a federal public benefit pursuant to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193, as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208.   As such,

FVPSA-funded grantees and sub-awardees are prohibited from requiring battered immigrants to provide documentation of citizenship or immigration status.

FVPSA has always provided guidance to grantees and sub-awardees that battered immigrants must be served in FVPSA-funded programs and that documentation of immigration status is not required.  The Family Violence Prevention and Services Notice of Proposed Rule Making published on October 14, 2015 also makes clear that documentation of immigration status cannot be required.

KCSDV and many KCSDV coalition members receive funding through the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Family Violence Prevention and Services Program. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Program Act (FVPSA) was signed into law in 1984. Learn more about FVPSA at http://www.learnaboutfvpsa.com/35yrs-impact.

KCSDV Winter 2019 Newsletter (PDF)

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-MU-AX-0021 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.