Catholic Social Services, Inc. recently received a grant of almost $94,000 as part of the 2004 Violence Against Women Act Grant Program (VAWA), and in a special ceremony held recently at the State Capitol, Gov. Sonny Perdue praised CSS as having a model domestic violence program in the State of Georgia.

Catholic Social Services provides assistance to refugee, immigrant and undocumented women who are victims of domestic violence. The services provided to these women include crisis intervention, counseling and outreach assistance.

In 2004, Catholic Social Services assisted 145 immigrant women, conducted 14 training events and distributed more than 1,000 informational flyers in Spanish and English. The agency serves clients that are primarily from Mexico and other Central and Latin American countries, Russia, Africa and Asia.

“Catholic Social Services is providing an effective and compassionate community response to assist the victims of domestic violence,” Gov. Perdue said.

CSS received $93,850 as part of the VAWA program. The purpose of the grant is to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system with emphasis on serving the needs of adult female victims of violent crime. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) administers the VAWA Grant Program.

The VAWA program provides funds to benefit domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, court services, prosecution, and law enforcement units.

The federal government awards the grant to CJCC on behalf of the State of Georgia for distribution to victim services providers across Georgia. All recipients must provide services to adult female (age 12 and over) victims of violent crime. In addition, the grant program fosters a level of community involvement by requiring a 25 percent match of each applicant.

Dianne Williams, deputy director of the CJCC, praised Catholic Social Services for its service.

“Residents of Fulton County can be proud of the programs offered by Catholic Social Services,” she said. “The staff at Catholic Social Services work tirelessly to assist innocent victims of crime.”