Appointed by the Governor, the Board consists
of sixteen members who serve two year terms
(Code 1957, Art. 88A, secs. 134-137).

LEGAL SERVICES
Betsy G. Cunningham, Director

311 West Saratoga St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 767-7127

Legal Services, then known as Judicare, was
created in 1971. It helps low-income persons ob-
tain civil legal services.
Through a pro bono supplementation program,
Legal Services encourages private attorneys to take
pro bono cases by paying $30 an hour, without a cap,
to attorneys who have taken a case from a participating
pro bono program and have put in an initial 20 hours
of volunteer time on that particular case. Supplemen-
tation is paid after the attorney has both put in the 20
hours of pro bono time and requested coverage under
the supplementation program.
Legal Services contracts with the Legal Aid Bureau
and the Maryland Disability Law Center to represent
children in Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) cases
and, also with the Center, to represent persons subject
to Adult Protective Services proceedings.
Court-appointed attorneys are paid by Legal
Services to represent children in CINA and other
juvenile causes in which the Department of Human
Resources is involved, CINA parents in termination
of parental rights proceedings, and persons subject
to Adult Protective Services proceedings.
With the Maryland Legal Services Corporation
Legal Services has a contract that funnels to the
Corporation each year the half million dollars of
State support provided by the Maryland Legal
Services Corporation Act.

MARYLAND OFFICE OF REFUGEE AFFAIRS
Frank Bien, Director

311 West Saratoga St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 767-7021

The Maryland Office of Refugee Affairs was estab-
lished in 1980 by the Department. The Office helps
refugees residing in Maryland to become economically
and socially self-sufficient. It provides employment
services, English language and vocational training,
cultural orientation, and other services.
The Office also administers and implements the
State Legalization Impact Assistance Grant (SLIAG)
provisions of the federal Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986. The federal law gave illegal aliens
an opportunity to apply for amnesty and thereafter, if
eligible, to receive certain public health, education and
welfare services. The Grant reimburses allowable costs
incurred by the State and local governments in pro-
viding such services.

MARYLAND REFUGEE ADVISORY COUNCIL
Dr. Patricia S. Maloof, Chairperson

The Maryland Refugee Advisory Council was
formed in 1980 to conform with federal regulations.
Members represent voluntary resettlement agencies,
service providers, refugees, and the private sector.
They are appointed to one-year terms by the Executive
Director of the Community Services Administration.

WOMEN'S SERVICES
Denese Maker, Director

311 West Saratoga St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 767-7176

The Women's Services Program was created in
1983 by the Department and the Community Serv-
ices Administration. The Program was renamed in
1991 as the Women's Advocacy Program. In 1992,
the Program received its present name.
Women's Services coordinates services for battered
spouses, displaced homemakers, victims of crime, rape
crisis, shelter for homeless women, and transitional
housing. In addition, Women's Services administers
the New Choices Program of the Primary Prevention
Initiative within the Income Maintenance Administra-
tion. Under the Program, workshops on problem-
solving are conducted as a supportive service to
recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) who have not met program requirements for
preventive health care or school attendance. Participa-
tion in New Choices allows families to find solutions
for meeting program requirements without losing any
of their AFDC benefits.
The Battered Spouse Program provides services to
spouses who suffered beatings and their children
when they must leave home to safeguard their lives
and welfare. The Program began as a model shelter
in 1971. Through a network of eighteen commu-
nity organizations, the Program offers temporary
shelter or help in finding shelter, counseling, infor-
mation, and referral for the victim, and rehabilita-
tion for the abuser (Code Family Law Article, secs.
4-513 through 4-516).
The Displaced Homemakers Program was created
as a model program in 1976. In 1979, the model
became a permanent project with statewide focus
(Chapter 339, Acts of 1979). The Program helps
homemakers who are displaced due to the death or
disability of, or divorce, separation, or abandon-
ment by a family member upon whom they de-
pended for income. A network of twelve
community-based organizations helps displaced
homemakers become self-sufficient through coun-
seling, training, and employment assistance (Code
Family Law Article, secs. 4-601, 4-602).
Established in 1983, the Rape Crisis Program
gives specialized support to victims of rape and
sexual assault. Sixteen community-based organiza-