By
Special to The Seattle Times
It happens nearly every day across Washington: A spouse or partner is attacked, then in seeking protection, is left with a growing list of unanswered questions. What will be needed for court? How can they keep their kids safe? Can they break their lease? At $300 an hour, a lawyer is unaffordable. Should they just return to the abuser?
This is one of thousands of experiences for survivors across the state. For many, the most urgent need is free legal advice and representation. Low-income victims of crime rely on civil legal aid to secure safety, stability and a path forward. Whether this will continue to be available is a question before the Legislature. Lawmakers must decide whether to fund $21.38 million to maintain basic Crime Victim Services or slash funding by half.
Civil legal aid is not featured in headlines or courtroom dramas. It is the quiet infrastructure that keeps people housed, safe, employed and in school. At its core, civil legal aid means free legal help for people who cannot afford an attorney when their basic needs are at stake: housing, safety, income, health care and family stability. The needs include a stalking victim seeking safety. A tenant fighting an illegal eviction. An immigrant family applying for relief to stay together. A working parent trying to secure child support after fleeing abuse.
These issues rarely present in isolation. They stack, cascade and compound, which is why legal aid organizations like Sexual Violence Law Center, Northwest Justice Project, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, King County Bar Association, Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers and dozens more form a delicate, interdependent network of attorneys that coordinate closely, referring clients across specialties to prevent crises from spiraling.
Crime Victim Services funding (including federal Victims of Crime Act funding) is the backbone of survivor legal aid. As the largest dedicated funding source for these services in Washington, it makes representation possible for domestic violence victims.
Last year, over 4,000 clients received civil legal aid services thanks to this funding. Yet the funding has declined by 76% since 2018, adding strain to a system already coping with repeated reductions and rising costs. In addition to legal aid, this funding supports other essential services survivors rely on, including advocates, therapists, shelters and programs for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, trafficking and other crimes.
The need for this work is staggering. Studies estimate that more than 70% of those with civil legal issues do not get help. In Washington, victims of crime have repeatedly expressed that civil legal aid is one of the most needed services. Even so, without legislative action, victims will face even greater barriers to accessing critical legal aid services.
Unless the state intervenes, less than 50% of this funding will remain on July 1. Programs will be forced to reduce staff, limit intake or close offices, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Waitlists will grow, triage will intensify, emergencies will be defined ever more narrowly and victims will be left without the support they need and deserve.
The 2026 short legislative session is not about expansion; it is about maintaining current services and preventing further erosion. The system cannot absorb losses of this scale. The consequences for survivors would be immediate and profound.
Civil legal aid is a cost-saving investment, not a luxury. When people receive timely legal help, the state avoids far greater downstream expenses. Protecting victims reduces long-term medical, mental health, workforce costs and child crisis intervention. A victim who can safely go to work can thrive. Likewise, a child who remains housed stays in school. Justice delayed or denied in civil matters does not disappear — it shows up elsewhere, with more cost, more pain and sometimes more tragedy.
Lawmakers can allow an already-strained system to shrink further, creating an even more expensive crisis and higher risks for survivors and low-income families. Or they can listen to victims, and affirm that access to justice is a public good worth protecting, especially in lean times.
Mary Welch: is a statewide advocacy counsel for Northwest Justice Project, a statewide nonprofit legal services organization.
Annalise Martucci: is a program director at the Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid.
Riddhi Mukhopadhyay: is executive director of the Sexual Violence Law Center, a statewide nonprofit providing free legal services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.