IP: Text: Gore Announces New SS# Effort for Victims of Domestic Violence

[Robert Hettinga]

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Subject: IP: Text: Gore Announces New SS# Effort for Victims of Domestic
  Violence
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Source:  USIA
http://www.usia.gov/current/news/latest/98110403.wlt.html?/products/washfile
/newsitem.shtml

04 November 1998

TEXT: GORE ANNOUNCES EFFORT FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE

(SS numbers to be changed to help victims escape abusers) (630)

Washington -- Vice President Al Gore announced November 4 a new policy
to allow victims of domestic violence to change their Social Security
number.

"Today, our message to the victims of these hateful crimes is this: we
will offer you the protection you need to regain your safety and
rebuild your life. You have suffered enough without having to fight
for the protections you need to start a new life for yourself and your
children," Gore said, according to a press release from his office.

The vice president also mentioned a new booklet, "Protecting Victims
of Domestic Violence: A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Enforcing
Orders of Protection Nationwide," that outlines the meaning of the
Violence Against Women Act's requirement to give full faith and credit
orders of protection for victims of domestic violence.

Following is the text of the release:

(Begin text)

November  4, 1998

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, November 4, 1998

VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES NEW POLICY TO ALLOW VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE TO CHANGE THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore announced today a new effort to
help victims of domestic violence escape their abusers -- a federal
policy that will make it easier for victims to change their social
security numbers.

"Today, our message to the victims of these hateful crimes is this: we
will offer you the protection you need to regain your safety and
rebuild your life," Vice President Gore said. "You have suffered
enough without having to fight for the protections you need to start a
new life for yourself and your children."

For the first time, victims of domestic violence will be able to get a
new Social Security number simply by providing written affirmation of
their domestic abuse from a third party, such as a local shelter,
treating physician, or law enforcement official.

The Social Security Administration's (SSA) employees in field offices
nationwide will work closely with local domestic violence shelters,
the police, the courts, treating physicians, medical facilities, and
psychologists to help victims of domestic violence get the
documentation necessary to secure a new Social Security number.

Previously, the SSA required victims to provide proof that their
abuser had misused their Social Security number. For victims of
domestic violence, providing this kind of proof was extremely
difficult -- only victims who were severely abused or who were in
danger of losing their lives were allowed to change their Social
Security number.

To improve its services to victims of domestic violence, the SSA will
post on its web site the steps a victim needs to take to change their
Social Security number and provide important referral information.

The Vice President also announced a Presidential directive for the
Office of Personnel Management to prepare a resource guide that will:
(1) assist victims of domestic violence by providing up-to-date
information about available resources and outline strategies to ensure
safety; and (2) help those who know anyone who is being abused to
prevent and respond to the situation. This guide will list private as
well as public resources such as counseling, law enforcement, federal
workplace leave policies, and substance abuse programs.

In addition, he highlighted a new booklet, "Protecting Victims of
Domestic Violence: A Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Enforcing
Orders of Protection Nationwide," that outlines the meaning of the
Violence Against Women Act's requirement to give full faith and credit
orders of protection for victims of domestic violence. This booklet
was written by the International Association of Chiefs of Police with
a grant from the Justice Department. It will be disseminated to law
enforcement officers nationwide to teach them how to enforce
protection orders.

(End text)
-----------------------
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-----------------------


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--- end forwarded text


-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at philodox.com>
Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'