ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY PROGRAMS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

One of the most useful programs established for victims of domestic violence is the Address Confidentiality Program.  Not every state has passed laws establishing these programs, unfortunately, and some states have programs that only allow victims to use confidential address for voter registration.

Both Florida and Maryland have established Address Confidentiality Programs (ACP).  I was not enrolled in Florida's program.  I was never informed of it while I lived in Florida.  I continued to live there for only 10 weeks after my ex-husband's arrest, however.  When he shut off water in the home, I had no choice than to move somewhere else.

I was informed during domestic violence counseling about Maryland's program shortly after I relocated to the state.  I have been a participant since September 2011.  My counselor is a registered Application Assistant at a domestic violence agency.  My enrollment in the ACP was based on her evaluation of the actual and threatened domestic violence I had experienced and was continuing to fear.

MARYLAND'S PROGRAM 
(Excerpted from a letter Maryland wrote to the appellate court in my case.)

Since October 2006, Maryland's Office of the Secretary of State has administered the Maryland Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program (ACP or "program"), which has provided victims of domestic violence a means of keeping their residential address confidential. Victims who qualify to be participants in the program are provided with a substitute address (a P. 0. Box) to use as their legal address for dealing with State and local government agencies. In addition, the ACP provides free mail forwarding for 1st class mail and legal papers. The substitute address bears no relationship to a participant's residential address and, therefore, acts as an important measure of safety for the participant, one of several such measures a participant is expected to put in place.

There are two way applicants can qualify to be enrolled as participants in Maryland's ACP: They can either apply directly to the Office of the Secretary of State, which involves submitting proof that they are a victim of domestic violence, or - as is more common - they may be connected with the program through the services of registered Application Assistants at domestic violence agencies or other victim service providers. Application Assistants are trained professionals, experienced in working with victims, who can effectively evaluate the veracity of an individual's attempts to escape from actual or threatened domestic violence independently of whether these acts or threats have been reported to law enforcement.

If an Application Assistant determines that an individual has been the victim of legitimate violent acts or threats of violence, that Application Assistant may enroll the individual in the ACP. Once enrolled in the program through either of these channels, the participant receives address protection for a four-year term. The value of the ACP is immeasurable to its participants. Their ability to receive their mail and interact with State and local governments without their whereabouts being divulged in the public record can provide them, after a period of time, the ability to live without hiding or wearing disguises and, therefore, conduct a more normal life. Unfortunately, the threats to some participants' safety do not diminish during this time; our Office has seen a 51% renewal rate of those participants eligible to re-enroll at the end of the four-year tern.