Social services for battered women: are they adequate, accessible, and appropriate?

During the past 20 years a network of services, including official state agencies and statewide grassroots domestic violence coalitions, has developed across the country to meet the problem of woman abuse. Although state agencies have gained access to diverse federal funds; have developed additional, more-creative ways to fund programs; and have established regulatory mechanisms to ensure quality of services, respondents agree that the existing services would not have been developed without the committed energy and effective lobbying of grassroots coalitions. However, these coalitions are now struggling with internal conflicts and are concerned that emerging social problems will eclipse them and capture the scant funds available. Without these coalitions, the network of social services may return the problem of woman abuse to the private arena of family life, where it is treated by therapy. This article surveys both state agencies and coalitions and discusses implications for services to abused women.