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May 2008The State Plan: Delivering Civil Legal Aid to Low-Income Peopleby Greg Dallaire and Lynn Greiner Recognizing the need for effective planning and oversight of our complex state civil legal aid delivery system, the Supreme Court has directed the Access to Justice Board to “establish, coordinate, and oversee a statewide, integrated, non-duplicative civil legal services delivery system that is responsive to the needs of poor, vulnerable and moderate means individuals.”1 In keeping with this charge, in May 2006, the Access to Justice Board adopted its current Plan for the Delivery of Civil Legal Aid to Low-Income People in Washington State.2 This State Plan was developed over a two-year period with input from many members of the Alliance. While recognizing the strengths in our collaborative delivery system, the State Plan identifies components that need improvement, divides the state into geographic regions, and calls for regional planning teams to form and plan for a more efficient and effective delivery system. Over the past two years, regional and state planning teams have risen to the task, worked hard, and have made significant headway in implementing the State Plan goals. This progress is described below. Upgrading the Delivery System in Rural Areas of Washington A key goal of the State Plan is improving the delivery system in rural areas of the state. Basic service benchmarks provide that not less than three legal aid FTEs (full-time equivalents) be located in each region to minimally meet the needs of the client population. Together with the recommendations from the local regional plans and an infusion of additional state dollars appropriated for the 2007–2009 biennium, much has been accomplished in the past two years, including: • The opening of four new Northwest Justice Project (NJP) offices in Aberdeen, Colville, Longview, and Port Angeles — all regions that have not had an attorney-staffed legal aid office in over 20 years; Strengthening Pro Bono Strengthening the pro bono component of our system is another key goal of the State Plan. To accomplish this, the State Plan calls for upgrading support, training, and assistance for pro bono managers. Additionally, the plan recognized that 10 of the 24 pro bono programs were small undercapitalized programs in areas of the state with insufficient numbers of private attorneys available to provide services. To eliminate inefficiencies inherent in maintaining these small independent pro bono programs, the 10 programs have been asked to develop alternative approaches to pro bono administration, recruitment, and support. In the remaining regions, planners are asked to consider innovations to strengthen the existing pro bono component. Discussions are currently underway among pro bono programs and other stakeholders on how to address these issues in order to strengthen the pro bono delivery system. Centralizing Client Intake and Access in King County When the State Plan was adopted in May 2006, NJP’s CLEAR intake system served clients across the state except for those living in King County. King County regional planners worked to create a centralized telephone intake system through a creative partnership between NJP CLEAR and King County 211. With money appropriated by the state Legislature, this system became operational on January 1, 2008. As a result, people in King County with legal problems can now call 211 to learn about the many free and low-cost civil legal services that are available in the county and, if appropriate, receive a referral to CLEAR for advice and assistance. Next Steps The Access to Justice Board’s State Plan Oversight Committee (SPOC) oversees the implementation of the State Plan. SPOC includes representatives of a number of service providers, funders, and ATJ Board members. In the coming months, we will continue to work on other components of our delivery structure, including systems to improve advocate training, advocacy coordination, performance accountability, and technology upgrades — all in an effort to further improve our legal aid system. Greg Dallaire is a member of the Access to Justice Board and chairs the Access to Justice Board’s State Plan Oversight Committee (SPOC). He was the founding director of Evergreen Legal Services in 1976. Before then, he managed legal services programs in Oakland, Seattle, and the state of Georgia. In 1985, he moved to the commercial law firm of Garvey, Schubert and Barer where he was the managing director until his retirement in 2002. Lynn Greiner is an attorney presently working for the Access to Justice Board on the implementation of the Revised State Plan. Previously, she was the director of the Unemployment Law Project. NOTES
CLEARing the Path to Civil Legal Aid The Northwest Justice Project (NJP), Washington’s largest statewide legal aid program, supports our statewide legal aid information, intake, and referral system. Low-income persons and seniors seeking assistance with a civil legal problem may call one number to find out if they are eligible for civil legal aid and to receive legal assistance. People in King County with legal problems can call 211 to receive information about and referrals to many free and low-cost civil legal services. For people living outside King County, CLEAR (Coordinated Legal Education, Advice, and Referral) is the gateway to civil legal aid. As of January 2008, the Northwest Justice Project has partnered with King County’s 211 community information and referral service to extend hotline services previously unavailable to people living in King County. This new partnership and enhanced service result from our Legislature’s $5.27 million state funding increase for civil legal aid in the 2007–2009 biennium. Today, because of the Legislature’s commitment to increasing access to justice, low-income people in King County with legal problems have one centralized source for legal information and referrals. Trained 211 specialists stand ready to identify legal issues and direct callers to appropriate legal resources. Clients and service providers may also access 211’s website at www.resourcehouse.com. This website features information on legal services as well as a comprehensive list of social service resources. Most calls coming through CLEAR are answered by screeners who determine whether the caller is eligible for services and whether the problem is one that CLEAR can handle. People with problems CLEAR cannot handle are referred to other community resources whenever possible. Eligible callers are put into a telephone queue to speak with attorneys or paralegals who diagnose the problem and provide a variety of legal services. CLEAR can handle calls in English and Spanish and has five Spanish-speaking attorneys on staff. Callers who speak languages other than English or Spanish are assisted with Language Line telephonic interpretation. In addition to the regular CLEAR line, CLEAR has two special projects. CLEAR*Sr has a separate phone number for people age 60 and over. CLEAR DV works with victims of domestic violence who are referred by domestic-violence advocates. In addition to providing telephonic legal assistance, many of the CLEAR staff members participate in statewide substantive law task forces and WSBA or Access to Justice Board committees, bringing valuable insights to state planning formed by assisting hundreds of low-income clients. Numbers to Call for Client Intake and Referral Outside King County CLEAR: 1-888-201-1014
CLEAR: 2-1-1
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