PLAN White Paper on Civil Legal Aid in PA

In preparation for its 2011-2012 State Budget request, PLAN (the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network) today released a White Paper providing an overview of Pennsylvania’s Civil Legal Service programs, history and funding. It highlighted the following regarding the 8 programs providing core legal services (a group which includes Legal Aid of Southeastern PA-LASP) and six specialized programs providing statewide backup and direct client services in particular areas of the law.

  • ..the need for legal aid has skyrocketed. Because of the recession, many more Pennsylvanians are eligible for representation and many more face pressing problems such as the loss of their home…or family medical expenses.
  • A recent national study (Documenting the Justice Gap, by the Legal Services Corporation) revealed that one of every two people who come to a legal aid office in Pennsylvania, eligible for legal aid and in need of representation, had to be turned away due to lack of resources
  • …FY 2010-2011 funding is millions below the inflation adjusted purchasing power of the 1975-6 state appropriation and the actual funding of several years ago….22 years ago PLAN’s funding supported a total of 358 legal aid lawyers statewide.  Today, despite the increased need, PLAN can support only 259 lawyers.
  • The network of (PLAN legal services) programs handles about 100,000 cases each year.

The sampling of cases and activities reviewed in the article highlights the following family law and housing cases handled by LASP last year:

  • Ms. R attended the custody information class at the local LASP office. During her interview it was discovered that during her Father’s most recent visit he refused to return the child unless the Mother turned over the child’s social security card and birth certificate to the Father. The Mother believed the Father was going to fraudulently obtain welfare benefits with the information so she refused and sought Legal Aid’s assistance in obtaining a Custody Order. Her Legal Aid attorney filed a Custody Complaint that afternoon and was able to obtain a court date for the following week. Ms. R. served the Father with the Complaint over the weekend and, given the upcoming hearing, he immediately returned the Child.  The Mother and Father attended the custody conciliation, at which time they agreed that the Mother would have primary custody and they agreed to a set schedule when the Father would see the child.

  • LASP represented Ms. M, a 77 year old woman who requires a motorized wheelchair to move around her apartment, which is in a Housing Authority building for the elderly and disabled.  She had extreme difficulty leaving and entering the building through its doorways and had gotten no response to her complaints from the Housing Authority.  On ms. M’s behalf, Legal Aid requested a reasonable accommodation and negotiated with staff members of the Housing Authority as well as the Housing Authority’s Executive Director and legal counsel.  Through LASP efforts and not with the support of the Housing Authority, they obtained funding and completed a new entranceway, complete with remote controlled access so that the client can easily enter or leave her home.”

 

To read the full White Paper, go to: http://www.palegalaid.net/news/blog/white-paper-pennsylvania-legal-aid