ATJ Commission Funding, Staffing, Structure and Planning National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs – May 12, 2018

Staffing Funding Strategic Planning OVERVIEW Mary Lavery Flynn, Consultant, ABA Resource Center on Access to Justice Initiatives Jennifer Lechner, Executive Director, North Carolina Access to Justice Commission Hon. Andrew Mead, Justice, Maine Supreme Court and Chair of the Maine Justice Action Group Diana Singleton, Access to Justice Manager, Washington State Access to Justice Board Staffing Funding Strategic Planning

Profile of Access Commissions All Commissions launched with Supreme Court involvement; Host Entities providing funding and/or in-kind support: 16 Court-based; 10 State Bar-based; 5 based at Foundations [State Bar Foundation and/or IOLTA Foundation]; 9 hybrid/other.

Staffing of Access Commissions Four Major Staffing Models 10 Multiple Staff, Supervised by Commission Director Professional Staff often support key initiatives 12 - Full time, dedicated Commission director/coordinator Can also be supplemented with in-kind support from another entity 5 - Part-time commission director/coordinator Best model involves Commission work being primary role 13 - Limited staff support Sometimes “borrowed” staffing support from the courts, the state bar, a foundation, or a law firm  Primary Commission work being done by Chair

Washington State Access to Justice Board: 2018-2020 State Plan for the Coordinated Delivery of Civil Legal Aid to Low Income People The Access to Justice Board created the first state plan in 1995, at the request of the federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC), to address Congressional limitations placed on legal aid services that could be provided with federal funds. That State Plan boldly reconfigured the delivery system to ensure that no one would be written out of the justice system. This plan set forth the entire framework for the delivery system we currently have in place. Since then, the ATJ Board has updated its State Plan several more times, which included goals like strengthening statewide support functions, improving rural client delivery, etc. The Civil Legal Needs Study in 2003 helped informed the 2006 Plan. WA did a Civil Legal Study Update in 2015 which the WHY behind our newly adopted 2018 State Plan.

The “WHY” Behind our Work 70% of Washington’s low-income households experience at least one civil legal problem each year. The top three : 1) health care; 2) consumer/finance; and 3) employment People of color disproportionately experience a greater number of legal problems Significant legal literacy problem Washington’s low-income households experience 9.3 legal problems per year

The Alliance for Equal Justice When thinking about what we learned in the civil legal needs study, of course civil legal aid organizations grappled with how to respond to the findings. But, also, our civil legal community – which we call the Alliance for Equal Justice – grappled with how to we respond in a coordinated and collaborative way. The Alliance for Equal Justice

2018-2020 State Plan for the Coordinated Delivery of Civil Legal Aid to Low Income People Over an 18-month period, 23 legal aid organizations from across the state worked nearly 1,000 hours to create the new State Plan. The plan sets out five goals which are intended to reflect the universal commitment of the Alliance’s work over the next three years. This Plan was meant to be different than prior ones – it was more inclusive of who designed it and it was designed so that anyone in the equity and justice could engage in implementing it. Over an 18-month period, 23 legal aid organizations from across the state worked nearly 1,000 hours to create the new 2018-2020 State Plan. It was adopted by the ATJ Board in May. The plan sets out five goals which are intended to reflect the universal commitment of the Alliance’s work over the next three years: Promote and foster race equity Provide clients with legal education to understand when they have a legal problem Increase access to underserved and underrepresented communities Develop and increase holistic client-centered services Engage in systemic advocacy Now, Alliance organizations are in process of implementing the State Plan  SPARC, Goal of the Month, SLAT OPTIONAL NOTE ON RACE EQUITY The 2015 Civil Legal Needs Study Update which informed the new State Plan found that the people of color disproportionately experience a great number of legal problems. The drafters intended for goal one on race equity to serve a lens for all the other goals. This goal is intended for Alliance organizations to transform structures, policies and practices that perpetuate disparate outcomes for communities of color. JustLead/REJI