Lancaster Bar Association Foundation and MidPenn Legal Services Safe At Home Keeping Kids Safe – Through Conflict Resolution 1

Safe At Home Keeping Kids Safe – Through Conflict Resolution 2

Home Should Be A Safe Haven for Children – Not A Battlefield The Problem: Large and growing number of single parent households Parents often do not agree on critical custody issues e.g. location of primary residence, visitation periods, etc. Some parents threaten to, or actually do, snatch children away from home. Police will not intervene without an existing court order Strong feelings = dangerous situation for all involved This can happen to your co-workers, your employees, or to your family The “Code Blue” case – for a poor person, legal aid is only hope 3

Home Should Be A Safe Haven for Children – Not A Battlefield The Solution: Orderly Resolutions – fair for all - a clear, structured road map to follow Kids feel safe - know where to call home Parents do not lose time from work - “trouble at home = trouble at work” Stable families make stable communities 4

The Legal Aid Custody Attorney Dedicated to and specializing in family issues – the area of biggest demand for legal aid offices Experienced and caring attorney in place Works to reach agreement, attends court hearing if necessary, obtains court order - road map for family Able to act quickly in emergency child snatch situations The earlier the intervention, the better for the security and safety of the child 5

Support for Custody Attorney is a Proven Concept LBA Foundation has conducted two successful campaigns: , York and Dauphin have followed the model: York , Dauphin Over $1million dollars has been raised for these campaigns Past Lancaster campaigns have been primarily lawyer funded, with significant support from Citizens Bank and the High Companies Rising costs = help needed from business community York, Dauphin campaigns - substantial contributions from business leaders Poverty is a community issue with children suffering the most 6

What the Lawyers Are Doing to Support Legal Aid Annual $60,000 LBA dues contribution to Lancaster MidPenn office $180,000 for custody attorney campaign which concludes this year $14,500 Buy-In program, annually $ 9,500 Arbitration Check – Off program, annually Pro bono cases valued at $150,000 annually through the Volunteer Attorney Program Recently committed $150,000 to Safe At Home campaign 7

What is Legal Aid? MidPenn Legal Services is the “Emergency Room of the Legal Profession” No criminal law work No duplication – no one else provides this service Only very poor ($27,900 family of 4) qualify for service (exception: domestic violence victims) 47,000 in Lancaster County live below poverty level – only 7 lawyers in Lancaster MidPenn office 23% increase in demand for legal aid service due to recession 50% of those eligible are turned away due to lack of resources, substantial decreases in funding 8

Bottom Line Custody Attorney will be able to help 100 families in Lancaster County per year for 5 years at a cost of $825 per case Custody attorney a MidPenn employee, with legal supervisor Position funded with dollars raised, zero administrative fees Total cost: $410,000 less $150,000 LBA pledge = $260,000 Need: $52,000 per year, for 5 years, to fund the position 9

Safe At Home Simple idea – proven concept Poor families have nowhere else to turn Stable families = stable communities Kids deserve to be Safe At Home Serious Problems - Happy Endings! 10