做厙51's Impact
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做厙51 (做厙51) distributes more than 94% of its federal appropriation each year to nonprofits delivering high-quality civil legal aid.
做厙51s grantees use this funding to help hundreds of thousands of low-income individuals, including veterans, children and seniors in matters involving safety, economic subsistence and family stability. Throughout 2023, 做厙51 continued to advocate for increased funding for civil legal services. In March, 做厙51 released its FY 2024 budget request to Congress for $1.5 billion. This request reflected the funding 做厙51s grantees needed to serve the eligible applicants that are currently turned away for lack of resources. Congress funded 做厙51 at $560 million in FY 2024, the same as the prior year.
做厙51s Basic Field Grants are an important source of funding for nonprofits providing civil legal services. 做厙51 also awards different types of special grants to these grantees.
This year, 做厙51 awarded Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) grants to 17 organizations totaling $5 million to expand pro bono legal services. Each PBIF-funded project involves innovative solutions to persistent challenges in pro bono delivery systems or new initiatives to reach low-income Americans with legal needs. The grants are directed to projects that are replicable, scalable, and focus on critical, unmet needs.
Several organizations, including Community Legal Aid SoCal, Pine Tree Legal Assistance and the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia will use PBIF grants to fund programs focused on pro bono services for housing and eviction prevention. Other recipients, including Center for Arkansas Legal Services, Prairie State Legal Services and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, are using funding to support programs that help low-income Americans pursue criminal record-sealing or expungement. Still other PBIF-funded grantees will use the awards to assess and improve the efficacy of the pro bono practices currently in place.
By The Numbers
Americans Eligible For
做厙51-Funded Legal Assistance
Total Cases Closed
People Received Legal Information or Education
Cases By Pro Bono Attorneys
Cases Involving Domestic Violence
These figures are rounded.
做厙51 also awarded 33 Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) to 29 legal service providers across the country, totaling $5.1 million in 2023. These funds are aimed at helping organizations better leverage technology in delivering high-quality legal assistance. Since the TIG programs inception in 2000, 做厙51 has awarded 892 grants, totaling more than $86 million to fund legal technology projects.
Community Legal Services of Arizona is using TIG funding to install self-service legal kiosks where people in rural areas can access online legal resources, attend video conferences and print important documents.
Other organizations receiving these grants are developing and implementing new intake processes for low-income individuals seeking legal assistance in areas such as eviction and student loan debt.
做厙51 was included in a $38.2 billion emergency disaster supplemental appropriation included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 passed by Congress in December 2022 to support natural disaster response. This year, 做厙51 awarded $19.8 million to 14 of its grantees in regions impacted by disasters.
These grants support the delivery of legal services to low-income Americans affected by hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, floods and severe storms that occurred in 2022. More than 4.75 million people in these areas qualified for legal aid even before disaster struck.
Grants issued using these funds will go towards supporting survivors who often require immediate legal assistance to file for FEMA and insurance benefits, deal with landlord/tenant issues, access unemployment or apply for replacements of important documents needed for education and medical benefits. Legal issues can persist for several years after the disaster. Legal aid organizations can help survivors protect themselves from predatory scams and fraud, as well as cases involving FEMA appeals.
Using funds from these disaster grants, some 做厙51 grantees plan to hire additional staff to increase their caseload capacity, while others will expand their outreach efforts in an effort to close the gap between available services and disaster survivors who need them most. Recipients in Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa are partnering to develop resources and virtual training sessions for recipients of 做厙51 disaster funding who are less familiar with disaster work, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the disaster grants that are distributed.
Client Stories
Brianna & Jayden
Bay Area Legal Services (Florida)
Twins Brianna and Jayden spent the first year of their lives without stable housing. They had been living in motel rooms with their mother for some time when she called on her cousin, Jennifer Dukes, to care for the children. They didnt have anything, Jennifer said of the neglect the twins experienced before being placed under her care. Only thing they had was a shirt. They didnt have shoes, socks, pants, bags, bottles, cupsnothing. After several years passed, Jennifers cousin asked her to adopt the twins. While Jennifer was relieved, she did not feel ready to navigate the legal system on her own. She reached out to Bay Area Legal Services and was connected with an attorney who could represent her in the case. At age four, Brianna and Jaydens adoption was finalized.
Matthew
Community Legal Aid (Massachusetts)
When he was 8 years old, Matthews public school district placed him in a private special education school in order to meet his unique socio-emotional needs. At first, he thrived in the new program, but by the fall of 2022, something was clearly amiss; the school was constantly calling Matthews guardian with reports of misbehavior, and he was even suspended. In February 2023, Matthew was effectively expelled from the school with no process or warning. Luckily, he was quickly enrolled in a new school, where he is receiving the support he needs and thriving as a result. However, his family was concerned by the schools actions, eventually approaching Community Legal Aid for help. With the assistance of one of their attorneys, Matthews family filed a complaint with the state education agency against the school, resulting in an agreement that addressed his experience and ensured heightened oversight.
Tracy
Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York
Tracy Love faced relentless domestic violence in her 20-year marriage, but when her husband began threatening her with weapons, she knew it was time to remove herself and their three children from the home. With the support of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Tracy felt empowered to go to the police with evidence of her husbands abuse, resulting in a stay-away order of protection. The next night, compelled by an unshakable hunch, Tracy gathered her and her childrens belongings and went to stay with her parents. You cannot stay here, my gut said, Tracy recalled later. Whatever you do, you cannot stay here. That night, Tracys husband returned to their home and burnt it to the ground, unaware that she and the children were staying elsewhere. In the wake of the fire, LASNNY supported Tracy as she sought legal protection from her husband and rebuilt her life. Thanks to LASNNYs help, she received a five-year order of protection and sole physical and legal custody of her children.
Claire
Claire was referred to Legal Aid of West Virginia through the 12-step program she completed in addiction recovery. She had lost custody of her two children and did not have the resources to pursue getting them back. After a lengthy recovery process, Claires attorney was eventually able to successfully advocate for the return of her visitation rights. Over time, Claire rebuilt her relationships with her children, and she now shares custody with her ex-husband. The help that Legal Aid of West Virginia offered enabled Claire to reestablish her life with stable income and access to quality housing. Claire says of her life now: The relationship my kids have with each other is just love. Life is good. Ill be driving to work sometimes, and Ill feel like, I cant believe this is my life. I came from this person who didnt have anything to where I am now.
Eddie
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Eddie Fondren is a Vietnam Veteran who has been living in the St. Louis area for nearly six decades. When the property where Eddie was living changed owners, the new property manager gave him only four days notice of a more than 34% rent increase with no related upgrades to the property. When Eddie tried to advocate for himself, the rental company promised to make repairs only after he started paying the increased rent. On a fixed social security income, his options were limited and he was facing eviction. He reached out to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) for assistance. LSEM attorneys and staff helped him negotiate with his landlord to avoid homelessness, and he was ultimately able to move into more stable housing. Eddie says of LSEM: I guess some of us need that type of help. I know I did, and I thank the Lord and thank their organization. Im so grateful.