2022 Budget Request
Summary/Overview
°µÍø51 requests an appropriation of $1,018,800,000 for FY 2022. Our request addresses the anticipated increase in demand for civil legal services due to the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on low-income communities as well as the continued lack of adequate resources to provide civil legal assistance to millions of Americans eligible for °µÍø51-funded services before the pandemic. As a result of COVID-19, we expect the number of people seeking legal assistance to increase significantly over the next several years. °µÍø51 grantees across the country desperately need additional resources to assist vulnerable people facing increases in evictions, foreclosures, domestic violence and problems with unemployment insurance and consumer scams.
°µÍø51’s request has two components: (1) reducing the justice gap by 60% and (2) increasing our Basic Field grants by 50% to respond to COVID-19. To enable °µÍø51 grantees to provide some level of service to address 60% more civil legal problems than they served before the pandemic, the budget for Basic Field Grants must be increased to $650 million. An additional $325 million is needed to address pandemic-related services bringing our Basic Field request to $975 million. This represents more than 95% of our overall budget request.
