[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26934-26935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-13413]



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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION


Suggested List of Priorities for LSC Recipients

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets out a suggested list of priorities adopted by 
the Legal Services Corporation's (``LSC'' or ``Corporation'') Board of 
Directors on May 20, 1996, pursuant to a Fiscal Year (``FY'') 1996 
appropriations act requirement. The list is intended to be considered 
by LSC recipients when setting their own priorities for the provision 
of legal assistance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victor M. Fortuno, General Counsel, 
(202) 336-8810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Law 104-134, the omnibus legislation 
that includes the FY 1996 appropriation for the Legal Services 
Corporation, contains two modifications of current law relating to 
grantees' allocation of priorities in the use of resources. The 
governing boards of grantees are directed to set specific priorities in 
writing, pursuant to the Legal Services Corporation Act and the 
Corporation's priority-setting regulation, of the types of matters and 
cases to which they will devote time and resources, and their staffs 
must sign written agreements not to undertake cases or matters other 
than in accordance with these specific priorities except in emergency 
situations [Section 504 (a)(9)]. The Corporation itself is directed to 
promulgate a suggested list of priorities that local boards of 
directors may use in setting their local priorities [Section 504 (c)]. 
Accordingly, the following suggested list of priorities has been 
adopted by the Board at its meeting on May 20, 1996.
    A one-third reduction in funding for the Legal Services Corporation 
for FY 1996 requires that the Corporation's grantees exercise the 
utmost care in making the difficult and, at times, painful decisions as 
to the types of cases they can accept and the nature of the service 
they will provide. While the ultimate decision in these matters rests 
with the local program--which must develop its own priorities within 
the context of the circumstances in its own community, in consultation 
with the client community, subject to applicable legislative and 
regulatory restrictions--the Corporation expects each program to 
respond to the most compelling and critical needs of its eligible 
clients and to leverage its resources in order to compensate to the 
greatest degree possible for the inevitable reduction in client service 
resulting from this cut in funding. In meeting this crisis, each 
program must continue to maintain a high level of professionalism and 
quality in the delivery of legal services and in the observance of 
ethical standards.
    To this end, and in response to the direction of Congress, the 
Corporation's Board of Directors has identified the following suggested 
priorities to help guide local legal services programs as they strive 
to continue to provide high quality, effective legal services to 
members of their communities. It has formulated this response in the 
context of the existing pattern of individual cases being handled 
nationwide, the largest category of which involves family matters, in 
which the client base is disproportionately comprised of women and 
children. Hence, a principal focus by the Board of Directors is in the 
context of the family. Recognition is given, however, to other critical 
case needs comprising the everyday problems encountered by our eligible 
clients.

Suggested List of Priorities

    Support for Families: The cohesiveness of the family is not only a 
time-honored value fundamental to our American way of life, but also 
the undergirding of the stability of our American society. Programs 
should take cognizance of the vulnerability of American families to 
problems requiring legal assistance for their resolution. The 
Corporation suggests that programs place a high priority on those cases 
in which legal assistance supports the integrity, safety, and well-
being of the family.
    Preserving the Home: Preservation of the home is essential to the 
well-being of every person. The loss of housing through 
uninhabitability, eviction, or foreclosure can precipitate exposure to 
physical and medical risks in crowded shelters or the streets, 
disruption of the schooling of young children, loss of employment, and 
the splintering of families whose members may be dispersed in seeking 
alternate shelter. Enabling families to avoid loss of their home should 
be an important priority for grantees, as should assistance to those 
families or individuals who have become homeless.
    Of equal importance is the assurance that families can be safe and 
secure in their places of residence. This is of particular concern in 
public housing complexes where crime and violent behavior put many 
families at risk. Legal assistance to tenant associations or other 
groups of eligible clients seeking to ameliorate the condition of a 
dangerous environment contributes to family well-being and should be a 
priority where appropriate. The Corporation also encourages grantees to 
give a high priority to representation of individual families 
threatened by unsafe or unhealthy conditions in both public and private 
rental housing.
    Help may also be needed when physical harm to family living 
quarters is caused by natural disaster, such as flood, earthquake, 
fire, and hurricane. Programs are urged to respond to the needs of 
clients in such emergencies and, when appropriate, to cooperate in 
joint endeavors with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Funds may 
be available through special appropriations, which programs can use to 
provide emergency services to clients in matters such as relocation, 
repair of housing, filing for benefits, and dealing with insurance, 
contractors, and creditors.
    Maintaining Economic Stability: Families must be economically 
viable in order to survive. The Corporation encourages programs to give 
high priority to cases in which the family's source of income is at 
risk.
    For the working poor, those seeking to avoid dependency and find a 
route out of poverty, the loss of a job may trigger a plummet into 
abject poverty, possibly leading to the loss of housing and access to 
health care, and even to the breakup of the family. The prevention of 
unemployment may obviate a sequence of far greater legal activity, and 
should therefore be a high priority for legal services programs. In 
addition to matters directly involving employment law, other cases may 
fall into the category of potentially preventing joblessness, for 
example, consumer cases relating to the tools of a worker's trade or to 
an automobile which is needed to transport the worker to the

[[Page 26935]]

site of the job. A category of the working poor whose legal needs 
should not be overlooked in setting priorities are family farmers, who 
are especially vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and markets.
    The Corporation also suggests that programs accord a high priority 
to cases involving parental responsibility for the support of their 
children. In light of recent legislative attention to this issue, the 
rate of success in obtaining child support from absent parents makes 
such representation an ever more efficient and cost-effective use of 
legal time.
    For workers who have lost their jobs or become disabled or those 
who are otherwise unable to obtain employment, representation in cases 
involving eligibility for benefits to which they have a claim may be 
the only way to preserve a source of income for the family.
    Other legal matters may threaten basic economic stability and 
therefore merit high priority. For example, a family entrapped by a 
fraudulent scheme may be forced into bankruptcy if it has no recourse 
to legal assistance.
    Safety, Stability and Health: Domestic violence threatens the 
security and stability of families at all economic levels. The physical 
abuse of women, frequently mothers of children in the household, as 
well as neglect and harm to children themselves, calls for heightened 
awareness and a fast response by, the justice system. The intervention 
of legal service lawyers in obtaining judicial remedies, such as orders 
of protection, can be life-saving. Every program should endeavor to 
offer that vital assistance.
    Representation in legal separation or divorce may also be essential 
to sustain what remains of a viable family structure, especially as it 
relates to regularization or clarification of the custody of children. 
Programs should also consider representation where dissolution of the 
marital relationship is the result of abandonment or other compelling 
circumstances, applying their own assessment of priorities to take 
cognizance of the exigencies of each situation.
    Representation in cases involving access to health care may also be 
essential to preserve the security and stability of families, and 
should be accorded an appropriate priority.
    Populations with Special Vulnerabilities: While the Corporation 
encourages programs to focus prime attention on providing support for 
families, this cannot and should not be to the exclusion of assistance 
to individuals living outside a family context. This is particularly 
true with respect to the growing numbers of elderly individuals in our 
population who are among the most vulnerable, particularly as their 
capacity to make independent and informed judgments diminishes. In 
addition to assurance of access to basic needs of life--food, shelter 
and medical care--they often require remedies against the unscrupulous 
who take unfair advantage in their dealings with them.
    Programs should also pay particular attention to other similarly 
vulnerable individuals within their service areas who, in addition to 
being in a marginal economic status, are less capable of fending for 
themselves by reason of difference in language, cultural and 
educational backgrounds, disability, or other special problems of 
access to legal assistance or special legal needs.
    The Delivery of Legal Services: Apart from the focus on substantive 
issues or client populations, the Corporation expects its grantees to 
give attention to matters relating to the nature or method of delivery 
of legal services. The sharp reduction in funding will necessarily 
cause programs to turn away an increasing number of eligible clients 
needing assistance. Before the FY 1996 reduction, it had been estimated 
that only a fraction of the legal needs of low-income clients were 
being met, perhaps as little as twenty percent. In some of our 
programs, the turn-away rate of those who sought assistance was over 
fifty percent. The Corporation understands that a one-third budgetary 
cut may well, in a given program, translate into a reduction in service 
capability greater than one-third, as staff and fixed commitments do 
not yield to simple proportionate reductions. It is therefore essential 
that each program consider methods by which it can stretch its 
resources in an effort to compensate in part for the substantial loss 
in capacity.
    To this end, the Corporation urges programs to make maximum use of 
available technology in screening, researching and responding to client 
needs. Because the Corporation can offer no assistance with acquisition 
of equipment, we suggest programs consider discrete fundraising 
projects for this purpose. Centralized intake through hotlines and 
computerized networks can facilitate referrals and brief service and 
result in more efficient use of lawyer time. Similarly, community legal 
education, pro se representation and other forms of self-help can 
reduce the need for legal intervention, enabling programs to conserve 
their resources for matters most requiring a lawyer's help.
    The Corporation recommends that programs place a high priority on 
activities designed to involve the entire community in sharing the 
responsibility for facilitating access to justice. Special attention 
should be accorded to the involvement of the private bar in the 
provision of pro bono client representation. Although increased pro 
bono services will not make up for the effects of the current cutbacks 
in funding for the Corporation, involvement of the private bar 
represents an important supplement to direct service by Corporation 
grantees. In addition to pro bono representation, the private bar can 
provide assistance in relevant substantive areas of law, training for 
staff and volunteers, and both direct financial support and assistance 
with fundraising. Law schools and other law-related entities can also 
make unique contributions. The community at large, including clients, 
religious and civic groups, community service agencies, and business 
enterprises and organizations should also be included in efforts to 
broaden each program's outreach effort.
    Conclusion: The Legal Services Corporation recognizes that 
different communities have different needs and will respect the 
autonomy of every grantee to make decisions that reflect the resources 
available to it and the demographics and particular circumstances of 
its client populations. In some communities, issues not touched upon 
here may be of grave concern to clients and worthy of being accorded a 
high priority. Nevertheless, we expect that each grantee will give 
careful consideration to the issues that have been identified here as 
priorities from the Corporation's nationwide perspective.

    Dated: May 23, 1996.
Victor M. Fortuno,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 96-13413 Filed 5-28-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P