This report outlines the history of civil legal aid and highlights the major developments in increasing funding and improving access to services between June 2013 and December 2015.
Legal Aid Practitioners
2007-2008 Evaluation Findings Clean Slate Program
The LFA Group conducted an evaluation for the San Francisco Office of the Public Defender on the Clean Slate Program. LFA Group finds that the Clean Slate program reduced barriers to employment, education, public benefits, and housing.
Bridging Health Disparity Gaps through the Use of Medical Legal Partnerships in Patient Care: A Systematic Review
They conducted a systematic literature review on how medical-legal partnerships impact individuals and implications for individuals living with HIV. They find that MLPs can address the social and environmental threats to an individual’s health.
Battered Women’s Multitude of Needs: Evidence Supporting the Need for Comprehensive Advocacy
Researchers interviewed participants within the first week of leaving a shelter program. After the first interview, some of those involved were randomly selected to work with an advocate. They compared the effect of the advocacy intervention between those who received the service and those who did not. In their cluster analysis and found that DV victims present three groups of needs: those related to housing, education and employment, and legal issues. They found that of those leaving a domestic violence shelter, 59 percent reported unmet legal needs.
The Impact of Legal Aid Services on Economic Activity in Texas: An Analysis of Current Efforts and Expansion Potential
Legal aid inherently has societal value, but it is also a prudent use of state resources from a pragmatic, economic perspective.
How Effective Are Limited Legal Assistance Programs? A Randomized Experiment in a Massachusetts Housing Court
This article reports the findings of a randomized control trial comparing the effectiveness of two alternative programs of legal representation for occupants of housing units in parts of the Massachusetts North Shore.
Explaining the Recent Decline in Domestic Violence
The decline in intimate partner abuse from 1993 to 1998 has three significant causes, one of which is the increased provision of legal services for victims of intimate partner abuse. This is a widely cited study.
Economic Impact of Civil Legal Aid Services in Maryland
Civil legal services programs in Maryland significantly boost the state’s economy each year by bringing in millions of federal dollars, improving the lives of low-income Marylanders, and saving the State millions in expenditures.
Developing a National Message for Civil Legal Services: Analysis of National Survey and Focus Group Research
The article presents results of focus groups and national opinion survey conducted during 1999-2000. This yielded a detailed understanding, as well as specific national messages that local and state legal services directors can use.
The Quest for the Best: Attorney Recruitment and Retention Challenges for Florida Civil Legal Aid
The report provides a comprehensive look at the financial and workplace issues legal aid attorneys are facing and provides recommendations for how to address them. It examines attorneys’ salaries, educational debt, when and why attorneys were leaving programs, and what attorneys needed and wanted in order to have a satisfying career in Florida civil legal aid.
Legal Aid Research 