The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership conducted a study on the legal needs of veterans. They describe the legal needs of veterans. They then provide case studies on three MLPs, showing how MLPs are changing how we think of care for veterans.
Researchers and Academics
The Color of Debt: How Collection Suits Squeeze Black Neighborhoods
Two investigative journalists for ProPublica analyzed debt in collections by neighborhood tract. They find that debt is concentrated in neighborhoods that are majority black and that the average balance for which a balance was sued varies by race; white residents were sued for higher amounts, suggesting that they are better able to resolve smaller debts.
Legal Aid Society of Columbus: Tenant Advocacy Project Evaluation
Legal Aid Society of Columbus had Thoughtwell, a nonpartisan think tank, conduct a project evaluation of the Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP). The project evaluation finds that legal services provided through TAP had a significant positive effect on housing outcomes for their clients.
Outcome Evaluation of justice AmeriCorps Legal Services Program
The Vera Institute of Justice to conduct a two-year evaluation of the justice AmeriCorps Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children (jAC) program. The researchers find that for unaccompanied children who receive legal representation through jAC, those children were more likely to obtain positive and successful outcomes than those without legal representation.
Expediting Permanency: Legal Representation for Foster Children in Palm Beach County
Researchers at the University of Chicago conducted an evaluation of a partnership between a legal aid organization and a social service provider for children. They find that when children are represented, they had a higher rate of exit to permanency (between 1.38 and 1.59 times faster). They also find that this program is cost effective.
Evaluation of the QIC-ChildRep Best Practices Model Training for Attorneys Representing Children in the Child Welfare System
This program evaluation of the QIC-ChildRep training for attorneys representing children in child welfare cases finds that children assigned to attorneys who underwent the intervention’s training were more likely to experience permanency within 6 months when compared to attorneys who did not participate in the intervention. Attorneys who participated in the intervention met with their child client more frequently, spend more time on cases, contacted more parties, spent more time developing the theory of the case, and had more contact with foster parents and substitute caregivers.
Disasters in Rural California: The Impact on Access to Justice
This report analyzes how disasters have disproportionately struck rural parts of California. These areas often have higher poverty rates than urban ones, and are typically the slowest to recover from disasters. During disaster and recovery, low-and modest-means communities often do not have access to legal remedies, meaning that recovery is often uneven. This report outlines how legal aid and pro bono assistance help residents in areas of housing, consumer issues, employment, insurance, public benefits, replacing vital records and documents, and accessing FEMA benefits.
A 108% return on investment: The Economic Impact to the State of North Carolina of Civil Legal Services in 2012
The work of three civil legal services providers across North Carolina generated $48,775,276 in economic impact in 2012.
California’s Attorney Deserts: Access to Justice Implications of the Rural Lawyer Shortage
In this study, the California Commission on Access to Justice reports on attorney deserts — places where there are too few attorneys and high numbers of unmet legal needs. They find that attorney deserts are an acute problem in rural areas. This is not a problem concentrated in California — in the US, approximately 2 percent of small law practices are in rural places, serving approximately 20 percent of the US population.
The Attorney As the Newest Member of the Cancer Treatment Team
In this study, researchers profile LegalHealth, a free legal services program that works alongside health care providers in cancer care. Because oncologists often discuss insurance, employment, and financial concerns at first diagnosis and then later on, advanced planning (e.g., health care proxies, advance directives, etc.), they are in a prime position to partner with legal services. In this article, the researchers profile the benefits to patients, families and care partners, as well as benefits to providers and to the health care institution.
Legal Aid Research 