Page 20 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019

FEATURE
and continued eligibility for public ben- efits. But few respondents consulted with an attorney about any of these problems. Perhaps they did not know where to go for help. Maybe they were well aware that the agencies could not meet overwhelming community demand. Often people do not understand that the problems they face are legal in nature and have legally addressable remedies.
Chronic Underfunding of Civil Legal Services
The three legal aid organizations col- lectively have approximately 40 lawyers. But there are more than 265,000 Dela- wareans living below 200 percent of the federal poverty level; that means that Dela- ware has just one legal aid lawyer for every 6,625 low-income people who need legal aid’s help. And that number does not in- clude the people with disabilities, the el- derly, victims of housing discrimination and victims of domestic violence who do not have to be financially eligible to qual- ify for legal aid services. The demand for services is overwhelming and the supply very limited.
Studies repeatedly show that more than 80 percent of the civil legal needs of the poor go unmet.5 Why is that the case? Be- cause we as a nation have repeatedly failed to fund civil legal services adequately. The federal government provided just under $400 million to civil legal aid programs around the country in 1995. In 2018, more than 20 years later, the federal gov- ernment still provided under $400 mil- lion to civil legal aid programs around the country. However, the number of people financially eligible for the services has doubled in that time. Delaware’s three civil legal aid agencies share a general ap- propriation from the State of Delaware of less than $600,000 per year.6 Before the recession, IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) provided more than $1.2 million to CLASI in 2006, but due to the declining interest rates, in 2018 it pro- vided CLASI with under $400,000. The legal aid agencies zealously pursue other funding from federal, state and private sources, and raise much-needed revenue from the annual Combined Campaign
For every dollar invested in civil legal aid, a dollar in federal money is brought into Delaware.
for Justice fundraising drive. The perverse reality in challenging economic times is that as more clients need legal aid’s help, federal, state and local government sup- port shrinks, and the ability to meet the increased demand diminishes.
Social Return on Investment
In 2017, the Delaware Combined Campaign for Justice commissioned a study, funded by the Longwood Foun- dation, to review the outcomes of all of the cases closed by the three Delaware le- gal aid agencies over a three-year period (2013-15).7 Dr. James Teufel and his col- leagues found that every $1 investment in civil legal aid in Delaware returned $7.23 in economic benefit for Delaware and its communities. These benefits include mon- etary benefits to individuals and the com- munity, positive changes in the determi- nants of health, and enhanced efficiency in providing equal access to justice.
While the direct impact of legal assis- tance provided by legal aid is often life- changing for the clients served, the eco- nomic impact of representation provides far-reaching consequences throughout the
community that raise important public policy implications. Civil legal aid injects dollars directly into the Delaware econo- my — for every dollar invested in civil legal aid, a dollar in federal money is brought into Delaware. When we help a client ob- tain food stamps, for instance, that is 100 percent federal dollars coming to Dela- ware to be spent in grocery stores and bo- degas. But legal aid also saves money for the government and other nonprofits, by, for example, avoiding the cost of tempo- rary housing. Savings and societal benefits are further realized by keeping children in school when attendance would have oth- erwise been interrupted by homelessness or domestic abuse.
Additionally, the recipients of legal aid experience a multitude of positive personal impacts that benefit both themselves and their extended Delaware communities. Civil legal aid helps ease the burden on Delaware’s court system by reducing the number of self-represented litigants. Our legal system, rooted in the adversarial model of justice, indisputably functions best when both sides are represented by counsel.
The financial impact of receiving civil legal aid representation, while very signifi- cant, tells only part of the story. For many low-income and vulnerable Delawareans, even more significant benefits come from non-monetary outcomes they achieve. For vulnerable individuals and families facing complicated legal problems that deeply af- fect them, the psychological and emotion- al value of representation cannot be over- stated. Having an attorney in a system that is complicated and daunting to people who are unrepresented empowers clients to en- force their rights and obtain a measure of justice. Representation alleviates stress and allows clients to remain more hopeful dur- ing very difficult periods of their lives. It helps them obtain and maintain personal safety, employment, housing and educa- tion. It restores faith in the legal system and our democracy. The justice gap under- mines confidence in both. We must take the necessary steps to better fund civil legal aid — or our legal system, our state’s fiscal health and our communities will suffer.
18 DELAWARE LAWYER SUMMER 2019