Vol. 75, No. 11, November 2002

Civil Legal Services Programs to Take Massive Hit

by Mary E. Triggiano

Where do Wisconsin's low-income citizens turn when they need help in preventing home-lessness, in getting protection from family violence, and in obtaining critical public benefits like food stamps, child care, and health insurance? For the last 34 years, they have turned to Wisconsin's civil legal services lawyers. These civil legal services lawyers and Wisconsin's legal services programs have vigorously answered the critical and complicated civil legal needs of thousands of low-income people and have fulfilled the promise of equal justice for many, regardless of ability to pay.

And these are critical and complicated legal problems. Who would you turn to if the food stamps you use to help feed your family or the child care assistance you need to keep a job were illegally stopped? What if Medicaid would not pay a hospital bill after your child was hospitalized after an asthma attack? Who would represent you if you were elderly and needed to stop an adult child from financially abusing you and to recover the money that was stolen? The answer: Wisconsin's civil legal services programs and lawyers.

Regrettably, civil legal services have never been funded to a level to fully serve low-income people of this state. At any one time, a significant portion of Wisconsin's low-income population does not receive needed civil legal services. This leaves far too many low-income people to tackle their civil legal problems alone. And now, Wisconsin's civil legal services programs are facing a deep, acute funding crisis that threatens to undermine the current system and remove access to justice for even more of our citizens.

Legal Services Corporation Census-based Funding Cuts

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) allocates federal legal services funding based on the nation's poverty population, as determined by the census. Under the recent census, Wisconsin's poverty population dropped from 508,545 to 451,538, an 11 percent decrease. Because the 2000 census showed a decrease in Wisconsin's poverty population (along with Wisconsin's overall population), our federal civil legal services funding also will decrease. Figure 1 provides a breakdown of Wisconsin's four federally funded LSC programs.

In 2003, Wisconsin's civil legal services programs will lose 15.55 percent of their federal funding - $721,504. This is a devastating loss for our state's low-income citizens. The reduction in federal funding could result in legal services programs closing 1,200 fewer cases per year.

WisTAF Funding Loss

Compounding this federal funding loss, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation (WisTAF), our state's interest on lawyer trust accounts program (IOLTA), also is grappling with a serious decrease in its projected income. Because Wisconsin's legal services programs also are funded by WisTAF dollars, the very low interest rates paid on trust accounts means less money to provide to these legal services programs.

WisTAF has done its best to buffer its IOLTA and civil legal services programs from the effects of these low interest rates; however, the federally funded civil legal services providers are anticipating a 30 percent reduction in their WisTAF funding in 2003 - another $285,948 decrease. The WisTAF funding loss could result in legal services programs being unable to help an additional 500 fewer low-income people and their families per year.

At this point, it appears there will be no transition period for these funding losses. Wisconsin's civil legal services lawyers and low-income people must begin absorbing the funding cuts immediately. The State Bar of Wisconsin has long been on record in support of civil legal services for low-income people and will continue to work at cushioning Wisconsin's programs from these funding cuts. The Bar's efforts include working with Wisconsin's congressional delegation on federal funding and with our state legislators to increase state civil legal services funding.

In the meantime, the civil legal services programs are encouraging all lawyers to help legal services by giving to our statewide lawyers' fundraising campaign, Wisconsin's Equal Justice Fund, and to consider joining the Volunteer Lawyers' Project or other pro bono projects. For more information about the lawyers' campaign, call Nina Jones, Executive Director of Wisconsin's Equal Justice Fund, at (262) 522-6836 or go to www.e-justice.org. For more information about pro bono projects, call Elizabeth Rich, State Bar pro bono coordinator, at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6177.

Wisconsin Lawyer