Since she became homeless two years ago, Renee has felt invisible. And without a copy of her birth certificate, she essentially is invisible to government agencies.
Renee, who didn’t want to give her last name, said she lost her belongings — including her purse with identification and government paperwork — when the Bristol Township tent city where she was living was bulldozed in January. She recently moved into the Family Service Association's Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter, which requires residents obtain proof of identification — but works with people like Renee to help them get it.
“I’m starting over,” she explained. “Everything you do, you need ID. I have nothing.”
Renee is among countless Pennsylvanians who face life-changing legal problems but can't afford a lawyer. She's also one of a dwindling number of people who can get free assistance through Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a private nonprofit that provides civil legal services to the lowest income residents of the Philadelphia suburbs, including Bucks and Montgomery counties.
“Not surprisingly, people who have to go to court or have legal problems and don’t have the benefit of legal counsel, let alone advice, are put in a much more vulnerable position to be taken advantage of (by plaintiffs and their lawyers)," said Elizabeth Fritsch, executive director of the Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
And the situation could get worse, she and others worry.
By the numbers
In his 2018 federal budget proposal, President Donald Trump would eliminate funding for the Legal Services Corp., a federally funded national organization that provides most funding for civil legal services for the poor.
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| Danielle Voight talks to an attorney at a Legal Aid event |
That cut, combined with proposed reductions in federal Community Development Block Grants, would reduce Legal Aid funding by 40 percent, according to Ann Tydeman-Solomon, development director for Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. The result of those cuts alone would be "thousands" fewer people who could be served, she said, and a widening of the civil "justice gap" experienced by the poor.
The proposed federal funding loss would follow a decade of significant erosion of civil legal resources for the poor in Pennsylvania.
State appropriations for civil legal services for the poor have dropped 26 percent since the 2007-08 fiscal year, to about $20 million, according to Sam Milkes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, which distributes funding for indigent civil legal services in the state.
Other government and private funding also has declined significantly since 2008, according to a 2014 report to the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee.
One of the most dramatic declines was in the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, which fell to $1.45 million last year — down from $12.2 million in 2009. The account is a pool of money generated from interest on lawyer trust accounts. Attorneys aren't legally able to make money from client funds, so the funds are deposited in the IOLTA when they'd earn less interest than the cost of opening and closing an interest-bearing account.
Before the recession, money from the attorney trust fund accounted for roughly one-third of the state's Legal Aid funding, Milkes said. Now, it's one-tenth.
The one exception to the losses was a $200,000 increase in Pennsylvania's appropriation for civil legal services for the poor. That raised the state's contribution to $2.66 million, but that's less than half of what is needed, Milkes said. And Gov. Wolf's budget proposes no additional money for 2017-18.
One of the most dramatic declines was in the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, which fell to $1.45 million last year — down from $12.2 million in 2009. The account is a pool of money generated from interest on lawyer trust accounts. Attorneys aren't legally able to make money from client funds, so the funds are deposited in the IOLTA when they'd earn less interest than the cost of opening and closing an interest-bearing account.
Before the recession, money from the attorney trust fund accounted for roughly one-third of the state's Legal Aid funding, Milkes said. Now, it's one-tenth.
The one exception to the losses was a $200,000 increase in Pennsylvania's appropriation for civil legal services for the poor. That raised the state's contribution to $2.66 million, but that's less than half of what is needed, Milkes said. And Gov. Wolf's budget proposes no additional money for 2017-18.
Less money; less help
Lack of funds means fewer attorneys to provide free legal assistance.
Statewide, about 100,000 Pennsylvanians receive free legal representation each year, but nearly 2 million who sought help and qualified didn't get it due to lack of Legal Aid funds. Last year alone, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania reported that it turned down more than 12,000 otherwise eligible residents because it didn’t have enough staff to assist them.
“We have to pick and choose those cases where we think we’ll have the most impact. It’s hard to say no to people, but we have to do it,” Fritsch said. “The bottom line is that we have had less funding over the past several years and so have had to cut back on our cases."
Those who get help are the poorest of the poor, earning no more than 125 percent of the federal income poverty level, or $15,075 for a one-person household this year, according to Legal Aid. That number doesn't include domestic violence victims, who are assisted regardless of income, according to the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network.
Civil legal matters can include child custody disputes, mortgage foreclosures, tenant disputes, personal bankruptcy, unemployment or Social Security Disability claims, and other such matters.
Even something as seemingly mundane as obtaining a copy of a birth certificate can require legal help -- and Renee was one of nearly 50 people who registered for free legal help at an event that was co-sponsored by Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Bucks County Bar Association. Legal Aid staff attorneys and volunteer lawyers from the bar association provided the help at the May event.
How hard can it be to get something as seemingly simple as a copy of your birth certificate?
Karl Johnson and Justina Brewington, who were among two dozen walk-ins seeking help at the May event, offered an explanation.
Without state identification, they couldn't get copies of their birth certificates. Without his birth certificate, Johnson couldn't get a state ID card, which he needed to get a job. And without a job, he couldn't afford the $20 the state charges for a birth certificate.
“We’re stuck,” said Brewington, who recently moved into the homeless shelter with Johnson and their infant son.
Fighting for funds
State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf Jr., R-12, of Willow Grove, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been a staunch advocate for improved funding for indigent civil defense and has introduced legislation to continue the 2002 Access to Justice Act and ensure it provides adequate funding.
The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network found the $53.6 million invested in Pennsylvania’s indigent civil legal services in 2011 yielded $594 million in income and savings for state residents and supported 2,643 jobs by helping people access federal programs that provide housing, unemployment, disability or Social Security benefits.
The Legislature hasn't taken any action on recommendations to boost funding for civil justice representation, Greenleaf said.
Meanwhile, people who can't get help from Legal Aid are referred to local bar associations, which refer them to private attorneys who have agreed to charge reduced rates for financially qualified clients.
The Bucks County Bar Association has 36 attorneys in its Civil Marginal Income Program, said Lynn Abbonizio, the referral service administrator. The agency doesn't disclose income guidelines to the public and considers only people who are referred from Legal Aid. Last year, the program referred 139 individuals to participating attorneys, down from 207 in 2010, Abbonizio said.
The Modest Means Legal Access Project is a joint project of the Montgomery County Bar Association and Legal Aid. Participating attorneys offer reduced fees to qualified clients for civil matters, according Nancy Walsh, coordinator of the association’s Access to Justice program. Last year, about 300 people qualified under the program, which refers individuals to private attorneys who charge a discounted $75 an hour.
Recently, the program was overhauled to better address the growing gap in access to civil attorneys, Walsh said. It almost doubled the qualifying income threshold from 125 percent of the federal poverty limit to 200 percent, which is $24,120 for a one-person household this year. The Montgomery County Bar Association also hired a coordinator to work with nonprofit agencies and recruit more attorneys.
“This will allow us to reach more people in need of affordable legal assistance than ever before,” Walsh said
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