Legal Aid agencies face losing a large percentage of their funding under President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which could hurt some poor people’s ability to get legal assistance for issues like domestic-violence restraining orders or home foreclosures.
Legal Aid services also deal with cases involving access to public benefits, education and bankruptcy.
Trump recommends eliminating funding for Legal Services Corp., which is currently appropriated $385 million. Legal Services, since 1974, provides funding for 133 Legal Aid agencies throughout the country, according to Jim Sandman, Legal Services’ president.
Most Legal Aid agencies get an average of 38 percent of their funding from Legal Services. Some places rely on the funding even more. For example, North Carolina Legal Aid gets 48 percent of its funding from Legal Services, according to George Hausen, the agency’s executive director. However, the financial impact extends beyond the loss of direct federal funding because those dollars attract additional money. The executive director of Community Legal Aid, Steven McGarrity, which receives about a third of its funding from Legal Services stands to lose closer to 40 to 45 percent of their funding when you take into account that leveraging effect.
“Nearly 4 million people are eligible for Legal Aid’s services,” said Hausen. “Those people would have nowhere to go.”
“It would be devastating,” stated Sandman. But, he does not think the potential cuts will be approved by Congress.
According to Sandman, Legal Services has gotten increases of $10 million in three of the last four years. Congress has approved funding for Legal Services, regardless of which party hold a congressional majority or the presidency. More than 100 law schools, the ABA, and law firms have come out against the budget proposal.
Sandman said Legal Aid is important because for people to navigate the justice system they need legal assistance and “Legal Aid is critical to making the civil justice system accessible to them.”