New York Times Highlights Declining Funding for Legal Services Programs

In two recent pieces, the New York Times highlighted dramatic decreases in funding for Legal Services programs in New York State and around the country.

In a January 15th column
by Susan Dominus ("A Safety Net for Those Facing Eviction is Itself in
Peril"), Edwina Frances Martin, Director of Communications and
Government Relations for Legal Services NYC, and Chip Gray, Project
Director of South Brooklyn Legal Services (a program of Legal Services
NYC) opined on the ability of Legal Services programs to address
increased need in the light of proposed decreases for an important
state program that focused on homelessness prevention. And a January 18th article
("Interest Rate Drop Has Dire Results for Legal Aid Groups")
highlighted the impact of decreasing interest rates on an important
source of funding for civil legal services programs:

Scores of legal aid societies that help poor people with
noncriminal cases — like disputes over foreclosures, evictions and
eligibility for unemployment benefits — are being forced to cut their
staffs and services, even as requests for help have soared.

In an odd twist, the societies have been hit hard by the
Federal Reserve’s steep reduction of its benchmark interest rate, which
finally plunged last month to near zero.

The rate decline, though generally welcomed as a blow against
the recession, has had an unplanned and severe effect on legal aid
societies, which depend heavily on revenues that are tied to the
federal funds rate. As recently as 2007, the rate was more than 5
percent and legal aid agencies reaped more than $200 million for their
operations.

Now, for many legal aid groups across the country, cutbacks in staffing
are expected to reach 20 percent or more over the coming months, even
as requests for their services have risen by 30 percent or more.