PROGRAM LETTER 96-2
TO: | All LSC Program Directors |
FROM: | John A. Tull, Director Office of Program Evaluation, Analysis and Review |
DATE: | June 14, 1996 |
RE: | Priorities |
As you know, Public Law 104-134, signed into law on April 26, 1996, has provisions which require recipients to take certain affirmative steps with regard to priorities.(1) We are writing to advise you of what you should do to implement the priority setting requirements. We are also sending you a list of suggested priorities promulgated by the LSC Board on May 20, 1996 for consideration in your priority setting.
What is Required by Sec. 504 (a) (9).
We want to draw your attention to four aspects of the priorities provisions which go beyond previous requirements:
Priorities must still be set in compliance with the LSC Act (Section 1007 (a)(2)(C)(i)) which requires consideration of the relative needs of eligible clients for assistance, including outreach training and support services, particularly the needs of clients with special difficulties of access to legal services or with special legal problems. Please note that the LSC Board of Directors anticipates adopting an interim revised regulation governing priority setting at its July 1996 meeting.
What Your Program Should Do.
To avoid any question regarding whether your program is engaged in activities which are not approved within the program's priorities we recommend that you draw your priorities specifically to cover both cases and matters as defined by the timekeeping regulation. A case is a distinct legal problem or set of closely related problems and the legal work performed by the attorneys and paralegals to resolve those problems. Cases include litigation, hearings, negotiations, advice, brief services and assistance with individual PAI cases. Matters are actions which contribute to the overall delivery of program services that do not involve direct legal advice or representation. Matters include community education, pro se clinics, training, CLE, preparing informational materials, and PAI recruitment.(2)
Please note as well that a priority category of "other" or "miscellaneous" is not sufficiently specific under 504(a)(9), unless it is further defined. It would be permissible to define a category of cases which may be accepted, even though not specifically set forth in the priorities if, for example, they involve threats to the health and safety of the applicant.
Advice, brief service and referral. You should review your intake system in light of the new requirements on priorities. A high percentage of the cases closed by recipients involve the provision of counsel and advice, brief service or referral assistance. Moreover, we realize that with the Corporation's encouragement, many recipients are increasingly employing centralized telephone intake and delivery systems to provide these services in a more efficient and effective manner. Often the issues addressed in those calls may not fall under cases listed as priorities for full representation. You may, however, give advice on cases or matters that are not specified as substantive case types so long as the priorities are framed to cover such advice. To accomplish this, you may enumerate advice and referral as a priority. However, brief service such as negotiation or the production of a letter to a third party should be in a substantive priority area.(3)
The procedure should address who will determine that a particular case constitutes an emergency situation and how and when the request and approval are recorded.
The agreement should specify that the case handler understands the priorities, the definition of an emergency situation, the procedure to follow with regard to emergencies, and that the case handler will not undertake non-priority cases or matters. The signed agreements should be kept in a separate file. A sample agreement is attached to this letter.
TIMING
Recipients should revise priorities as necessary within thirty (30) days from the date that the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors adopts an interim revised regulation (July 20). The Staff Agreement should be developed and signed by that time as well.
________________
1 Priorities.
Sec. 504. (a) None of the funds appropriated in this Act to the Legal Services Corporation may be used to provide financial assistance to any person or entity (which may her referred to in this section as a 'recipient')
(9)
unless-
(A) prior
to the provision of financial assistance-
(i) if the
person or entity is a nonprofit organization, the governing board of the person or entity
has set specific priorities in writing; pursuant to section 1007(a)(2)(C)(i) of the Legal
Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 2996f(a)(2)(C)(i)), of the types of matters and cases
to which the staff of the nonprofit organization shall devote time and resources; and
(ii) the
staff of such person or entity has signed a written agreement not to undertake cases or
matters other than in accordance with the specific priorities set by such governing board
except in emergency situations defined by such board and in accordance with the written
procedures of such board for such situation; and
(B) the
staff of such person or entity provides to the governing board on a quarterly basis, and
to the Corporation on annual basis, information on all cases or matters undertaken other
than cases or matters undertaken in accordance with such priorities;
2 45 CFR Part 1635.2 contains the definitions of case and matter. See the LSC Timekeeping Guide page 4-5 for additional examples of cases and matters.
3 Advice includes reviewing relevant information and counseling the client on the action the individual might take to resolve the issue including sending pamphlets on the legal issues. Brief service is to resolve the case as a result of action taken at or soon after the intake such as preparing a short letter or making a telephone call.
4 For example a program whose priority in the housing area is to take only federally subsidized and public housing cases and provide no other type of service for clients with housing matters, may determine that it will take housing emergencies caused by a natural disaster where no other resource is available.