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<br /> City of Everett Human Needs Grant
<br /> January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018
<br /> Snohomish County Legal Services
<br /> Civil Legal Aid to Low Income Everett Residents
<br /> EXHIBIT A: Program Summary
<br /> Snohomish County Legal Services will provide legal assessment and assistance to 300+ low-income City
<br /> of Everett residents, who are disabled, elderly, youth, with limited English skills, or otherwise vulnerable
<br /> and have legal needs that impact their ability to meet their daily needs for shelter and food, by assisting
<br /> them in legal actions involving consumer, debtor-creditor, bankruptcy, or family law that will help them
<br /> maintain a home and have adequate income to provide for themselves and their families.
<br /> (1) Program Objective: The objective of this program, Civil Legal Assistance for Low-Income Everett
<br /> Residents, is to assist low-income, disabled, elderly, or youth residents of Everett whose vulnerability
<br /> impacts their legal needs and their ability to ensure that they have a safe home and adequate income to
<br /> support themselves and their families by assisting them with long term housing, consumer, debtor-
<br /> creditor, bankruptcy, and family law cases. By this legal assistance, our goal is to ensure that they have
<br /> the following: financial assistance in the form of child support or spousal maintenance for themselves and
<br /> their families, domestic violence protection orders that keep them safely in their homes, resolution of
<br /> housing problems, assistance with bankruptcy, debtor-creditor problems or consumer issues. One
<br /> unresolved legal issue, such as consumer abuse, predatory lending, lack of well structures parenting
<br /> plans and domestic violence creates a downward spiral of costly social problems that impact the whole
<br /> community. Our legal services meet Everett Human Needs priorities for Youth, Elderly and Persons with
<br /> Disabilities and/or Barriers.
<br /> (2) Program Components and Structure,: Snohomish County Legal Services (SCLS) is a volunteer
<br /> attorney program with a successful client-centered and resource-efficient approach using volunteer and
<br /> staff attorneys and paralegals in legal advice clinics, self-help classes, and for direct representation of
<br /> clients. We provide the services described below to income-eligible city and county residents, who are at
<br /> or below 200% of the federal poverty line; in 2014, we served over 1,360 clients. Of those clients, 40%+
<br /> will be residents of the City of Everett. In addition, 24% of the clients who are referred to our office are
<br /> disabled. A large number have limited English skills. The types of services we provide them are
<br /> described below.
<br /> Full Legal Representation:
<br /> Our family law staff attorneys provides full legal representation to victims of domestic violence in
<br /> protection order and family law cases (dissolution, legal separation, and paternity). In determining cases
<br /> chosen for full legal representation, priority is given to cases where the client is a limited or non-English
<br /> speaker, has physical or mental disabilities, where the opposing party is represented by counsel, and/or
<br /> where there is a safety risk to the children involved. We have seen a significant increase in the number of
<br /> non-English speaking clients in the last two years and anticipate that this trend will continue. Because of
<br /> the increased time involved in assisting these clients, our practice is to have staff represent them rather
<br /> than a volunteer attorney. However, some of our volunteers do accept non-English speaking clients, and
<br /> we assist with the cost of interpretation.
<br /> A second staff attorney deals with non-family law matters assisting clients in bankruptcy, contract
<br /> disputes, housing disputes other than eviction, guardianships, license revocations and consumer
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