Legal Aid Infrastructure & Innovation 2021-2022 Mid-Grant Cycle Report

The California Access to Justice Commission is pleased to provide this mid-year report to the Judicial Council, reporting on services provided in the first six months of this grant program.

In 2021, the State allocated through the Judicial Council $5 million of Equal Access Funds for distribution by the California Access to Justice Commission for Infrastructure and Innovation grants to legal services organizations. Eligible organizations are those that provide civil legal aid to persons at or below 200% of the federal poverty threshold, including both IOLTA and non-IOLTA funded organizations. The legislation prioritizes services to rural and immigrant populations, and to organizations that work with community partners. With these parameters, the Commission focused on projects that would have a long-term impact by giving organizations the boost they need to reach their next level of operational or programmatic maturity. Many organizations have for years starved their own infrastructure, and these grants are an important opportunity to invest in needed upgrades to their hardware and software systems to increase efficiencies and accomplish integration of case management, accounting, human resource and other functions. In other cases, these grants are facilitating bigger picture thinking that allows grantees to test innovative new ways to provide services to indigent communities.