i LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION The Honorable Robert W. Kastenmeier June 6, 1980 Page Five been on a judicare approach, the local decision has been to move toward greater reliance on a staff attorney approach. This amendment would impose Congressional judgments on these local decisions. There is simply no evidence to indicate that money would be saved or the quality of service either maintained or improved by requiring such a dramatic shift in program direction as that proposed by the Wisconsin State Bar. As mentioned earlier, the Corporation has just completed a Congressionally mandated and independent study of alternative and supplemental delivery systems involving private attorneys on a paid or volunteer basis. The study measured cost, quality of service, client satisfaction and impact of legal work. While the report of the study is currently undergoing final editing and review by our Board of Directors for submission to Congress in July, it did not find any private bar model that as a rule performed better on the four measures than the staff attorney approach now in effect in most communities. It is thus unreasonable to statutorily require a delivery model such as that proposed by the Wisconsin State Bar. It is crucially important in these times of fiscal restraint to encourage additional participation of the private bar in the delivery of legal services to the poor, rather than the utilization of the private bar to replace otherwise effective staff attorneys. At existing funding levels, local legal services programs are serving only a fraction of the total legal needs of the poor. Therefore, greater commitment to pro bono contributions by the private bar is absolutely necessary must be encouraged in every way. We hope the Wisconsin Bar would direct their interest in providing legal services to the poor to join in our effort to stimulate greater pro bono publico contributions. The amendments proposed by the Wisconsin State Bar Association would seriously impair the delivery of civil legal assistance to the poor in this country. I hope you will carefully consider the opposition to these amendments by the Legal Services Corporation, the National Clients Council, the 55-693 0 81 - 23 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION The Honorable Robert W. Kastenmeier Page Six National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Project Advisory Group, and numerous interested individuals and groups around the country, and join with us in supporting H.R. 6386 without amendment. I would very much appreciate an opportunity to discuss this with you at greater length, at your convenience. Sincerely, Enclosure (Available from subcommittee) Dan Dan J. Bradley I respectfully submit to you a Preliminary Report to Congress on Legal Services in compliance with section 206 (b) of the Older Americans Act as amended (P.L. 95-473). This section requires that the Commissioner on Aging prepare and submit a report to the Congress on "the effectiveness of programs conducted under Part B of Title III relating to legal services and an analysis of the need for a separate program of legal services under this Act and of factors which may prohibit the funding of legal services under this Act without such a separate program, together with such recommendations, including recommendations for additional legislation, as the Commissioner deems appropriate." This preliminary report reflects the status of legal services activities under the Older Americans Act, including the support and systems building legal services developmental program. As background, it summarizes the Title III legal services requirements of the Act and of the recently promulgated AoA regulations, it also contains a brief history of elderly legal services support activities promoted by the Administration on Aging. The core of this document is a presentation of statistical information from AOA's own reporting systems as well as from recent studies by the Legal Services Corporation and the American Bar Association. In order to engage in a more intensive study of the factors affecting funding decisions for legal services as well as describe the types of legal services and legal services providers in the Title III context, the Administration on Aging has contracted with CRC Educational and Human Services, Inc., for an indepth study of legal services. The data resulting from this study will be presented to Congress as part of the Final Report to be submitted by January 1, 1981. The preliminary report was prepared internally entirely by Administration on Aging staff at an estimated cost of $4,275. I trust this preliminary report will be responsive to the intent of Congress in the area of the development of legal services for older persons. Enclosure Sincerely Yours, Robert Benedict Commissioner on Aging |