$142,500 Awarded to Louisiana Non-Profits for Civil Legal Aid
To a person experiencing a hopeless situation, justice can be a helping hand regarding a civil legal matter. The Louisiana Bar Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in the state, announces funding of grants statewide to organizations that lead community driven efforts to help families facing non-criminal, civil legal challenges.
So far this year, the LBF has granted more than $12 million to help communities in our state access the legal services they are entitled to.
The Jock Scott Community Partnership Grants are listed by region below (as of January 2024).
Acadiana – $25,000
AVEC Les Enfants – $5,000: AVEC provides supervised visitations utilizing trained volunteer monitors and staff in a secure and safe environment. Funds are recommended for two security officers at their new St. Landry location.
Chez Hope – $20,000: Chez Hope’s goal is to provide education, prevention and intervention services by bringing awareness to technology-facilitated abuse to individuals who lack resources, access to legal services, and transportation to service providers. Identified issues include online harassment, cyber bullying, tracking locations and internet activity, and other types of online abuse. Funds are specifically for salary, technology costs, software costs, form access fees, promotional and educational materials, and an IT consultant.
Bayou Region – $25,000
CASA of Terrebonne – $9,000: Funds are recommended for 1) the purchase of necessities/gifts for foster children (Christmas gifts, clothing, uniforms, diapers, bedding, tutoring, etc.); 2) training and continuing education for volunteers; 3) recruitment/advertising items including supplies and promotional items needed to attend community events throughout the year for outreach and recruitment purposes.
Chez Hope – $16,000: Chez Hope’s goal is to provide education, prevention and intervention services by bringing awareness to technology-facilitated abuse to individuals who lack resources, access to legal services, and transportation to service providers. Identified issues include online harassment, cyber bullying, tracking locations and internet activity, and other types of online abuse. Funds are specifically for salary, technology costs, software costs, form access fees, promotional and educational materials, and website upgrades.
Capital Area – $25,000
Chez Hope – $15,000: Chez Hope’s goal is to provide education, prevention and intervention services by bringing awareness to technology-facilitated abuse to individuals who lack resources, access to legal services, and transportation to service providers. Identified issues include online harassment, cyber bullying, tracking locations and internet activity, and other types of online abuse. Funds are specifically for salary, technology costs, software costs, form access fees, promotional and educational materials, and an IT consultant.
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services – $10,000: SLLS has developed a new Cancer Legal Advocacy Project to target civil legal assistance to cancer patients and their family members in partnership with Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Hospitals in the Capital Area. Goals: 1) Develop a streamlined referral process for Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center staff and patients with at least quarterly partner check in meetings. 2) Provide civil legal services to at least 40 cancer patients and/or their family members to help improve their health and stability. 3) Provide at least four community legal education events on hot topics of interest to cancer patients. 4) Conduct at least one pro bono attorney training in partnership with the Baton Rouge Bar Association to help recruit and train Cancer Legal Advocacy Project volunteers. Funds are specifically for staff salary, benefits, outreach materials, and training costs.
Central – $11,500
Children’s Advocacy Network – $10,500: Children’s Advocacy Network provides forensic interviews of children, CASA services, trauma-based therapy and human trafficking services. Funds are recommended for the purchase of Vidanyx software. This recording software allows multidisciplinary team members (law enforcement, district attorneys, DCFS and staff) to securely view confidential forensic interviews of children.
Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) – $1,000: Statewide request partially funded by various panels. Funds are recommended to increase statewide outreach and communications to public interest attorneys about JLAP services through web content, newsletters, social media postings, annual reports and development brochures. Funds are specifically for materials.
Greater Orleans – $13,000
Jefferson Children’s Advocacy Center – $12,000: JCAC investigates, treats and prevents child victims through a multidisciplinary team approach. With requested funds, goals are to provide non-English speaking victims and their non-offending caregivers court certified interpreter services at no cost, and to ensure storage and sharing of digitally recorded forensic interviews are done in the most secure method possible. Funds are specifically for Vidanyx software and contracted court-certified interpreter services.
Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) – $1,000: See above regions.
Northeast – $1,000
Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) – $1,000: See above regions.
Northshore – $16,000
Family Promise of St. Tammany – $5,000: Organization provides emergency shelter services for families, most of which often have legal issues surrounding their homelessness. Funding recommended is to provide representation in various matters including wrongful eviction, expungements and bankruptcy.
Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) – $1,000: See above regions.
NAMI of St. Tammany – $10,000: The program aims to increase outreach activities aimed toward clients in the 21st and 22nd Judicial District Specialty Courts so that they can successfully adhere to the program and engage in personal mental health and substance abuse recovery, ultimately reducing recidivism and increasing access to behavioral health and substance abuse resources to aid in recovery and healing. This will include printed materials, broad outreach events to talk about free peer support services provided, and one-on-one outreach to clients. Funds are specifically for outreach materials, outreach events within the 2 courts and expansion of peer support specialist services to cover new client support.
Northwest – $1,000
Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) – $1,000: see above regions.
Southwest – $25,000
Family and Youth Counseling Agency – $25,000: Provides affordable and professional support through programs and services dedicated to advocacy, counseling and education. Goal is to increase advocacy services to adequately meet the needs of the community by providing court-appointed advocacy to children in the foster care system. Funds are specifically for staff salary and benefits and marketing/educational supplies.
