Overview of Client Services

Who do we serve?

Low-income Iowans in all 99 counties

In 2011, nearly 22,200 households were served

Almost 53,500 persons resided in those households, 23,000 of whom were children

Approximately 18% of the clients were seniors

Age of Primary Client

< 1818-2960+

30,50023,000

Number of Persons Helped in 2011

AdultsChildren

Who do we serve?

70% of the primary clients are women

Iowa’s population is becoming more diverse

70%

30%

Gender of Primary Client

WomenMen

80%

12%5% 1%

1% 1%

Race/Ethnicity of Primary Client

White (non Latino)Black (non Latino)HispanicAsianNative AmericanOther

Subject Matter Areas

Civil legal services only

No representation in criminal matters

Consistent with the priorities and case acceptance criteria set by the Board of Directors

Juvenile2%

Health4%

Em-ploy-ment3%

Miscel-laneous

7%

Income Main-

tenance9%

Consumer14%

Family32%

Housing30%

2011 Closures by Case Type

Types of Service

Direct Legal Assistance Advice to clients (74%) Calls or letters to opposing parties, administrative

agencies or others to fix or clarify situation (12%) Negotiation with opposing parties (5%) Representation before administrative agencies—

Department of Human Services, Social Security Administration, Public Housing Agencies (2%)

Representation in court—small claims, district and appellate courts (6%)

Extensive service not included above (1%)

74%

12%

5%2% 6% 1%

AdviceLimited ServiceNegotiationAdmin AgencyCourtOther Extended

Types of Service

Community Legal Education Self-help booklets – examples: landlord and tenant,

debt collection, garnishment Information on website in many areas of law:

www.iowalegalaid.org Quarterly newsprint publication entitled Equal Justice

Journal Conducting local events that educate low-income

individuals, staff of other agencies and the general public about the law

Types of Service

Outreach Potential clients meet with staff in locations

outside of the office to begin the intake process – often done at courthouse, domestic violence shelter or homeless shelter

Often combined with presentation on legal rights and responsibilities

Types of Service

Volunteer Lawyers Client referrals are made to private attorneys

participating in one of the three Volunteer Lawyers Projects – Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Scott/Clinton County Pro Bono Project, or the Iowa Legal Aid Volunteer Lawyers Project, depending on where the attorney is located.

Private attorneys sign up to provide free legal help to eligible clients

Types of Service

Volunteer Lawyers In 2011, private attorneys handled over 1,300

cases (reportable to LSC) for low-income clients Private attorney volunteers provided over 15,000

hours of free service in 2011 The value of these donated services is estimated

to be approximately $2 million (valued at $140/hour)

Types of Service

Referral to other human service agencies Referrals to local food banks, domestic violence

shelters, crisis line, subsidized housing and other service available to low-income Iowans

How clients come to Iowa Legal Aid

Telephone intake –everyday from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., except Thursday afternoons; emergencies anytime during business hours (8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

Walk in to office – every day during business hours

How a client receives services

Potential client is asked information by support staff to determine: If there are any conflicts of interest with past or

current clients Financial eligibility (income and assets) If it is a problem Iowa Legal Aid can help with and

some basic information about the problem

Client speaks with advocate

If advice and limited service is sufficient, the intake attorney usually provides the help and the intake is closed

If additional services might be offered, the intake is sent to a local office to review and determine whether the case will be accepted for further representation by staff or referral to a volunteer attorney

Representation is accepted or declined based on various factors including merits, availability of staff and of client’s ability to represent him or herself

Recent significant case work War Eagle v. Plummer, 775 N.W.2d 714 (Iowa 2009)—statute

allowing notice in an eviction action to be given to tenants by certified mail, whether or not the tenants received it, was unconstitutional as a violation of due process

Mulligan v. Ashenfelter, 792 N.W.2d 665 (Iowa 2010)—there are limits on disclosure of mental health records in civil cases; in this grandparent visitation case, grandparents could not show a good enough reason to look at daughter’s mental health records

Doe v. Iowa Department of Human Services, 786 N.W.2d 853 (Iowa 2010)—Iowa Department of Human Services exceeded its statutory authority in placing a victim of domestic abuse on the child abuse registry for failure to supervise her child because the father of her child had abused the mother

As a Board or Advisory Council member, you can do outreach and refer clients to the program. Tell people to call our intake number 1-800-532-1275 during intake hours - Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.