Opinion » Editorial

Senate must increase funding for civil legal aid

by Sue O'Connell
Monday May 18, 2015

Last week the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its proposed budget for the Senate. State Sen. Karen Spilka, in her letter explaining the rationale for the budget, said that her priority was to fund "programs to connect people with education, job opportunities, stable housing, affordable child care, and quality health services."

The Committee backed this up with funding for programs that fight homelessness and expand access to health care. Yet it recommended no increase at all for civil legal aid, which has a measurable impact across all of those domains. Specifically, civil legal aid programs help low-income individuals and families keep their housing, employment, and classroom accommodations for children with disabilities. Civil legal aid also resolves conflicts related to child support and custody, divorce, and domestic violence.

If your stated goal is to create a Commonwealth that works for everyone, then it makes no sense to ignore the need for more funding for civil legal aid.

A report released last fall by a statewide task force on civil legal aid in the Commonwealth found that more than 60 percent of those who are eligible for civil legal aid services are turned away for lack of resources. Our House lawmakers have recognized this need and have already recommended increasing the state's investment in civil legal aid by $2 million to $17 million annually.

Even that will not get the job done. But it's a start.

As the Senate considers its final budget, they should, at minimum, consider matching what the House has committed to.