COM 1276.001 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

REPORT AND ACTION PLAN AT A GLANCE The Access to justice Hui The Access to justice Hui is comprised of representatives of the judiciary, the Hawai'i State Bar Association, legal service providers, the Hawai'i Justice Foundation and the William S. Richardson School of Law, as well as bar leaders and other interested parties, The Hui's goal was to carry, out a statewide assessment of the civil legal needs of low and moderate-income residents of Hawai'i and to develop a community wide action plan to increase equal access to justice in Haxvai'i. The Assessment The last legal needs assessment, completed in 1993 (the "Spangenberg Report"), found that low and moderate-income residents had a high level of unmet legal needs. The Hui collected infonnation from a variety of sources I to determine the current extent of unmet legal needs, identify barriers to getting legal help, and receive community= recommendations to improve access to justice. The resulting report, achieving access to Justice for Haxxai' 's People: The 2007 Assessment of Civil Legal Needs aid Barriers of Low and Moderate-Income People in Haxvai'i, indicates that Ha,%vai`i's low-income population continued to increase relative to the population and that a disturbing level of unmet civil legal needs persists. Increased Poverty and Hugh Cost of Living One quarter of HawaiTs residents live below 200% of the. federal poverty . guideline. Hawaii Poverty & [gnu-IttcOitIC Since 1989, the number of people living P( Pula t i (on below 1250Fa of the federal poverty guideline 3it9,eli)[1 in Hawai'i has grown 28% to 136,321. ~5p rc. During the same period, the population living between l 2a ,n and 2000% of the i .;ct,txr federal poverty guideline has grown 19% to 1W,11(i + t4Ei;1x1 143,87' lo:' t~r.3bt 0 , ztnsn In 2005, a family of four living, at 125°,0 of Eselow 12;% ¦ t2 -20L the federal poverty guideline earned S2,319 per month, while such a family living at 200°'0 of poverty, earned S 3,710 per month. A study by the Center on the Family at the University of Hawai'i found that in 2005 it took $4,324 per month to cover the basic living expenses for a family of four living in Honolulu., Fanulies unable to afford even basic expenses certainly are in no position to pay for legal assistance when it is needed. 'Data was gathered from other studies and demographic information; written sunevs of potential clients, social service providers, legal seraice providers, mid adjudicative bodies: interviexvs with social service providers and members of the judician and conununity focus groups held throughout the State. Exhibit "A"