Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1276.001 2006-2008 ~~`y of p~~ Dominic Yagong Phone: (808) 961-8538 Council Member FAX: (808) 961-8912 'r .4 OF M?'~',` R] HAWAI `I COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai `i Q n Hawaii County Building m,$ N 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai `i 96720 ca June 23,2008 00 MEMORANDUM TO: Pete Hoffman Chairman, Hawaii County Council FROM: Dominic Yagong, Councilmember District 1 SUBJECT: Request for presentation to be placed on committee agenda The enclosed "Exhibit A" was inadvertently omitted from Resolution 679-08 when it was submitted to the Public Works Committee. Could you please attach exhibit A to the resolution for the upcoming July 2, 2008 Hawaii County Council Meeting? Mahalo for your assistance in this matter. Conwb Nc~. Ref. Too Ref note AU 9 3 2QOB Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 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" Keys Findings of the Needs Assessment • Only 1 in 5 love and moderate-incarne Havvai`i residents have their legal needs met. • Legal service providers are able to help only I in 3 of those who contact them for assistance. • The areas with the asreatest uruuet civil legal needs are housing (24%), f•.unrily (2 domestic violence (Pi)), and consumer (7%). • Significant barriers to obtaining legal assistance in addition to usability to afford an attorney include language and cultural barriers, lack of knowledge of one's legal rights, lack of knowledge of available legal services, and difficulty in accessing legal services programs. • There is one legal service attorney for every 2,291 persons living below 125° c of the federal poverty guideline. • There is one legal service attorney for every 4,402 persons living below 200° e of the federal poverty guideline. • There is one private attorney for ever- 361 persons in the general population. Community NN"ide Action Plan-. Ten Steps in Increase Access to Justice in Hawaii by 2010 (1) Create an Access to justice Commission. The Havvai`i Supreme Court should create an Access to justice Conmiission with members from the judiciary, organized bar, legal service providers, and others. The Commission would oversee and coordinate statewide efforts to expand access to justice for love-income people, increase funding for legal service providers and pro bong contributions by attorney-s, and increase public awareness. (2) Increase Funding to Support the Delivery of Legal. Services to Ensure Access to justice. Legal service provider organizations are the cornerstone of access to justice. The current level of funding from all sources allows these providers to serve less than 23°Fa of lovy-income residents with critical legal problems. Additional funding should be sought from the Hawaii Legislative, the federal government and through other means, including adoption of a "comparability" requirement for interest paid on lawyers' client trust accounts and increasing the court filing fee surcharge for the Indigent Legal Assistance Fund. (3) Develop a Culture that Values Providing Pro Bono Services. Attorneys who voluntarily provide free legal assistance to love and moderate-income residents play a key role in helping to address the unmet need for legal services.leasures should be taken that elevate pro bono to a value revered throughout Hawai`i's legal community. ' For the study, a family of four was deemed to consist of tvvo adults, one school age child. and one pre-school child. Comparable monthly basic living expenses on the neighbor islands were found to be 54,896 on Kauai, 5 5,294 in .Bans County. and 54,492 on Hanui°i Island. Exhibit "A" (4) Establish the Recognition of the Right to a Laivyer in Civil Cases Where Basic Human Needs are at Stake. It is time to recognize that society should provide an attorney for those who cannot afford an attorney but are facing the deprivation of basic human needs, such as those involving shelter, sustenance, safety, health or child custody. 5) Enable Individuals to Represent Themselves Effectively When Necessary. Due to the lack of an attonzev_ , many individwils are forced to represent themselves in court. Self-help centers should be established in all courthouses and programs should be developed to make courts more user friendly. (6) Maximize the Use of Available Resources. Legal services proaraans should work together to make the most efficient use of their collective resources. Paralegals should be used where appropriate to help meet unmet legal needs. (7) Overcome Barriers to Access to justice. Language, cultural and other barriers faced by residents need to addressed by the courts, legal service providers and administrative agencies. Legal services programs should expand the tipes of cases they handle, the location of their offices or clinics, their hours of operation, and their outreach efforts. (S) Expand the Role of the William S. Richardson School of Law in Promoting Access to justice. The Law School needs to expand it efforts to introduce its students to the practice of poverty law by increasing clinical programs, emphasizing the professional responsibilities of attorneys to engage in pro bono activity, and engaging in other efforts to encourage la% students to enter public interest law. ('9) Increase Access to justice in Other Ways. The Hawai'i Legislature should support the creation of a student loan forgiveness program for attorneys who tc cork for a legal. sere a organizations providing assistance to the poor. The Ha-,,;,ai'i Supreme Court should consider adopting rules allowing for limited representation of clients by attorneys and also allowing attorneys licensed in other states to temporarily practice in Hawaii if they work or vohmteer pro bono for a legal service organization providing assistance to the poor. (10) Form a Broad Coalition to Address Ways to Alleviate Poverty in Hasvai`i. Legal problems of lots-income Ham=ai'i residents do not occur ui a vacuum. Thev are often interrelated Nvith poverty, and if left unresolved, can plunge families further into poverty. The legal community should join lVith others in a concerted effort to eliminate the root causes of poverty in Hawaii. Exhibit "A"