A mother of three obtains a protective order against her children’s father, who has subjected her to years of physical and mental abuse. After many years of litigation, she then obtains a divorce and sole custody of their children. A father successfully vacates a child support order that should never have been entered against him because he has fully supported his son who has lived with him since birth. A woman on disability and struggling with mental health issues and domestic violence obtains a $60,000 property settlement in a divorce from her batterer after three years of litigation. An elderly woman obtains custody of her great niece whose father is in jail and mother is on supervised probation and unable to care for the child due to a range of problems. In these cases, the individuals were successfully able to assert their legal rights, a necessary step for them to obtain family stability and security for themselves and the children in their care. However, they were only able to do so with the help of a Bread for the City attorney. They are just a few of the many individuals and families Bread for the City Legal Clinic has been able to help since we began our family law practice in 1996 through a post-graduate law fellowship. In addition to providing legal advice and representation to low-income DC residents, Legal Clinic family law attorneys have also actively worked in coalition with other community groups to reform systemic problems in such areas as child support, domestic violence, and kinship care. By adding a family law practice, the Legal Clinic has come a long way since 1991 when the Legal Clinic was primarily a clearinghouse and placing disability cases with volunteer attorneys. However, so much more needs to be done. It is estimated that 90% of the legal needs of DC’s low-income population have gone unmet. Indeed, the family law clients helped by the Legal Clinic often survive on meager public assistance or disability benefits (a family of three receives a maximum of $379 per month in public assistance) or earned income that is too low for them to make ends meet. They cannot afford an attorney. And due to their own set of difficult circumstances and personal challenges, they are unable to navigate the legal system without the assistance of an attorney.
Included among the 90% of people who do not receive necessary legal services are Spanish-speaking immigrants. For many of our English-speaking clients, the legal system is like a different language that they are unable to comprehend and speak. Navigating the legal system is that much more difficult, if not impossible, for our non-English speaking clients dealing with the additional barriers of language and culture. With Spanish speakers making up two-thirds of DC’s limited English proficient population and a disproportionate number of Latinos living in poverty in DC, the need for linguistically appropriate and culturally sensitive legal assistance is great, particularly in the area of family law. (According to a 2003 report on the delivery of civil legal services in DC, the need for substantially greater family law resources was cited as a major need second to the need for affordable housing.) Last year, with the support of the Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program, the Legal Clinic began to address this need by having a law graduate pursue a project that focused on helping low-income Latinas overcome barriers to accessing child support and public benefits -- critical financial supports for low-income women and their families. Child support is the second largest source of income for low-income single mothers, after wages. And for domestic violence survivors, child support and public benefits often provide the only path to financial independence desperately needed to leave abusive relationships. However, this was a one-year fellowship, and Bread for the City is seeking to secure the funds for a bilingual, Spanish-speaking family law staff attorney to continue and expand upon the good work achieved during the fellowship. Already we have received substantial donations in support of this effort and seek additional funds for the position. The economic revival in DC is not trickling down to low-income families -- the District has the largest gap between rich and poor than any other major city in the nation. However, poverty should not be the reason why low-income families, including non-English speaking immigrants, do not have meaningful access to our legal system. The addition of a bilingual family law attorney to the Legal Clinic is one step that Bread for the City can take toward an ultimate goal of making equal access to justice a reality for all, not just for those who can afford an attorney. Return to the Legal Clinic page
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