First Annual Report - White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable

The 1st Annual Report of the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (WH-LAIR), Expanding Access to Justice, Strengthening Federal Programs  was released last month.  A fact sheet accompanying the report is available here.  According to the DOJ website, the reason for WH-LAIR is

to raise federal agencies’ awareness of how civil legal aid can help advance a wide range of federal objectives including improved access to health and housing, education and employment, family stability and public safety. The Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable’s message included that providing legal assistance to people who cannot afford it can also have substantial economic benefits by preventing outcomes that are harmful to them and expensive for the communities.  

WH-LAIR is made up of a number of federal agencies. The fact sheet highlights some of the accomplishments, including an ElderJustice AmeriCorp which provides teams of attorneys and paralegals to help elder abuse victims.  This first report covers the 4 years of operation of WH-LAIR.  The report highlights the participating agencies' efforts to incorporate legal aid into their programs. policy recommendations to improve access to justice, furthering strategic partnerships, furthering data collection, evidence-based research, and concomitant analysis. The full report has 3 sections: (1) legal aid overview and its correlation to advancing federal priorities, (2) how the agencies have incorporated legal aid into their programs and (3) future opportunities to continue and expand their work.