california bar foundation 2009 press release shows only $5000 to californiaall

7/31/2019 California Bar Foundation 2009 Press Release Shows Only $5000 to CaliforniaALL

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NEWS RELEASE

Media Contacts:Leslie Hatamiya Joilene Grove

Executive Director Program Director(415) 856-0780 ext. 303 (415) 856-0780 ext. [email protected] [email protected]

Projects Increasing Access to Justice andDiversity in the Legal Profession

Receive $258,000 from the California Bar Foundation

San Francisco January 20, 2009 Focusing on projects that champion access to justice in rural areas of

the state, increase access to legal services for individuals with limited English proficiency, and promote

diversity in the legal profession, the California Bar Foundation recently awarded 37 grants totaling $258,000

to organizations providing legal services and education across the state. The grant awards reflect the

immense need throughout the state to ensure that the justice system serves Californias increasingly diverse

population, especially in todays challenging economic environment.

By investing in an array of impressive and innovative projects that increase access to justice and better

educate Californians about their legal rights and responsibilities, the Foundation acts as a catalyst for building

a better justice system for all Californians, said Mario Camara, president of the Foundations Board of

Directors. With many Californians struggling financially, the need for legal services to help individuals

facing a home foreclosure, in need of public benefits, and having difficulty accessing health care is greater

than ever. The Foundation is acutely aware of these challenges and has prioritized its grant-making to

support projects in areas such as rural outreach and language access programs that are in particular need

of assistance.


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Increasing Access to Justice in Rural California

Furthering its commitment to addressing the increasingly large justice gap outside Californias major

metropolitan areas, where legal services are particularly scarce and community members are often

geographically isolated, the Foundation is funding 17 projects totaling $120,000 that serve rural communities

in such counties as Fresno, Nevada, Placer, and Tulare. For example, the Foundations grant to the Family

Resource Center of Truckee will bring a bilingual lawyer into the Community Legal Center of Truckee-Tahoe,

which was previously staffed by a law student, providing much need legal assistance to low-income residents.

Supporting Limited English-Speakers

With many legal services organizations facing tremendous difficulty in serving Californias increasingly diverse

population, the Foundation is funding 11 grants totaling $65,000 to support language access projects that

improve accessibility to legal services or legal education for limited English-proficiency clients. One

innovative project run by Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence will increase the number of languages

served from 35 to up to 45, allowing a diverse array of clients to access legal help on domestic violence issues.

Promoting Diversity in the Bar

In addition to launching a new Diversity Scholarship for incoming first-year law students from communities

historically underrepresented in the legal profession, the Foundation has made increasing the number of

minority lawyers a priority in its grant-making. In particular, the Foundation is funding seven diversity

pipeline programs with grants totaling $35,500. These grants will support efforts at various points along the

pipeline and provide meaningful legal education and mentoring that will improve diversity in the legal

profession, including For People of Colors Law School Admissions Project, which provides resources for

minority students navigating the law school admissions process and law students of color who are preparing

to take the bar exam.


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For the first time, the Foundation is awarding multi-year grants for three projects: Casa Cornelia Legal

Services Detained Unaccompanied Minors Program, the Center for Community Solutions East County

Solutions for Safety Project, and the Public Interest Clearinghouses Rural Education and Access to the Law

Program. By awarding two years of funding to these projects, the Foundation seeks to recognize particularly

effective programs within the Foundations grant-making priority areas while also easing the administrative

burden of sustaining a program on these financially stretched nonprofit organizations.

Since the Foundation began its grants program in 1991, it has distributed more than $5 million in grants for

law-related access to justice, education, and outreach projects to community organizations, legal aid agencies,

courts, bar associations, and the State Bar of California.

The 2008-2009 grant recipients include:

Organization Project Grant Awarded

AIDS Legal Referral Panel Immigrant HIV Assistance Project (Bay Area) $5,000Alameda County Bar Association VolunteerLawyer Services Corporation

Language Access Project (Alameda County) $5,000

Bar Association of San Francisco'sVolunteer Legal Services Program / CentralCalifornia Legal Services

Rural-Urban Pro Bono Collaboration (FresnoCounty)

$15,000

California YMCA Youth & Government Raise the Bar Project (Central Valley and CentralCoast) $5,000

CaliforniaALL Bettering the Best: Continuing Best PracticesResearch (Statewide)

$5,000

Casa Cornelia Legal Services, Inc. Detained Unaccompanied Children Program (SanDiego County)

$20,000*

Center for Community Solutions East County Solutions for Safety (San DiegoCounty)

$20,000*

Child Advocates of Placer County CASA Capacity Building Project (Placer County) $5,000Family Resource Center of Truckee Community Legal Center of Truckee-Tahoe (Nevada

and Placer Counties)$10,000

Family Violence Law Center In Court Attorney Assistance Project (AlamedaCounty)

$5,000

For People of Color, Inc. Law School Admissions Diversity Pipeline Project(Statewide) $5,000

Housing and Economics Rights Advocates Napa Valley Foreclosure Prevention Project (NapaCounty)

$10,000

International Institute of the Bay Area Building Capacity of Legal Internship Program(Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)

$5,000

KABA Foundation Monthly Pro Bono Community Legal Clinic (LosAngeles and Orange Counties)

$5,000

Kids' Turn San Diego Workshops for Court-Ordered Families Engaged inHigh-Conflict Divorces (San Diego County)

$5,000


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Kovno Communications Outreach for Cruz Reynoso: A Man for All SeasonsDocumentary (Statewide)

$2,500

Lassen Family Services Court AppointedSpecial Advocate Program

Lassen CASA Capacity-Building Project (LassenCounty)

$5,000

Learning Rights Law Center The Special Education Practice Guide: A How-To-Manual to Successfully Advocate for SpecialEducation Youth (Los Angeles)

$5,000

Legal Aid of Napa Valley Equal Access for Immigrants Project (Napa County) $5,000Legal Aid of Sonoma County REACH (Sonoma County) $5,000Levitt & Quinn Family Law Center Transforming Lives Fund (Los Angeles) $5,000Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence The Language Bank (Santa Clara County) $5,000

Public Interest Clearinghouse IRS Form 990 Training for Legal Aids (Statewide) $1,000Public Interest Clearinghouse Public Interest Attorney Recruitment & Retention

Study (Statewide)$4,000

Public Interest Clearinghouse Rural Education and Access to the Law ProjectExpansion (Bakersfield, Fresno, Inland Empire, SanDiego, and Los Angeles Counties)

$20,000*

State Bar of California, CaliforniaCommission on Access to Justice

Rural Legal Services Policy Paper: Creative Solutionsfor the Legal Need Facing California's RuralCommunities (Statewide)

$9,500

State Bar of California, Council on Accessand Fairness

2009 Diversity Stakeholder Forum (Statewide) $10,000

State Bar of California, Office of BarRelations

2009 Bar Leaders' Conference (Statewide) $6,000

State Bar of California, Office of LegalServices, Access & Fairness Programs

Mortgage Foreclosure Project (Statewide) $4,000

State Bar of California, Office of LegalServices, Access & Fairness Programs

2009 Lawyer Referral Services Forum (Statewide) $10,000

Superior Court of California, County of SanDiego

San Diego County High School Mock TrialCompetition (San Diego)

$3,000

Superior Court of California, County of LosAngeles

JusticeCorps Site Supervisor Training (Los Angeles) $5,000

Superior Court of California, County of

Tulare

Video/Web Self Help Services to Rural

Communities (Tulare County)

$5,000

The Other Bar Foundation Expanding Service to the Legal Community(Statewide)

$5,000

Ventura County Bar Association /Volunteer Lawyers Pro Bono Program

Emeritus Attorney Training Program (VenturaCounty)

$3,000

VIP Mentors Attorneys & the Family Connection: A HolisticApproach to Reentry (Statewide)

$10,000

Yurok Tribe Yurok Bar Association (Del Norte and HumboldtCounties)

$5,000

* distributed over two years

The California Bar Foundation is committed to building a better justice system for all Californians. We champion full and

equal access to the justice system, invest in the next generation of Californias lawyers, educate Californians about their rights andresponsibilities under the law, and promote philanthropy throughout the legal community. A nonprofit founded in 1990 andaffiliated with the State Bar of California, the Foundation annually awards grants to California organizations conductinginnovative law-related projects and scholarships to outstanding California law school students. For more information, please visitour website at www.calbarfoundation.org.

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