A Brief History of the LSC Resource Initiative

In June 2001, the Office of Program Performance (OPP) decided to launch the LSC Resource Initiative (LRI), a project to raise the standard of practices in legal services programs by encouraging the cross-fertilization of innovative and proven practices among members of the legal services community. This project stems from a commitment to meet two of LSC Strategic Goals: 1) the dramatic increase in the provision of legal services to eligible persons and 2) the assurance that eligible clients are receiving appropriate high-quality legal assistance, as established in LSC's Strategic Directions 2000-2005 and adopted by LSC Board of Directors on January 28, 2000.

OPP determined that a web-based library showcasing innovative and proven practices could best facilitate the voluntary exchange of high-quality legal services practices. Our expectation is that program-to-program networking via the LSC Resource Library will improve the overall quality of legal services.

In November 2001, LSC publicly announced the Resource Library through a letter sent to programs as well as an announcement at the annual National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) conference. Originally, the Resource Library primarily focused on three practices areas: Pro Se, Intake, and Legal Work Supervision however as program submissions increased, it became clear that the Resource Library should expand beyond these initial three categories to accommodate current program submissions.

In December, OPP formed the LRI Committee to provide oversight and direction to LRI. OPP continues to correspond with programs to solicit innovative and proven practices while simultaneously developing a website where these practices are posted and shared with legal services programs and the public. The LSC Resource Library went public in September 2002.

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