"Developing and Maintaining a Successful Legal Referral Hotline for Immigrant Communities: A How to Handbook"

Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center - 030030

Abstract Number: 030030

Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2003

The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), a non-profit organization that assists Asian Americans in the Washington DC metropolitan area in accessing legal services, has created "Developing and Maintaining a Successful Legal Referral Hotline for Immigrant Communities: A How to Handbook" to provide information on how to develop a multilingual legal referral hotline. APALRC launched this project, with support from the Open Society Institute and in collaboration with the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), in response to a study on the legal needs of the Asian American community which revealed the formidable barriers that prevent access by low-income and non-English speakers of Asian descent to legal services. The material for this handbook stems from the APALRC's experiences in establishing a legal referral hotline serving Asian immigrant communities in the Washington DC area. The handbook is organized by illustrating the creation of a model hotline through a ten-step process. The steps are:

• Step One: Decide What Issues and Languages to Focus On
• Step Two: Establish and Develop Partnerships with Key Legal Service Providers
• Step Three: Develop Issue-Specific Intake Forms
• Step Four: Recruit Bilingual Individuals or Volunteers to Staff the Hotline
• Step Five: Train Staff and Volunteers to Respond to Calls on the Hotline
• Step Six: Develop a Companion Legal Interpreter Project
• Step Seven: Set Up Hotline Operations
• Step Eight: Conduct Targeted Community Outreach
• Step Nine: Design a System to Make Appropriate Referrals
• Step Ten: Evaluate the Project

To access this handbook online, visit: http://www.apalrc.org/handbook.htm. For hard copies of the handbook or for technical assistance in developing a multilingual legal referral hotline, please contact the APALRC.

Contact Information:

Pauline Poh
Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center
733 15th Street, NW, Suite 315
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 367-3098
Fax: (202) 393-0995
Email

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