Partnership Project

Inland Counties Legal Services Riverside County Family Law Access - 030086

Abstract Number: 030086

April 2003

In partnership with the Superior Court of California, Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS) implemented the Riverside County Family Law Access Partnership Project (FLAPP) to provide assistance to self-represented family law litigants in a full range of family law cases, with an emphasis on reaching the monolingual Spanish speaking population. FLAPP is located in the Court's Family Law Facilitation Centers in the Riverside and Indio Courthouses in San Bernardino County. Each location is staffed by one ICLS bilingual attorney and one paralegal or legal secretary. ICLS staff members form an attorney/client relationship and provide brief services to eligible clients. Conflicts of interest cases are accepted by FLAPP's pro bono partners - the Public Service Law Corporation of Riverside County, the pro bono program funded in part with LSC PAI funds, and the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association, the pro bono program (also a PAI subgrantee) operated by a minority bar association in both counties. ICLS also established a private attorney referral panel in Indio.

Evaluation of the Riverside County FLAPP project indicates a high level of success as court orders are obtained 65% to 80% of the time. The last evaluation indicated that of the clients served, sixty-six percent (66%) were from the target group of monolingual Spanish speaking persons, a clientele that is very difficult to serve particularly in family law. Riverside Court and ICLS have developed an integrated initial referral system to guide users to the appropriate court or ICLS service, literally located in offices next door to each other off a common hallway. In 2001, ICLS FLAPP prepared 2,305 Judicial Council documents for its clients and increased this to 3,354 in 2002.

ICLS serves low-income residents living in Riverside and San Bernardino County in southern California and is home to many Latino immigrants. The 2003 Census revealed that Spanish is the primary language spoken at home in 27% of all households in these two counties.

Contact Information:

Irene Morales
Executive Director
Inland County Legal Services
1737 Atlanta Avenue, Suite H-3
Riverside, CA 92507
Phone: (909) 368-2531
Fax: (909) 368-2542
Email

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