Recipient Number: 902000

            Thank you for your timely submittal of the Alaska State Planning Report. We have had the opportunity to review the Report and would like to share the following observations with you. Please excuse this much delayed response to your Report.

            The Corporation compliments Alaska Legal Services Corporation, the Alaska Supreme Court, and all participants in the Access to Civil Justice Task Force for their efforts to improve and expand access to civil justice. It is clear from this Report that the frontier spirit of cooperation is alive and well among Alaskans concerned with the delivery of civil legal services. ALSC and the Task Force have focused their energy on creating a delivery system that is responsive to the needs of the low income community, ensures the highest and most strategic use of all resources, and maximizes the opportunity for access to justice.

            This report describes the extensive planning undertaken by ALSC since 1997 and the establishment of the Access to Civil Justice Task Force by the Alaska Supreme Court. Both continue to conduct ongoing planning for the state.

            The statewide Task Force is comprised of judges, bar leaders, legal services providers, representatives of the client community, and business and community leaders. This composition reflects the important array of stakeholders that are needed to plan and implement an effective, comprehensive, integrated civil legal services delivery system. The Task Force’s six subcommittees in the areas of: 1) Alaska Legal Services Corporation; 2) pro bono; 3) community legal support and education; 4) pro se litigants; 5) alternative dispute resolution; and 6) non-ALSC eligible individuals appear to be a reasonable approach to effective planning in those areas. The subcommittees’ recommendations to the Task Force Steering Committee will impact the issues LSC asked recipients to consider as part of a state planning process. Their work along with the work of ALSC will be commented upon below. We understand that the work of the planning group has continued since the Report was submitted to LSC and that recommendations along with an implementation plan will be made by the Task Force this fall.

             ALSC’s intake system takes into account the unique needs of the community which each office serves. While each office maintains a toll free telephone line and offers telephone advice and brief service, low-income Alaskans, due to culture, language, and geography, face barriers to receiving service. ALSC recognizes these barriers and continues to explore ways to overcome them. ALSC is to be complimented for its efforts in dealing with this challenging issue.

            The Report notes that ALSC has established strong, cooperative ties with a number of agencies and entities serving the low-income population. Several of these entities have legal components. As part of future planning efforts, planners may wish to review systems currently in use to make referrals between these organizations and whether the use of computer technology may provide greater efficiencies to these referral systems.

            The Legal Support and Education subcommittee has recommended that the Bar Association and the University of Alaska establish an intake and referral service for low-income clients. No one from ALSC serves on this subcommittee. It is not clear from the description in the report how this intake and referral service will interact with ALSC, besides making referrals to ALSC. Should this intake and referral project move forward, it is critical that ALSC become involved in the planning process on this issue.

             Both the Task Force and ALSC have recognized the potential of technologies to not only improve program efficiencies but also to provide information to clients. ALSC has made tremendous progress in upgrading its program technological capabilities, which should greatly enhance communication among its staff. At the same time as recognizing the potential of the new technologies for distributing information to clients, planners recognize that cultural, language, and educational barriers prevent large segments of the client community from taking advantage of technologies if they are available. As noted in this report, planners cannot loose sight of these barriers and must plan additional methods of distributing information as they move forward with their plans to use computer technology.

             The Pro Se Litigants Subcommittee of the Task Force developed a series of recommendations which will facilitate pro se representation. These recommendations took into account the variety and depth of client self-help materials and clinics currently offered through the auspices of the Alaska Pro Bono Program, which is operated by ALSC in cooperation with the Alaska Bar Association. If implemented, these recommendations will achieve its goal of facilitating pro se representation.

             ALSC is to be commended for seeking funding and services to ensure that its staff receive appropriate training. Currently, ALSC conducts training for its pro bono attorneys in poverty law areas, has developed a mentor project whereby experienced ALSC attorneys work with pro bono attorneys, and occasionally obtains free CLE Bar Association trainings for its pro bono lawyers.

            The Report is silent as to how legal work is coordinated within ALSC and among other legal services providers. Future reports should address this issue.

             The degree of private attorney involvement in Alaska is remarkable. For the past few years, the participation rate has been 60%. This report notes that the failure to increase this participation rate could be due to a number of factors, which the recommendations of the Pro Bono Subcommittee of the statewide Task Force hope to address. Further, the Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono Service has plans to take action to increase pro bono involvement. Alaska attorneys should be very proud of their efforts in this area.

            The ALSC Subcommittee of the statewide Task Force recognized the need for ALSC to increase its revenue and recommended several activities to achieve increased funding. While this recommendation is pending, ALSC has embarked on a major fundraising campaign. We wish you much success in this endeavor.

             The Corporation congratulates Alaska on its accomplishments and continuing efforts to implement improvements in its civil justice system to ensure that all low income residents will receive effective and appropriate legal services. The far-reaching planning effort now underway by ALSC staff and Board and representatives of the various committees and subcommittees of the Access to Civil Justice Task Force is indeed impressive for a state the size of Alaska and one with such unique challenges facing legal assistance providers.

            Please report to us by January 30, 2000 new developments in your state planning efforts, including what has been accomplished since the last report and any additional recommendations from the Access to Civil Justice Task Force. We are also interested in receiving copies of any reports issued by the Access to Civil Justice Task Force.