Walter Stone, Esq.
Chairperson
Statewide Planning Committee for Civil Legal Services
2300 Bank Boston Plaza
Providence, RI 02903

Re: Rhode Island Statewide Planning Report

Dear Mr. Stone:

Thank you for the Rhode Island Planning Report you sent. We have had an opportunity to review the report and would like to share the following observations with you.

The Corporation appreciates Rhode Island's efforts to engage in a comprehensive planning effort as a response to LSC's program letters 98-1 & 98-6. The report is a good description of the recent efforts to continue the state planning that commenced in 1995. LSC realizes that significant changes have occurred in the last few years in Rhode Island's delivery system. In March of 1995, Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS) merged with the Legal Aid Society of Rhode Island and RILS implemented a statewide-centralized intake and referral system.

The Rhode Island Planning Report contains many substantial recommendations to improve the delivery system in Rhode Island. However, the report has weaknesses which limit its efficacy as a plan for furthering a comprehensive, integrated statewide delivery system. First, it concentrates extensively on RILS' present and future role in the state system, giving little information of how the other providers fit into an integrated and comprehensive delivery system. Second, it does not indicate if there is an ongoing process to implement these recommendations. Third, it generally fails to designate who has responsibility to carry out the recommendations or the time period for their implementation.

While RILS has a unique role in Rhode Island due to its size and reach as a statewide program, it is critical to state planning that all key stakeholders be involved in planning for and participating in a comprehensive, integrated statewide delivery system. Where the report assigns tasks to providers most fall on RILS to the exclusion of the others.

RILS is implementing the recommendations. It plans to expand the dissemination of legal educational materials by making those materials available at all state agencies, shelters, Community Action Programs, and throughout the library system. It continues to improve its web page. The other recommended change--to have retired attorneys operate a hotline-- has not been realized. The Corporation applauds RILS on its efforts to accomplish the delivery system subcommittee's recommendations.

These changes are commendable and should improve access for clients to RILS' services. The Statewide Committee may want to consider ways to involve the other provider organizations in an effort to participate in a delivery network that maximizes client access. It appears that there currently is no coordination of intake or of intake services in the state. The ten other providers have their own individual intake systems, which are not described in the report.⁽¹⁾  Three of those providers, the Attorney General Civil Division, International Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union, may have a significant number of ineligible clients or clients with issues that are not a priority for legal services providers. Therefore, a close relationship on intake may not be crucial. However, the other providers deal with clients and issues that are typical for legal services programs. An integrated intake and referral system might benefit clients and programs by reducing duplication of efforts and multiple referrals of clients. We realize the challenge faced by RILS to attempt to engage organizations that are not funded by the Corporation in the state planning process called for by LSC. The Corporation encourages the Statewide Planning Committee to broaden the range of participants in its future planning on access.

The Statewide Planning Committee may want to consider if a statewide intake and referral system operated by RILS that would do all or the majority of the intake for most other providers would enhance access for clients and improve efficiency in the current delivery system.

One of the recommendations of the subcommittee has been achieved--all staff at RILS now have Pentium computers, access to the Internet, and e-mail. RILS has a contract for automated research. The report does not indicate that there is any ongoing effort to pursue the other recommendations.

The Statewide Planning Committee may want to consider future actions that include: developing a technology plan that encompasses all providers in the state; establishing goals for maintaining or improving the current level of technology; appointing leaders to guide the efforts in this area and setting a time period for reaching the goals; and achieving the remaining recommendations of the Subcommittee on Technology.

This part of the report does not describe the current level of client access to the courts in Rhode Island. Without this information it is difficult to determine why the Subcommittee on Coordinating Efforts to Expand Access made the eight recommendations in the report. The recommendations include:

Many of the recommendations, if implemented, could contribute additional resources to provide legal services. However, the subcommittee to expand access does not designate who has the responsibility for accomplishing many of these recommendations, such as increasing recruitment of bar members to do pro bono.⁽²⁾ It appears that there is no ongoing group addressing the recommendations. RILS may achieve the goals that the Subcommittee to Expand Access has set for it but there is a need to specify how the other goals in this section will be reached and to provide help for RILS in achieving some of the goals the subcommittee set for it.

The Statewide Planning Committee may want to consider establishing a group that will implement the recommendations of the subcommittee. That group could then appoint a leader who is responsible for meeting the recommendations, set a time period in which to achieve the recommendations and develop an action plan to achieve the subcommittee's recommendations.

The Statewide Planning Committee may also want to consider asking the subcommittee to contemplate other methods of expanding client access including collaboration efforts by all legal services providers in the state to: prepare and maintain community education materials; increase available options to resolve legal grievances; and develop pro se projects to provide effective assistance to the low-income community.

The report states that the Subcommittee for the Coordination of Training and Professional Development for Advocates surveyed the existing training capacity in the state to determine how to best provide all advocates adequate training and professional development. However, it gives no information about the training capacities of providers other than RILS. ⁽³⁾

There is no discussion of the availability of training for the other providers or what if any assessment of training needs is conducted. There does not appear to be any coordination of legal work, training or information sharing among providers in Rhode Island.

In its next report on state planning, the Statewide Planning Committee should address current levels of access to adequate and appropriate training, professional development, coordination of legal work, training and information sharing among all providers in Rhode Island. The supplemental report should discuss what efforts could be made to enhance coordination of training and legal work in the state.

The Volunteer Lawyer Program Subcommittee met to assess the current level of private attorney involvement in the state. Rhode Island is fortunate to have an active system of private bar involvement. The Volunteer Lawyer Program (VLP) is administered by the Rhode Island Bar Association and funded by Rhode Island Legal Services and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation. The Volunteer Lawyer Program has approximately 1,050 members and processes 1,200 cases a year.⁽⁴⁾  It also has a strong support network, including: self-help materials for clients and library facilities for volunteer lawyers provided by RILS; a $25,000 Lexis credit donated by the Rhode Island Bar Association for use by the RILS and the volunteer attorneys; support of the state's two largest law firms; partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless' legal clinic; support of the Rhode Island Shorthand Reporters Association; donated space and in-kind resources from the Roger Williams University School of Law; and commitment from the Legal Services Committee of the Rhode Island Bar Association to expand the program.

The Corporation congratulates Rhode Island on its coordination and collaboration of private bar involvement and the continued efforts to involve the private bar in legal services activities.

Rhode Island has been successful in the past in efforts to increase funds for legal services, including increased interest rates by banks on IOLTA accounts and enactment of a filing fee add-on by the General Assembly. The Resource Development Subcommittee determined that a strategy should be developed to secure and increase state, corporate and local financial support for legal services. The Subcommittee recommends a number of innovative approaches to increase funding, including:

The Corporation applauds Rhode Island on these innovative resource development ideas. The report does not indicate that a structure has been created to implement these ideas. The Statewide Planning Committee may want to select a few of the recommendations, set goals, set up a committee to pursue them, and create a timetable and strategy to achieve those goal.

The Corporation congratulates Rhode Island on its accomplishments. The earlier merger of RILS and the Legal Aid Society of Rhode Island was a significant change in the delivery system that benefits clients. The report contains many significant recommendations that could improve the delivery system if implemented. The planning efforts of the state stakeholders in 1995 and 1998 indicate that the state leaders continue to strive to implement additional improvements in the delivery system so that all clients statewide will receive effective and appropriate legal services. However, it is unclear if these efforts are ongoing or occur only when LSC calls on the state to take action. LSC encourages the Statewide Planning Committee to construct a method for carrying out the recommendations in the state planning report, enhancing coordination between all legal service providers in the state, considering the Corporation's suggestion in this letter and embracing all providers as participants in the planning and changes in the delivery system.

We look forward to working with you over the next year as you continue to expand access and provide high quality legal services to the low-income individuals in Rhode Island. The Statewide Planning Committee should report back to LSC by February 1, 2000 to update the Corporation on what has been accomplished since the last report. Please contact me if there are any questions.

_______________________
¹ Attorney General Civil Division, International Institute, American Civil Liberties Union, Court Appointed Special Advocate, Rhode Island Bar Association Elderly Referral, Rhode Island Bar Association Reduced Fee Program, Rhode Island Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer Program, Rhode Island Disability Law Center, Rhode Island Mental Health Advocate, and the Roger Williams University School of Law Clinical Program.

² Section V does state that the Rhode Island Bar Association is establishing a judicial pro bono initiative to support the Volunteer Lawyers Program, Pro Bono Elderly Program.

³ The report describes RILS's past use of the law library, and participation in an assortment of local, regional, and national training meetings, conferences, and seminars as the traditional means used in Rhode Island to provide training, information sharing and expert assistance. RILS currently has available to its staff desktop e-mail for communication among legal workers and access to computerized legal research with Law Office Information System, Inc. (LOIS).

⁴ The Rhode Island Bar Association has approximately 5,000 members.