An Introduction to Legal Aid in Portage County
Legal Aid in Portage County provides essential legal services to low-income and vulnerable residents throughout the county. The legal aid offices in Portage County are typically known as "legal aid societies" or "legal services" offices. These legal aid organizations work for and are supported by local residents and/or the federal government. Legal aid offices in Portage County , Ohio provide free services on a sliding scale based on income (with priority given in most cases to individuals who make 125 percent or less of the poverty guidelines set by the federal government). Portage County legal aid services work in many different areas of law, but their primary focus is on family law, housing law, public benefits, employment law and consumer law.
Categories of Legal Aid
Types of legal aid available in Portage County, Ohio
Portage County Legal Aid focuses primarily on civil legal matters. Many of the services offered to low-income and vulnerable members of the community are provided free of charge. Civil litigation is an area of legal aid assistance that can help resolve a variety of legal issues. Civil litigation is fast-pace and involves the preparation and filing of pleadings with the court system, as well as a number of pre-trial motions. Court rules and procedures set precise timeframes for every aspect of civil litigation, so it is important to prepare and file all paperwork in a timely manner to avoid difficulties later. Legal support services for family law cases are often sought by individuals who need assistance with matters related to divorce and child custody. Experienced attorneys can assist in such legal issues as obtaining a divorce decree, child custody and parenting time orders, as well as child and spousal support. Legal aid services advice and guidance in the establishment or modification of child and spousal support guidelines, and preparation of documents for child support enforcement and visitation modifications are also available. Housing law encompasses a broad range of issues, but is essentially concerned with the purchase and sale of real estate, and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Services offered by Portage County Legal Aid attorneys for housing law issues include residential property foreclosure proceedings, as well as commercial property foreclosure. Landowners are supported through eviction actions and landlord-tenant matters, both commercial and residential.
Eligibility for Legal Aid Assistance
Legal aid services are available to residents of Portage County, Ohio who meet certain income limitations and qualifications. You may qualify for the services without regard to your age, disability, disability status or citizenship. Below are the conditions particularly outlined by the Legal Aid Society of Portage County:
You must be domestic violence survivor and your legal problem must be related to the violence or abuse. For example, protection order, custody issues, divorce or representation in a civil case.
You have a legal problem regarding eviction or foreclosure.
You are facing garnishment, repossession or utility shut off.
Your parent, grandparent, child, spouse, ex-spouse or a household member has been arrested.
Without an attorney, you will be denied public benefits (e.g., Food Stamps, Medicaid, Social Security) or your benefits have been denied or terminated.
You are a United States citizen or legal resident who meets their low-income requirement. A legal resident is someone with an approved I-551.
You have experienced discrimination because of your race, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability or because your income is low.
You want to change your child’s school or your child needs special education assistance.
You want child support, help with visitation or someone to defend your rights if your child is being taken away from you.
Process for Requesting Legal Aid
If you are trying to determine whether you qualify for legal aid or how to go about applying for legal assistance in Portage County, you do not need to look far. The requirements for legal aid in Portage County, Ohio are as follows: The documentation required for a legal aid application includes the following: You may also be asked for additional information depending on the particular agency with which you are working. No matter the situation, no financial information will be disclosed by the agency without your permission. Connecting with legal aid is an important step in securing the most stable future possible for you and your family.
Principal Providers of Legal Aid in Portage County
Legal aid services in Portage County are provided primarily by the Contribution to Extension Program of Portage County (CTEP) and the Volunteer Legal Services Program. CTEP is a nonprofit organization that receives contributions from Portage County residents along with matching funds from the Ohio State Bar Foundation as well as funds from other sources. CTEP provides services to low-income families through a portion of its funds received. CTEP currently serves northern Summit, eastern Medina, and western Portage counties . The Volunteer Legal Services Program is dedicated to providing quality pro bono civil legal services to people in need by matching suitable clients with attorneys who are willing to provide volunteer time for their cases. The Portage County Bar Association provides limited pro bono civil legal services to low-income County residents through the "Lawyer Referral Service" program. This program provides a free 30 minute consultation with a lawyer for people who qualify by income. A fee in consideration for the lawyer’s time is expected but may be waived in hardship cases.
Success Stories: Legal Aid in Action
The impact of legal aid services on individuals and communities in Portage County, Ohio cannot be overstated. Through legal aid, some of the most vulnerable residents in the area have been able to resolve their legal challenges with dignity, often avoiding homelessness or family separation. In this section, we will explore several real-life case studies that showcase the breadth and depth of legal aid’s contribution to the community.
A successful eviction case was handled by the Portage County branch office of the Pro Bono Partnership of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. "In October 2016, I had a client who was served with an eviction. She had legitimate arguments to raise in her defense and was adamant that she did not sign a lease agreeing to pay an additional deposit to her landlord. She required assistance with discovery and filing a counterclaim and pleadings with the court," says a local pro bono attorney who volunteered to take the case and represents the Bar Association’s Pro Bono Partnership.
In another instance, a portage county single mom in need of help with a divorce and custody case is paired with an attorney through the Volunteer Lawyers Program. As a result, her divorce is finalized and she gains full custody of her two children.
Thompson Hine LLP worked on a case with a young couple both in need of legal guardianship due to disabilities. "We were able to get the wife into a new, safe living situation at a group home and helped her husband gain the support he needs while she’s away," says Columbus-based attorney Rachel Spiers, who worked on the matter with the firm’s Akron office.
Barriers to Accessing Legal Aid
The primary challenge faced by legal aid organizations in Portage County, and throughout the state of Ohio and across the nation, is the consistent reduction in available funding, both at the state and federal levels. Many legal aid services began to realize this decline as soon as the recession hit in 2009. Legal Services Corporation funding was reduced to an annual level of $340 million – among the lowest of all industrialized nations. LSC funding slowly began to rise and returned to $415 million in 2014 and 2015. However, the future of LSC funding is now uncertain due to the current political situation and the current Administration’s budget proposal.
Nationally, there are approximately 8000 legal aid staff providing civil legal services to poor persons. These staff consist of 2300 attorneys, 950 paralegals, 273 social workers, 1600 staff in other support roles, and over 50,000 volunteers. Currently, there is a national backlog of approximately 1.9 million cases. Nearly two thirds of the civil legal needs go unmet each year. In an effort to meet the unmet civil legal needs in Ohio, Justice For All sponsors statewide collaboration among Ohio’s six legal aid programs through the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation (OLAF). These programs include the Cleveland Lawyer’s Committee, Community Legal Aid, Denison Community Legal Clinic, legal Aid Society of Columbus, Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Ohio State Legal Services Association, and Pro Seniors.
Although legal aid organizations cannot solve all the legal problems of those who apply, they do attempt to direct people to other resources to assist them. Pro se forms are available for individuals to file their own filings in the courts. United Way 211 is available to assist individuals with finding information and resources to assist them in solving their issues.
Portage County Residents may contact Community Legal Aid (CLA) for assistance. CLA is a private, non-profit corporation that provides legal aid for civil legal issues for low income residents in various counties in Northeast Ohio, including Portage County, Ashtabula County, Mahoning County, Marshall County, Shaker Heights, Trumbull County, Tuscarawas County and Tyler County. To be eligible for CLA’s services, your household income must be at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Limit, which is currently $30,300 for a family of four. The information below will provide you with additional information about CLA.
There are several ways you can reach out to CLA for assistance. Their intake hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Individuals may place a call to 1-855-837-5080 during normal business hours. A person may also visit CLA’s website to complete an online intake at any time. Once completed, a CLA staff member will review the completed online application and review it for legal eligibility. If the person qualifies, a CLA attorney will call back to complete the application process. If the person is ineligible for services, CLA staff will make other referrals if appropriate. It is important to note that just because CLA does not have an attorney able to work on the case, it does not mean you do not have a legal issue or that nobody can help you. CLA makes every attempt to connect people with other resources if they are unable to provide assistance in their case.
The Future of Legal Aid in Portage County
The approach to legal aid, like most areas of life, will continue to grow and evolve moving forward. One new trend is the incorporation of technology into the legal process. In the case of legal aid programs, potentially under-resourced organizations that do not have the ability to hire a full team of attorneys can use legal technology to minimize the legal work they need to do and reallocate their staff elsewhere.
One example of such technology is HotDocs, which allows users to create digital forms for routine tasks, increasing efficiency and reducing the amount of work that human staff members need to do manually . This gives legal aid programs the tools to be able to expand their reach and help more clients than they would otherwise be able to without making significant investments in staff. On the client side, many legal aid programs are also utilizing technology to connect with potential clients. For example, chatbots allow potential clients to connect with a program quickly and easily as questions arise, helping to simplify what can sometimes be a complex legal process.
Email news briefs are another great way to keep in touch with these nonprofits. All you have to do is sign up via your email and the firm will send alerts during the month with important dates and events coming up. You will also have access to archived emails with info on the community they support.