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Support Group

KEY PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

KEY PROGRAMS

Handshakes

Grant Making

The DC Bar Foundation awards grants to DC-based 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that provide free civil legal aid to DC residents who are financially disenfranchised, or who are otherwise underserved.

Signing a Contract

LRAP

DCBF provides loan repayment assistance to qualified attorneys working for an eligible employer in DC in order to:

(1) increase the number of experienced, skilled lawyers working on behalf of financially disenfranchised DC residents; and

(2) assist DC legal services lawyers who have incurred significant educational debt in obtaining their law degree

Group Discussion

Training and Technical Assistance

DCBF provides support to DC-based civil legal aid organizations through trainings and technical assistance. DCBF not only sponsors multiple trainings for DC’s legal aid organizations every year, but also pays the tuition fee for their staff attorneys to attend select legal skills trainings offered by other organizations in DC. In regards to technical assistance, DCBF providesone-time funding for peer evaluations and consultants when needed by grantees.

Evaluation

Since 2018, the DC Bar Foundation has worked with NPC Research to evaluate its Civil Legal Counsel Projects Program. This comprehensive evaluation centers around three main areas of inquiry:

(1) Implementation Evaluation;

(2) Outcome Evaluation; and (3) Assessment of Unmet Needs.

INITIATIVES

The DC Bar Foundation envisions a future where access to civil legal aid does not depend on prior knowledge of the civil legal system, political power, or financial and other resources. We understand that to streamline legal services access for DC residents; we will have to increase coordination among providers of civil legal aid. In 2020, we identified key partners, including a consultant with expertise in the development of coordinated legal aid systems in other parts of the country to research our community and past efforts and then recommend a strategy. This consultant's work resulted in a December 2020 concept paper that became the foundation for the DC Resource Bridge Project, seeking to make it easier for DC Residents to access legal support through greater community coordination.

Community Listening Sessions. In July and August 2021, the DC Bar Foundation partnered with Bread for the City to host community listening sessions at Bread’s Michelle Obama Southeast Center. Anacostia residents provided feedback on community priorities, issues facing the community, and their experience accessing support for those issues. A subset of the group provided input for a participatory grantmaking pilot made possible by support from the Momentum Fund.
Surveys and Focus Groups. From July – November 2021, the Family Law Learning Network worked with NPC Research to survey legal aid litigants to understand their experiences with remote court proceedings during the pandemic and whether this model should be continued. A December 2021 report – shared with the Family Law Court -- summarizes the survey results. You can find an executive summary here. The Foundation facilitated client focus groups from December 2021 – April 2022 to learn about clients’ experiences accessing civil legal aid in the District and to hear their recommendations for the design of a Coordinated Intake and Referral System. In August 2022, the Foundation released a report summarizing their feedback.

Network Mapping. The DC Bar Foundation is leveraging information from the first-ever mapping of the District's civil legal aid network to change outcomes so that all residents have access to justice, regardless of wealth, income, or power. This specific type of network data can show us how members of DC's civil legal aid network currently interact and where there are opportunities to increase collaboration. To see the results of our network mapping exercise, click here.

The Landlord-Tenant Legal Assistance Network (LTLAN) was formed in December 2019 and included the six grantees who are part of the publicly-funded Civil Legal Counsel Projects Program. Because of their many months of work together as a network, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, these organizations were able to come together to create a single phone line for tenants facing eviction, where attorneys are available to help those in need. LTLAN members are Bread for the City, DC Bar Pro Bono Center, Legal Aid Society of DC, Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, and Rising for Justice.
DC Social Justice Transformations Network. In June 2021, the DC Bar Foundation brought together 57 legal aid providers, funders, community activists, social service providers, and other stakeholders to discuss how to reimagine a more equitable civil justice system in our City. The DC Social Justice Transformations network grew out of this convening. The group meets quarterly to increase collaboration and transform the delivery of legal aid in the District

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