KEY PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES

INITIATIVES
 

  Coordinated Intake and Referral 

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• 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 civil legal aid providers. We had approached earlier efforts to create a better, more coordinated civil legal aid system through our long-standing grants program. In 2020, we tried a different approach. We identified 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 this current effort. Read more

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  Engaging the Community 
 

• 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.

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  Networks 
 

• 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 Legal Aid 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 Legal Aid 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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• Racial Equity Learning Network. In 2022, the Foundation will launch a racial equity learning network to help a small cohort of DCBF grantees develop racial equity work plans, continue deep learning on racial equity, and implement racial equity strategies as part of organizational change efforts. To participate in this pilot program, DCBF grantees must display a state of readiness to engage in racial equity work, commit to at least four sessions, and agree to peer-share activities between scheduled sessions. Preference will be given to current DCBF grantees who have previously participated in DCBF-hosted racial equity training or established racial equity benchmarks as part of a current grant award.