Is DC's Investment in Access to Justice Paying Off? Dozens Say: Yes.
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Fearing for her young granddaughters’ safety, Christy Webster didn’t hesitate to offer them loving care in her own home. But she had no idea how to prepare for the grueling custody fight ahead.
“I’m an educator, not a lawyer,” Webster recently testified before the DC City Council’s Committee on Justice and Public Safety. “I understand child development, but I had no knowledge of how to navigate the legal system.”
She also couldn’t afford a private lawyer, a common obstacle for DC residents confronting violence, unsafe housing conditions, exploitation, and other threats to their well-being and the stability of their communities.
But after receiving free legal help from DC KinCare Alliance, Webster testified, she won custody, and her teen granddaughters are now thriving at school and home. She was among dozens of community members, service providers, and advocates to testify on March 2 about life-changing legal services made possible by the District’s Access to Justice Initiative.
A citywide system that works—because it is coordinated
Their stories—of families stabilized, homes preserved, and problems resolved before they spiral—illustrate how the DC government’s investment in civil legal aid is strengthening communities across all eight Wards. Administered by the DC Bar Foundation for nearly two decades, the Access to Justice Initiative served over 40,000 District residents last year.
During the oversight hearing for the city’s Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, one resident’s voice trembled as she told Committee Chairwoman Brooke Pinto that she only avoided a complete mental breakdown because Legal Aid DC lawyers worked to free her of overwhelming medical debt in the wake of a surgery—addressing steep bureaucratic hurdles and the failure of her ex-husband of 35 years to pay her insurance as agreed in their divorce.
In the next panel, Aracelis Gray, director of programs at the DC Bar Foundation, testified to how the city’s Access to Justice investments have anchored a transformation of DC’s civil legal aid landscape. Today, the Foundation leverages both public and private resources to fund, strengthen, and coordinate over 30 legal services providers to serve more District residents more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
“The Initiative works, and DC residents cannot afford to lose it,” Gray said.
Earlier interventions reduce suffering and costs
DC faces considerable budget challenges this year. Yet, the day’s testimony underscored that any reductions to the city’s investment in civil legal aid would not only place enormous burdens on families with low income, but also on the entire city.
Gray and leaders from the DC Access to Justice Commission testified how expanded community outreach and innovative approaches to network collaboration have empowered service providers to address vulnerable District residents’ legal problems earlier—ultimately saving taxpayers the high costs of preventable crises that lead to homelessness, emergency room visits, and extended legal battles that can clog the courts.
For instance, Gray testified, among the 3,000 DC residents who received legal aid in eviction cases last year—a 13% increase over the previous year—71% of families with known outcomes were able to stay in their homes, and 78% of cases were resolved outside of court.
“Legal aid doesn’t just help residents,” Gray said, “it makes DC’s justice system more efficient for everyone.”
A model hotline expands access to justice
Gray also highlighted “a milestone several years in the making,” the late 2025 launch of the DC Resource Bridge. Created by the DC Bar Foundation in partnership with a wide array of community based-organizations and with extensive input from DC residents, the hotline now offers a single coordinated entry point for DC residents of limited means to be matched with the right legal help.
“No more calling ten numbers, no more being turned away and giving up,” she said, and quoted a caller who described their experience as “the best customer service ever.’”
“That,” Gray said, “is what access to justice feels like when it works.”
Leaders of social services agencies also testified to the growing legal needs their clients face and to how the Bar Foundation’s creation of the DC Social Justice Transformations Network has established a mechanism to build strong, cross-sector relationships that benefit the most vulnerable DC residents.
‘We depend on each other.’
“We’re seeing an increase in survivors who are being trafficked into the District who are needing legal support,” said Indira Henard, president and CEO of the DC Rape Crisis Center.
Thanks to the Access to Justice Initiative and its grantees’ free legal services, Henard said, her clients can get court-ordered protection orders against abusers and legal protections from eviction as they struggle to regain their mental health.
“It’s really important for folks to understand that our work is not in a silo…and we do depend on each other.”
A promise to fight for full funding
Presiding over the hearing, Councilwoman Pinto thanked Henard, Gray, and Access to Justice Commission Executive Director Nancy Drane and Commissioner Koube Ngaaje, who also leads the District Alliance for Safe Housing, for their testimony—and their work.
“[I]n a difficult budget year, it’s important that we lean into the most basic of government services and supports—which is ensuring that people’s basic needs are met and that their safety is addressed,” she said.
“So, I really appreciate all that you do, and we will be fighting to ensure that this program is fully funded this year.”
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