{ "id": "RL34016", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL34016", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 587436, "date": "2016-12-21", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T14:59:49.911594", "title": "Legal Services Corporation: Background and Funding", "summary": "The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a private, nonprofit, federally funded corporation that helps provide legal assistance to low-income people in civil (i.e., noncriminal) matters. The primary responsibility of the LSC is to manage and oversee the congressionally appropriated federal funds that it distributes in the form of grants to local legal services providers, which in turn give legal assistance to low-income clients in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Micronesia (which includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau).\nThe authorization of appropriations for the LSC expired at the end of FY1980. Since then the LSC has operated under annual appropriations laws. Moreover, since FY1996 all of the LSC appropriations laws have included language that restricts the activities of LSC grantees. \nPursuant to P.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016), enacted December 18, 2015, the LSC was funded for FY2016 at $385 million. The FY2016 LSC appropriation included $352 million for basic field programs and required independent audits, $19 million for management and grants oversight, $4 million for client self-help and information technology, $5 million for the Office of the Inspector General, $1.0 million for loan repayment assistance, and $4 million for a pro bono innovation fund.\nFor FY2017, the Obama Administration requested $475.0 million for the LSC. On April 21, 2016, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported their FY2017 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill (S. 2837), which recommended $395 million for the LSC for FY2017. This amount is $10 million more than the FY2016 appropriation and $80 million less than the Administration\u2019s budget request. On June 7, 2016, the House Committee on Appropriations reported their FY2017 CJS appropriations bill (H.R. 5393), which included an appropriation of $350 million for the LSC for FY2017. This amount is $35 million less than the FY2016 appropriation and $125 million less than the Administration\u2019s budget request. Pursuant to P.L. 114-223 (the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act; enacted September 29, 2016), the LSC was funded for FY2017 at the FY2016 rate of $385 million annually (prorated) minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.496%, through December 9, 2016, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation. Pursuant to P.L. 114-254 (Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2017; enacted December 10, 2016), the LSC is funded for FY2017 at the FY2016 rate of $385 million annually (prorated) minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.1901%, through April 28, 2017, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation.\nUnder the LSC\u2019s competitive process, legal services providers in every jurisdiction bid to become the LSC grantee for a designated service area in a state. During 2015, the LSC funded 134 local programs/grantees in 812 offices employing 4,591 attorneys. Local programs establish their own priorities and financial eligibility criteria subject to the LSC limits that stipulate that clients served may not have household income that exceeds 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, with limited exceptions for some household incomes of up to 200% of those guidelines. In 2015, 70% of LSC clients were females and 30% were males. The majority of LSC clients (81%) were between the ages of 18 and 59, 17% were age 60 or older, and 2% were under the age of 18. In 2015, 44% of LSC clients were non-Hispanic white, 28% were non-Hispanic black, 3% were Asian or Pacific Islander, nearly 3% were Native American, nearly 4% were of other races, and 18% were Hispanic. In 2015, LSC grantees closed 755,774 cases involving issues primarily related to families (divorce, child support, etc.), housing, income maintenance, consumer finance, and health.\nAlthough the LSC is the largest single source of funding for the civil legal services system in the United States, it is not the only source of funding. Local legal services programs supplement their LSC grants with funds from a variety of governmental and private sources. 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The primary responsibility of the LSC is to manage and oversee the congressionally appropriated federal funds that it distributes in the form of grants to local legal services providers, which in turn give legal assistance to low-income clients in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Micronesia (which includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau).\nThe authorization of appropriations for the LSC expired at the end of FY1980. Since then the LSC has operated under annual appropriations laws. Moreover, since FY1996 all of the LSC appropriations laws have included language that restricts the activities of LSC grantees. \nPursuant to P.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016), enacted December 18, 2015, the LSC was funded for FY2016 at $385 million. The FY2016 LSC appropriation included $352 million for basic field programs and required independent audits, $19 million for management and grants oversight, $4 million for client self-help and information technology, $5 million for the Office of the Inspector General, $1.0 million for loan repayment assistance, and $4 million for a pro bono innovation fund.\nFor FY2017, the Obama Administration requested $475.0 million for the LSC. On April 21, 2016, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported their FY2017 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill (S. 2837), which recommended $395 million for the LSC for FY2017. This amount is $10 million more than the FY2016 appropriation and $80 million less than the Administration\u2019s budget request. On June 7, 2016, the House Committee on Appropriations reported their FY2017 CJS appropriations bill (H.R. 5393), which included an appropriation of $350 million for the LSC for FY2017. This amount is $35 million less than the FY2016 appropriation and $125 million less than the Administration\u2019s budget request. Pursuant to P.L. 114-223 (the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act; enacted September 29, 2016), the LSC is funded for FY2017 at the FY2016 rate of $385 million annually (prorated) minus an across-the-board reduction of 0.496%, through December 9, 2016, or enactment of applicable appropriations legislation.\nUnder the LSC\u2019s competitive process, legal services providers in every jurisdiction bid to become the LSC grantee for a designated service area in a state. During 2015, the LSC funded 134 local programs/grantees in 812 offices employing 4,591 attorneys. Local programs establish their own priorities and financial eligibility criteria subject to the LSC limits that stipulate that clients served may not have household income that exceeds 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, with limited exceptions for some household incomes of up to 200% of those guidelines. In 2015, 70% of LSC clients were females and 30% were males. The majority of LSC clients (81%) were between the ages of 18 and 59, 17% were age 60 or older, and 2% were under the age of 18. In 2015, 44% of LSC clients were non-Hispanic white, 28% were non-Hispanic black, 3% were Asian or Pacific Islander, nearly 3% were Native American, nearly 4% were of other races, and 18% were Hispanic. In 2015, LSC grantees closed 755,774 cases involving issues primarily related to families (divorce, child support, etc.), housing, income maintenance, consumer finance, and health.\nAlthough the LSC is the largest single source of funding for the civil legal services system in the United States, it is not the only source of funding. Local legal services programs supplement their LSC grants with funds from a variety of governmental and private sources. LSC funding accounts for 38% of all funding for civil legal services for the poor in the United States (including the District of Columbia and the territories).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL34016", "sha1": "f3afd457077f2c758f757adb7ea56423b9d7d104", "filename": "files/20161027_RL34016_f3afd457077f2c758f757adb7ea56423b9d7d104.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL34016", "sha1": "afd390e9d40937172e36a78cc4b61395319d46b2", "filename": "files/20161027_RL34016_afd390e9d40937172e36a78cc4b61395319d46b2.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4744, "name": "Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4823, "name": "Social Services" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 448817, "date": "2016-01-12", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:31:42.645107", "title": "Legal Services Corporation: Background and Funding", "summary": "The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a private, nonprofit, federally funded corporation that helps provide legal assistance to low-income people in civil (i.e., noncriminal) matters. The primary responsibility of the LSC is to manage and oversee the congressionally appropriated federal funds that it distributes in the form of grants to local legal services providers, which in turn give legal assistance to low-income clients in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Micronesia (which includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau).\nThe authorization of appropriations for the LSC expired at the end of FY1980. Since then the LSC has operated under annual appropriations laws. Moreover, since FY1996 all of the LSC appropriations laws have included language that restricts the activities of LSC grantees. \nFor FY2016, the Obama Administration requested $452.0 million for the LSC. The Administration\u2019s FY2016 budget request included $416.4 million for basic field programs and required independent audits, $19.5 million for management and grants oversight, $5.0 million for client self-help and information technology, $5.1 million for the Office of the Inspector General, $1.0 million for loan repayment assistance, and $5.0 million for a pro bono innovation fund. On June 3, 2015, the House passed H.R. 2578, which included an appropriation of $300 million for the LSC for FY2016. This amount is $75 million below the FY2015 appropriation and $152 million below the Administration\u2019s budget request. On June 11, 2015, the Senate Committee on Appropriations recommended $385 million for the LSC for FY2016. This amount is $10 million above the FY2015 appropriation and $67 million below the Administration\u2019s budget request. Pursuant to P.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016), enacted December 18, 2015, the LSC is funded for FY2016 at $385 million. The FY2016 LSC appropriation included $352 million for basic field programs and required independent audits, $19 million for management and grants oversight, $4 million for client self-help and information technology, $5 million for the Office of the Inspector General, $1.0 million for loan repayment assistance, and $4 million for a pro bono innovation fund.\nUnder the LSC\u2019s competitive process, legal services providers in every jurisdiction bid to become the LSC grantee for a designated service area in a state. During 2014, the LSC funded 134 local programs/grantees in 811 offices employing 4,318 attorneys. Local programs establish their own priorities and financial eligibility criteria subject to the LSC limits that stipulate that clients served may not have household income that exceeds 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, with limited exceptions for some household incomes of up to 200% of those guidelines. In 2014, 68% of LSC clients were females and 32% were males. The majority of LSC clients (82%) were between the ages of 18 and 59, 16% were age 60 or older, and 2% were under the age of 18. In 2014, 46% of LSC clients were non-Hispanic white, 28% were non-Hispanic black, 8% were of other races, and 18% were Hispanic. In 2014, LSC grantees closed 757,983 cases involving issues primarily related to families (divorce, child support, etc.), housing, income maintenance, consumer finance, and health.\nAlthough the LSC is the largest single source of funding for the civil legal services system in the United States, it is not the only source of funding. Local legal services programs supplement their LSC grants with funds from a variety of governmental and private sources. 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