The BAR FUND  
The Contra Costa County Bar Association Fund  
                                              

The BAR FUND was established in 1998 to provide a permanent and growing source of income for grants and monetary support in furtherance of the following goals:  

1.    Promote and support Pro Bono legal advice, counsel and representation to the County’s poor and
 needy;

2.    Maintain equal access to justice;

3.    Support and improve administration of justice;

4.    Contribute to wider understanding of the law and legal reform;

5.    Preserve American heritage of rule by law;

6.    Encourage elevated standards of legal education and performance.  

The BAR FUND ACTIVITIES:

¨       Award annual grants to non-profit organizations that provide free or reduced fee legal services to low-income Contra Costa County residents. 2007 grant recipients: 

Ø       Bay Area Legal Aid - $40,000;

Ø       JFKU Elder Law Clinic - $7,500;

Ø       The Law Center - $5,000;

Ø       Contra Costa Senior Legal Services - $9,000;

Ø       Court Appointed Special Advocates - $5,000;

Ø       The Hawkins Center for Law & the Disabled - $8,500;

Ø       Housing and Economic Rights Advocates - $5,000;

Ø       Equal Justice Works Fellowship - $65,000 (total for multi-year grant).

Other past grant recipients: the public television legal program “For The Record” and  Contra Costa Superior Court’s “Youth Against Drinking & Driving” video competition.

      Total grants to date: $318,900.00.  

¨       Organize annual events to raise funds to support its goals.

¨       Coordinate with CCCBA Pro Bono, Family Law, Real Estate and Elder Law Sections, judges, court staff, lawyers, law schools, arbitration/mediation organizations, media, and state bar representatives to publicize and generate support for The BAR FUND’s goals and activities.    

¨       Hold periodic BAR FUND Committee meetings to develop and implement goals and activities and make recommendations regarding The BAR FUND grants to the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa County Bar Association.  

UNMET LOCAL NEED FOR LEGAL SERVICES:

¨       Over 100,000 underserved clients in Contra Costa County;

¨       83,000 people in Contra Costa County below federal poverty level;

¨       Greater number just above federal poverty level;

¨       59% of poverty level populations are single mothers and their children (excluding those in need just above federal poverty level).  

SERVICES PROVIDED BY REPRESENTATIVE GRANT RECIPIENTS:

 Bay Area Legal Aid (Bay Legal)

¨       Free legal advice and representation to poverty level and low-income clients in the seven Bay Area Counties, including Contra Costa County , in areas of housing, government entitlements, domestic violence.

¨       Free Domestic Violence Pro Per Clinic in Contra Costa County for self-represented low-income victims seeking restraining orders, including interpreters and written materials.

¨       Served over 1,000 Contra Costa County residents in 2004.                                                     

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)        

¨       Provides highly trained Court-approved volunteers to advocate for the needs of abused and neglected children.

¨       Assists Courts in making timely and more informed decisions in the child’s best interests.

¨       Act as sworn officials of the Court.

¨       Served 160 children in 2004-2005, the majority of whom are minority.         

Contra Costa Senior Legal Services

¨       Free legal advice and representation to 1,000 elderly county residents 60 and over (frail, disabled, disadvantaged, low income);

¨       Areas of Law: housing, income maintenance, consumer and personal rights, incapacity planning;

¨       Consult-an-Attorney Project staffed by retired volunteer attorneys.

¨       Free Wills Clinics at County senior centers.

¨       Education/Outreach seminars, workshops and clinics.                  

 The Law Center (TLC)

¨       Non-emergency clearinghouse for needy County residents unable to afford to hire attorneys.

¨       Complements and enhances existing legal services providers on a coordinated basis by referrals to local legal service providers and private pro bono attorneys.

About Recipient Agencies . . .  

 “CASA is one of the best programs we have for crime prevention.  A lot of violence is learned behavior . . . Children are learning alternate skills from CASA volunteers.  They are learning to trust, to stand up for themselves, and to build confidence.  You can take a child who has been terribly abused, mistreated, neglected, or molested and teach that child to love, to trust, and to believe.  What else is there in life?”  
Presiding Contra Costa Juvenile Court Judge, Lois Haight  

The mission of The Law Center is both ambitious and vital.  We are attempting to level the playing field for countless poor and very low income residents of Contra Costa County who otherwise would be at an extreme disadvantage in their encounters with the legal system.  Help for these people takes on many forms, from telephone coaching, referral and preventive education on one end to full blown representation at the other.  This is the face of The Law Center that the public will see more and more.
Susan Aglietti, Executive Director, The Law Center

 “Today, BALA’s Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic is a place where Contra Costa County residents become empowered to properly represent themselves and is a resource for safety planning and referral to other community resources.  The results are impressive.  In 2004 alone, Clinic staff helped protect 2,785 men, women, and children from domestic violence.  Evaluation results show that litigants are better prepared for their hearing, have a greater knowledge of their legal rights, and feel safer because of the Clinic’s help.”
Judy Garlow, Director  
State Bar of California’s Legal Services Trust Fund Program

“I was referred to your office by a geriatric social worker serving the elderly in Walnut Creek, on behalf of my aged mother.  I was quite honestly stunned by the quality of service we received.  It was prompt, intelligent, informed, compassionate and effective.  If we had no other alternative than to seek legal counsel through a private attorney, I doubt we would have been able to afford it, and, I doubt that the quality of service would have equaled that provided by your staff.  Thank you very much.”  
Contra Costa Senior Legal Services client