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ABOUT THE OFFICE OF CIVIL LEGAL AID
“The provision of civil legal aid services to indigent persons is an important component of the state's responsibility to provide for the proper and effective administration of civil and criminal justice” RCW 2.53.005
The Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) was established in 2005 as an independent judicial branch agency to administer and oversee the state’s investment in civil legal aid services. The OCLA is staffed by a Director appointed by the Supreme Court. The activities of the Office of Civil Legal Aid are governed by RCW 2.53.020 and 2.53.030.
The Office of Civil Legal Aid contracts with the Northwest Justice Project to provide civil legal aid services to qualifying low income people who have civil legal problems in the following areas:
- Domestic relations and family law matters
- Public assistance and health care
- Housing and utilities
- Social security
- Mortgage foreclosures
- Home protection bankruptcies
- Consumer fraud and unfair sales practices
- Rights of residents of long-term care facilities
- Wills, estates, and living wills
- Elder abuse
- Guardianship
The Northwest Justice Project uses state funds to:
- Operate a statewide toll-free client intake, advice and referral system (CLEAR)
- Providing direct civil legal aid services through regional and satellite civil legal aid offices in 13 locations throughout the state
- Help support 20 local programs that recruit and support the ability of thousands of private attorneys to provide volunteer or pro bono legal aid services to low income people throughout the state and six specialized providers of civil legal aid services
- Provide statewide training, support and assistance for staff attorneys and cooperating volunteer attorneys working to provide civil legal aid services to low income Washingtonians.
The Office of Civil Legal Aid ensures that state-appropriated civil legal aid funding is used for the purposes for which it has been appropriated and that the services provided are delivered efficiently, effectively and consistently throughout the state. The OCLA monitors the activities of state-funded legal aid providers and ensures fiscal accountability and compliance with the statute governing the use of state-appropriated civil legal aid funding.
The Director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid is required to:
- Report quarterly to the Civil Legal Aid Oversight Committee and the Supreme Court's Access to Justice Board on the use of state funds for legal aid
- Report biennially on the status of access to the civil justice system for low-income people eligible for state-funded legal aid;
- Submit a biennial budget request.
The Office of Civil Legal Aid also administers and oversees a contract with the Washington State Grange to provide mediation services to help resolve disputes between agricultural workers and agricultural employers.
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