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Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Selfhelpsupport.org Webinar
April 24, 2006
Presenters: Allison McDermott, Dan Rieken, Katherine Bladow
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Roadmap
Intro and polls
Types of technology and model programs
Example: Illinois
Example: Montana
Where do you start?
Going forward
Questions/Discussion
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Take a Poll
Are your self-help programs currently using technology?
Which of the following types of technology are you using?
Computer terminals, Kiosks, Website(s), Hotline/Phone, Form Preparation, Informational videos, Video conferencing, Internet Chat, Email, Other
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Why Technology?
Meet the unmet need
Efficient, on both costs and numbers in need
Improve legal literacy and expectations of just outcomes
Increase productivity and effectiveness of lawyers
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Types of Technology
Public-access computer terminals
Websites
Document Assembly/Form Preparation
Telephone/Hotlines
Video (tapes and conferencing)
Kiosks
Internet Chat
Other
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Public Access Computers
Provides access to computers for those without other means Can be coupled with staff or phones to provide additional service Serves as the access point to other types of technology
Model Program: AARP Self-Help Office
http://www.aarp.org/states/dc/dc-lce/a2003-05-09-lce_outreach.html
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Websites
Cost-efficient means of providing answers to frequently-asked legal questions to the public 24/7 Provide a variety of helpful resources and referrals Statewide web portals exist in all states, and many courts now have rich sites as well Used to deliver/enhance other technology tools as well
Model Program: Contra Costa Virtual Self Help Law Center
http://www.cc-courthelp.org/
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Document Assembly
Can create many documents, from simple letters to court forms and pleadings
Provides efficient way to ensure court filings are properly filled out
E-filing as obvious next step
Model Program: Idaho Pro Se Project
http://www.idaholegalaid.org/ (project to launch in 5/06)
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Telephone Help/Hotlines
Model Program: Alaska Family Law Self-Help Center
http://www.state.ak.us/courts/selfhelp.htm
Many types of service possible: referrals, legal education, intake, legal advice, brief service,
Offer services to broad geographic area, saving caller travel time
Ability to respond to emergencies
Potential technology to allow easy access 24/7 to common legal questions through recorded answers
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Video Conferencing
Already used in court cases to save time and money (prisoner transport, attorney appearance)
Offer remote clinics and workshops to multiple locations
Improve effectiveness of clinics and workshops through distant attorney supervision
Model Program: California Courts
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/equalaccess/modelsh.htm
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Kiosks
Model Program: ICAN
http://secure.icandocs.org/icanweb/
Help with court navigation, general legal and referral information, and forms preparation
Evaluations show that most effective and utilized when dedicated staff available to help users
More and more kiosks are evolving into computer terminals with Internet access
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Internet Chat
Model Program: ASKNow Law Librarian Service
http://www.247ref.org/portal/access_law3.cfm
Co-browse website to provide immediate navigation assistance to find helpful resources (LiveHelp)
Answer legal questions through chat (LiveJustice)
Tied to telephone provides powerful back-up
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Other
- www.womenslaw.org email hotline
Interactive assessment tools for diagnosis and triage
- Maryland: http://www.peoples-law.org/family/divorce/self%20quiz.htm
Personal web spaces
- SRLs log-in to ask questions and log back in later to receive answers
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Existing Program Models
Technology integrates into the existing service delivery models for self-help programs…
- court-based programs
- neighborhood-based programs
- mobile office programs
… And allows us to create new models too
- telephone/web-based programs
- virtual support and chat programs
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Self-Help Technology in Illinois
Illinois Legal Aid Online, a nonprofit legal technology organization for the Illinois access to justice community, serves as the spine of many technology initiatives in self-help programs in Illinois.
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
IL Federal Self-Help Desk
On January 5, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago opened the first ever federal court self-help advice desk
Partners include Illinois Legal Aid Online, Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and The Chicago Bar Foundation
Legal aid attorney staffs desk each weekday from 9am-2pm
Typical cases include employment discrimination and civil rights cases, but may include any case filed in federal court
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
IL Federal Self-Help Desk
Desk uses online automated forms and instructions for the documents that pro se litigants may need to file in their cases In addition, public access computers were made available in the federal courthouse as well
Example: Filing a Civil Case in Federal Court without an Attorney
http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentid=4639
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Self-Help Technology in Montana
The large size of eastern Montana, low population density, high poverty rate, and shortage of both private and legal services attorneys (76 private and 1 legal services attorney serving an area the size of NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NJ, and MD combined) means that low-income residents of the region have virtually no access to the civil justice system.
Montana Legal Services Association’s Self-Help Law Project helps people find the legal information and advice they need to make their own legal decisions and, in some cases, represent themselves in court.
Uses different types of technology in its programs
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Video Conferencing
How-to Classes
Approximately every three months, the Montana Self-Help Law Project holds classes for qualifying individuals on how to prepare and file your own uncontested divorce and/or parenting plan.
The classes are, for the most part, presented via video conferencing and are typically held in ten counties across the state.
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Where do you start?
Assess needs and capacity
Leadership and collaboration
Leverage existing resources, local and national
Plan stages
Funding
Self-Represented Assistance Technology
Going forward
Evaluate! March 2005 California evaluation report has two main points about technology:
- can overcome geographic, transportation and funding barriers, and
- in-person support is key to success.
Must create and maintain quality content
Continue experiment and testing of multimedia content
Expand triage/assessment tools
Expand online document assembly and e-filing
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