MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont legal services coalition plans to ask lawmakers for $1 million to help cover civil legal costs for low-income people.
The request follows a decadelong decline in funding for legal services statewide, said Daniel Richardson, a member of Vermont Access to Justice Coalition.
The funding would provide legal assistance for low-income Vermonters in family or immigration court, for tenants facing eviction and for low-income adoptive parents, according to a draft of the request, Vermont Public Radio reported Thursday.
About a quarter of the funds would go toward general operations at Vermont Legal Aid. Another $48,000 would pay for legal services currently guaranteed, but unfunded, by the state, Richardson said, like assistance for adults facing involuntary guardianship appointments and parents found in contempt for failing to pay child support.
The coalition is a joint venture between the Vermont Supreme Court, the Vermont Bar Association and providers and funders of low-income legal services including Legal Services Vermont, Vermont Legal Aid and Vermont Law School.
The Legislature is back in session Jan. 7.
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