NLADA: Civil Legal Services - LSC-Funded Programs

LSC Statutes

Legal Service Corporation (LSC) grantees are governed by the provisions of the Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974 as amended, 1977, and annual LSC appropriations acts. The original LSC Act was enacted in 1974 and amended in 1977. The LSC Act authorization for funding expired in 1980, but Congress has agreed to appropriate funds for LSC each year since, subject to a variety of riders that have been attached to the appropriations acts. LSC programs are currently governed by appropriations riders originally enacted in April 1996, which have been reenacted, with some minor adjustments and additions, as part of each subsequent annual appropriations act. Follow this link to the LSC Web site for more detail.

LSC Restrictions

Beginning with the LSC appropriations riders that were enacted in April of 1996, LSC-funded programs were subject to a wide range of new restrictions and requirements that limited the kinds of legal services that could be provided to eligible clients, imposed new procedures and requirements on recipients and prohibited representation of several categories of clients. Follow this link for a summary of what can and cannot be done by LSC recipients under the riders. On February 28, 2001, the US Supreme Court struck down the prohibition on challenges to existing law in individual welfare cases. Follow this link to read or download the Velazquez opinion . LSC plans to revise Part 1639 of the LSC regulations to implement the Court's opinion and has issued a Program Letter, 2001-3 , providing interim guidance to recipients pending the adoption of the regulatory revisions.

LSC Regulations

Since 1976, LSC has also promulgated a series of implementing regulations that govern the activities of recipients.. These regulations have been periodically revised and new parts have been added over the years. In 2001, LSC embarked on a new effort to revise the regulations. Consistent with recommendations made by the Regulations Committee of the NLADA Civil Policy Group (CPG), the LSC Board has decided to consider revisions to Parts 1611 (Eligibility) and 1626 (Aliens) as the first step in that effort. The CPG has submitted detailed suggestions on the approach that should be taken in revising these rules to the LSC staff Task Force that has been working on the regulatory revisions. The LSC Operations and Regulations Committee of the LSC Board has authorized the LSC staff to initiate negotiated rule-making processes to develop proposed revisions to these two rules. The Board has also authorized the LSC staff to begin the process of revising the LSC regulation on Welfare Reform (Part 1639) to make it consistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Velasquez v. LSC. Please contact Linda Perle for more details on the CPG recommendations and on any future developments regarding regulatory revisions.

LSC Rulemaking Protocol

LSC has adopted a new protocol to govern the process of developing and adopting new regulations and revisions to current rules. This protocol is patterned on the negotiated rulemaking procedures that are in use in many federal agencies, although it was adapted to fit within the LSC framework. Through negotiations with the LSC Board and staff, NLADA was instrumental in shaping the new protocol to ensure that it provided opportunities for significant input into the development and consideration of new and revised regulations by representatives of the LSC-funded legal services programs.

OLA Opinions

The LSC Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), formerly the Office of General Counsel (OGC) periodically issues external opinions on a variety of regulatory and statutory interpretations. These opinions are generally written in response to specific inquiries from LSC recipients and others regarding LSC's interpretation of the governing statutes and regulations. Since 1998, most of the opinions issued by OLA have been available electronically from LSC.. Please contact Linda Perle for copies of earlier opinions.

LSC Program Letters

In addition to the LSC Act, appropriations acts, regulations and OLA opinions, over the years LSC has issued a series of Program Letters that set out LSC's interpretations of grantee requirements and statements of LSC policies on a wide range of issues. NLADA has, whenever possible, worked with the LSC staff in the development of these program letters and the underlying policies, to ensure that they are consistent with statutory and regulatory requirements and not unduly burdensome on LSC grantees. Follow this link for a list of recent LSC Program Letters.

Property Acquisition and Management Manual

In the past, the acquisition, use and disposal of real and personal property purchased, or in certain cases leased, with LSC funds was governed by a variety of LSC manuals, regulations and policy statements. Effective October 15, 2001, LSC adopted a new Property Acquisition and Management Manual (PAMM) to cover new property purchased or leased using LSC funds after the effective date. Prior to the adoption of the new PAMM, NLADA had submitted comments to the LSC staff and a memorandum to the LSC Board raising a number of issues raised by the proposed PAMM, and presented these concerns orally to the LSC Board's Operations and Regulations Committee at its June 2001 meeting. At the September 2001 meeting, the LSC Operations and Regulations Committee recommended, and the LSC Board adopted, a final version of the PAMM that incorporated a number of revisions that had been proposed by NLADA. Read the new PAMM on the LSC Web site.

Case Service Reports (CSR)

Since the early 1980s, LSC has collected information regarding pending and closed cases through annual grant activity reports and the Case Service Reporting system (CSR). Although the CSR system was virtually ignored by LSC for many years, Congress has increased its attention to the CSR system and the statistics generated by the information that LSC grantees have submitted. As a result, LSC has significantly tightened the standards for reporting cases, resulting in many fewer cases being reported in recent years. The CSR Handbook was revised in 1999 and again in 2001.

Matters Service Reporting System

The CSR system only collects information on a narrowly defined category of activities that fit within the CSR Handbook definition of "case." LSC recipients engage in a wide range of non-case activities that provide significant service to the low-income community, including community legal education and pro-se assistance, referrals, and outreach. In recognition, LSC has recently imposed on its recipients a new data collection effort to gather limited information on non-case activities, called the "Matters Service Reporting System." Recipients were required to begin data collection on July 1, 2001, and will submit reports for the second half of 2001 on March 2, 2002 and annually thereafter. (See Program Letter 01-2 )

Performance Measures

LSC has undertaken a long-term project to develop outcome and performance measures for LSC grantees to help grantees and state justice communities set appropriate goals and objectives for legal services delivery and measure performance in relation those goals. In early 2001 the Corporation issued an RFP to enlist the assistance of a contractor to work with LSC Staff in the implementation of a Performance Measures Project and the development of a new Performance Measures System that will ultimately replace the current CSR. However, LSC has not selected a contractor and has not moved forward with the project. NLADA, through the CPG Regulations Committee, has been following this process and will keep its members apprised of any new developments that may occur.

Freedom of Information Act

LSC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Part 1602 of the LSC Regulations governs the FOIA process. LSC has also published a FOIA Handbook to guide members of the public through the process of requesting information under the FOIA. In April 2001, LSC published a proposal to change its policy with regard to the release of narrative sections from grant applications. The new policy would change the presumption against release of such materials to one in favor of release. However, LSC has pledged to consult with applicants prior to the release and to make the actual decision about whether or not to release the material on a case-by-case basis.

LSC Audit Guide

Under Section 1009(c) of the LSC Act, LSC must either conduct or require each recipient of LSC funds to provide for an annual financial audit. In 1995 LSC promulgated an Audit Guide for LSC recipients that lays out the specific requirements for an acceptable LSC audit. The Audit Guide has been periodically updated through the use of audit bulletins. The Compliance Supplement provides guidance to auditors on how to check for compliance with LSC regulations.

Accounting Guide for LSC Recipients

The LSC Accounting Guide sets out financial accounting and reporting standards for recipients of LSC funds, and describes accounting policies, records and internal control procedures that LSC believes are necessary to ensure the integrity of accounting, reporting and financial systems. The Accounting Guide is to be used in conjunction with the LSC Audit Guide.

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