Legal Aid Society of Rockland County, Inc. Overview of Achievements, 2012-2013 The Legal Aid Society of Rockland County (LASRC) continued to serve as the primary provider of civil legal services to the low income residents of Rockland County (Civil Division) and as an institutional provider of legal representation to children in the Rockland County Family Court (Children’s Rights Division). During the reporting period, LASRC’s Civil Division opened 1,244 cases, an increase of 25% over the previous reporting period (April 1, 2011-March 31, 2012). Most of the increase was in the area of mortgage foreclosure defense, where new funding enabled LASRC to expand its services. More than 2,300 persons benefitted from the direct legal representation by the Civil Division, particularly in the critical areas of housing and public benefits. During the same period, the Children’s Rights Division appeared in more than 1,700 matters in Family Court. LASRC also continued its pro se foreclosure clinic, assisting 83 homeowners during the reporting period, and began conducting uncontested matrimonial clinics. Furthermore, LASRC continued to work closely with tenant associations, as well as with community groups serving the needs of domestic violence survivors, people living with HIV and AIDS, and traditionally underrepresented groups in Rockland County such as the Haitian American community. Moreover, LASRC continued to be highly successful in the area of disability law. During this reporting period alone, its clients received more than $200,000 in retroactive SSI and SSD benefits and continued to receive than more than $15,000 in monthly benefits. In addition, more than $30,000 in interim benefits was recovered by the Rockland County Department of Social Services, and more than $1,100,000 was saved for the taxpayers by LASRC’s representation of clients in eviction proceedings.

Rockland

This Provider At a Glance Population Served: General Low Income Population Area Served: Rockland County Total Funding: $2,011,662 Total IOLA Grant: $125,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: 19.25 Lawyers: 12.00 Paralegals: 4.25 Other Staff: 3.00 Types of Services Provided Direct Civil Legal Representation Brief Services l Extended Services l Hotlines and Other Phone-Based Services  Technology and Other Innovations l Community Legal Education l Pro Se Assistance  Collaborations With Other Service Providers l Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects l

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Outcomes… 2,309 Individuals Benefited from 888 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes • 243 People delayed eviction providing time to seek alternative housing • 224 People avoided or delayed foreclosure or other loss of home • 203 People prevented eviction from private housing • 157 People prevented eviction from subsidized housing • 468 People obtained benefits from other "extended representation"

Brief Representation Benefits • 1,014 People benefited from legal advice and counsel Dollar Benefits Achieved for Clients - Total $1,135,400 • Social Security, SSI Benefits: $1,135,400 Total includes back awards and total monthly benefits, estimated over 60 months for Social Security, SSI.

Examples...

Outcomes for Clients

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igdalia, an owner of a manufactured home, fell behind in payments of her lot rent. She did not appear in court for the eviction proceeding because she was hospitalized when the case was heard in court. She contacted our office one week before her manufactured home was scheduled to be removed from its lot within the manufactured home park. The owner of the park would not agree to postpone the physical removal of the home despite the fact that it appeared that Migdalia would be able to obtain sufficient funding to pay the back rent. LASRC brought an order to show cause to stop the eviction and then assisted Migdalia in obtaining assistance from the Department of Social Services, Catholic Community Services, Office of Community Development and Salvation Army. Rent arrears were paid in full, the eviction was prevented and the client was able to keep her home which is worth at least $30,000. lan and Andrea had purchased their home in Spring Valley, raised their children there and sent their children to college. While the housing market was booming, they refinanced in order to pay for repairs to their home which they could not have otherwise afforded, having exhausted their savings for their children’s education. Unfortunately, when the economy took a downturn, Andrea lost her job, and her unemployment benefits combined with Alan’s full-time but low-wage earnings were not sufficient to make their mortgage payments. They fell behind, and after seeing a promising advertisement they paid $10,000 to a Florida law firm to help them save their home. The firm did nothing and went bankrupt. Alan and Andrea were served with a foreclosure complaint in Rockland County Supreme Court, and contacted LASRC. Their attorney filed an Answer to their foreclosure complaint, referred them to our HUD-certified housing counseling partner agency, filed a claim on

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Examples continued on last page

Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area

Total Housing Income Maintenance Family Consumer Other

People 2,309 1,581 461 135 69 63

Cases 888 591 178 57 30 32

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Income Maintenance 20% Housing 67%

Family 6% Consumer 3% Other 4%

Other Services Hotlines and Other Telephone Based Legal Services LASRC provides a toll-free 800 number to make it easier for current and new clients to reach our office. During the reporting period, all new cases were referred to case handling advocates to determine which cases needed extended representation and to provide advice and brief service if such were adequate to resolve the legal problem faced by a potential client. Beginning in May 2013, however, under the supervision of attorney staff, an intake paralegal will begin providing information and brief service in landlord/tenant matters and, with time, in other substantive areas as well. All new intakes are to be reviewed jointly at the end of each day by a Senior Attorney and the Intake Paralegal. A decision is made at that time whether advice/brief service or extended representation is appropriate in each case. Emergencies will continue to be handled as such, and will be immediately referred to a casehandler. LASRC will continue to evaluate the new intake process to ensure that we are efficiently providing high-quality legal information and assistance. Technology and Other Innovations LASRC continues to incorporate technology into every aspect of our practice. First and foremost, the staff continues to uses email to communicate with LASRC colleagues, staff of other social service agencies in Rockland County, opposing counsel, legal services staff partners, and increasingly, clients. Staff members are also active in various substantive discussion groups, sponsored by Western New York Law Center and Empire Justice Center (housing, public benefits, disability, domestic violence, and mortgage foreclosures). Staff participate in webinars on various substantive areas including mortgage foreclosure defense and loan modifications. LASRC has retained a computer consultant to streamline remote access to our network, providing staff with unlimited access not only emails but also to documents, client files and the timekeeping system. All advocates also have access to Lexis/Nexis. LASRC has eliminated most of its library in favor of computerized legal

research. LASRC utilizes the timekeeping system to monitor not only case entries and staff caseloads, but also, substantive trends and demographic changes in our intake and case acceptance process. This enables us to continually monitor and improve our service delivery system. Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation During the reporting period, LASRC revamped our service delivery model to place added focus on community partnerships, outreach and group representation with the goal of achieving greater impact for our client community. In addition, we increased our outreach activities, not only to serve more people but to target our resources to traditionally underserved populations and caseworker staff as a strategy to reach those most in need of our assistance. Collaborations With Other Service Providers  Foreclosure Partnership with Rockland Housing Action Coalition (RHAC): LASRC has a strong and ongoing partnership with RHAC, an established HUD-certified housing counseling agency with a proven track record of successful loan modificaitons. RHAC refers homeowners facing foreclosure to LASRC for participation in LASRC’s foreclosure clinics, assistance in settlement conferences and representation in litigation, including bankruptcy proceedings where necessary. In turn, LASRC provides assistance to RHAC client homeowners in foreclosure settlement conferences. The partnership between LASRC and RHAC enables each agency to focus on its strengths, prevents duplication of resources, and ensures that homeowners facing foreclosure have a full complement of services to help them achieve their goals.

Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation… Total: 300 People Community Legal Education: 300 People

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Other Services, continued  Rockland County Continuum of Care: In

addition, during the reporting period, LASRC’s Executive Director, Alexander Bursztein, began serving as the Chair of the Rockland County Continuum of Care. The Continuum is composed of all of the key Social Service and advocacy organizations in Rockland County. As Chair of the Continuum, Mr. Bursztein led the Continuum’s successful application that brought funding for transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence and residents moving from halfway facilities for recovering substance abusers and permanent housing for the disabled. LASRC receives $75,000 annually in Continuum funding.  Center for Safety and Change: LASRC continued to partner with the Center for Safety and Change in serving victims of domestic violence. As the primary provider of services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, the Center is a critical partner in the region’s social service delivery network. While the Center provides representation in family offense proceedings, its caseworkers refer to LASRC low-income clients in need of representation in divorce proceedings. These clients are represented by LASRC’s experienced matrimonial attorney. In addition, LASRC provides legal support and representation to Center clients with legal issues in LASRC’s core service areas of housing, public benefits and disability advocacy.  Fair Housing: LASRC continued its collaboration with the staff of Legal Services

NYC in developing negotiation and potential litigation strategy in the Avon Gardens case. Through this collaboration, LASRC was able to achieve a successful outcome for the 26 remaining families at the Avon Gardens complex. Moreover, LASRC continues to collaborate with the Fair Housing Justice Center and the Rockland County Fair Housing Board in working to address other issues involving equal access to affordable housing in other segments of Rockland County. Backup or Support Services LASRC provides backup and support services to many area agencies including the Center for Safety and Change, pro bono attorneys, the Department of Social Services, and various advocacy organizations. As the only civil legal services provider dedicated to Rockland County, LASRC is well known and well-regarded for its expertise in poverty law. Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Avon Gardens Tenants’ Association Avon Gardens, an apartment complex in Spring Valley, New York, is subject to the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA). Prior to LASRC’s involvement, Avon Gardens’ owners obtained permission from the Village of Spring Valley to demolish the complex. Several of the tenants had vacated due to the defective conditions in the aging complex, without knowledge of their rights to replacement housing or compensation. Many tenants vacated out of fear that they would become homeless. In partnership with the local NAACP as well as leaders of faith, the private bar and

Sources of Funding Total $2,011,662 IOLA Grant $125,000 State Funding $1,411,063 City and County Funding $334,817 Other Federal Programs $84,460 Other $56,322

City and County Funding 17%

State Funding 70%

Other Federal Programs 4% Other 3% IOLA Grant 6%

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Other Services, continued community organizers, LASRC helped the tenants form a Tenant Association. LASRC then began intensive negotiations with the Owner and its counsel. Ultimately, after filing complaints with the Division of Housing and community Renewal on behalf of numerous tenants, LASRC and the owner reached a resolution ensures that all remaining tenants will have fair compensation, replacement comparable rent-stabilized housing in the county at the same monthly rent with the protections of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA), or at the tenant’s option, a buy-out to enable the tenants to obtain alternate housing. Several of the tenants will receive nearly $40,000 in compensation. In addition, LASRC continued to advocate on behalf of individual tenant association members to ensure that no tenant was improperly evicted or denied the benefits of the settlement while negotiations ensued. All 26 families remaining in the complex are included in the settlement. Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement In order to address the overwhelming client need for divorces, LASRC continued to leverage and support the Matrimonial Assignment Program, a cooperative effort of the Administrative Judge for the Ninth Judicial District, the Rockland County Bar Association and LASRC. Each client receives a pro bono attorney for his or her divorce. The assignments are made as part of relief granted to our clients

when an application to proceed as a poor person is made on their behalf by LASRC. The Matrimonial Program assisted 33 clients in securing pro bono divorce counsel during the reporting period. In addition, LASRC continued to be an active participant in the efforts of Pro Bono New York to encourage pro bono participation. In the Ninth Judicial District, this effort is spearheaded by Ninth District’s Chief Administrative Judge, Alan B. Scheinkman. In Rockland County, the Honorable Thomas E. Walsh, II, Rockland County’s Surrogate, heads the Rockland County Action Committee.

Pro Bono Statistics During 2012-2013, the following volunteers provided services in our program: • Attorneys: 53 Volunteers 2,600 Hours • Total Cases Completed by Attorneys: 50 Cases • Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $0.65 million *estimated at $250 per hour

During the reporting period, LASRC also used the services of three volunteer attorneys admitted to practice in New York, who assisted, working jointly with LASRC’s staff, 30 clients in the areas of housing and public benefits. One volunteer attorney focused on housing advocacy including tenant advocacy and foreclosure defense; one attorney focused on research needs of the civil division as a whole, and one volunteer represented claimants in administrative hearings involving public assistance and unemployment benefits.

Outcomes for Clients continued from page 2 their behalf with the Florida receiver, and attended months of foreclosure settlement conferences in Rockland County Supreme Court. Alan and Andrea were ultimately offered an affordable loan modification which not only reduced their interest

rate but also, by extinguishing a second mortgage and forgiving principal on their first mortgage, lowered their principal balance by nearly $200,000, making their loan sustainable for the long term.

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