Business Wire

Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation Allocates $8 Million
to Low-Income Residents of Texas
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
AUSTIN, Texas-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Nov. 13, 2002-The Texas Equal
Access to Justice Foundation (TEAJF) has announced its 2003 grant
plan for the designation of $8 million to Texas providers of civil
legal services to the poor, otherwise known as Legal Aid.
The funds will assist nonprofit organizations in providing legal
assistance, such as advice or representation, to individuals who
cannot afford attorneys.
The Supreme Court of Texas created the Foundation
(www.txiolta.org) in 1984 to administer funds earmarked for the
provision of civil Legal Aid to low-income Texans. Currently, TEAJF
manages funds from the Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
Program; Basic Civil Legal Services (BCLS), a court filing fee
add-on; and the Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS)
Program.
The grant awards in Dallas and Fort Worth are as follows:
----------------------------------- City Organization IOLTA BCLS
Total ----------------------------------- Dallas Catholic
Charities
of Dallas 36,000 38,000 74,000
----------------------------------- Dallas Dallas Bar
Association
Community Service Fund 35,000 21,000 56,000
----------------------------------- Dallas Dallas Legal Hospice
55,000 55,000 ----------------------------------- Dallas Housing
Crisis Center 29,000 21,000 50,000
----------------------------------- Dallas Legal Services of
North
Texas(a) 321,000 196,000 517,000
----------------------------------- Dallas Total 476,000 276,000
276,000 -----------------------------------
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 293,000
Dallas County residents, or 13 percent of the county population,
live below poverty level. Eleven percent of the Tarrant County
population, or 150,000 residents, live below poverty level. The
TEAJF grants will allow 39 Texas organizations, five of which are
located in Dallas County and two of which are located in Tarrant
County, to continue or increase their services to ensure that all
Texans are afforded access to justice.
In addition to the organizations located in Dallas and Fort
Worth, the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation has allocated
funds to the following organization that serves the Northwest Texas
Service Area, including Dallas and Tarrant counties, but whose main
office is located in another city