September 25, 2009

Changes to LSS family law coverage

Recently, there have been several changes to family law legal aid coverage. Here is a brief explanation of what has changed (and will change) for our family law clients.

When clients are approved for legal aid representation services, a notice (called a referral) is sent to the lawyer to start the case. The referral tells the lawyer which services he or she is authorized to provide for the client. Since January 2009, there have been several changes to both the types of referrals issued and the services lawyers may perform for family clients.

Beginning in January 2009, stricter standards were applied to issuing family emergency services referrals to ensure spending did not outstrip the budget.

Dispute resolution services referrals were eliminated on March 31, 2009. These referrals authorized the lawyer to settle a case on the client's behalf through negotiation or mediation without going to court, and they were issued only in cases where the client's and/or his/her children's safety was not at risk. (See Notice to Counsel #62 [PDF] for the information provided to lawyers about billing for these referrals.)

In July, coverage for clients facing the possibility of jail in family maintenance enforcement proceedings was eliminated. Exceptional coverage is still available for clients who have significant mental or physical disabilities that make them incapable of representing themselves. (See the July 2009 Legal Aid Fax [PDF] for the information provided to lawyers.)

Extended family services referrals were suspended effective July 20, 2009. These referrals provided lawyers with additional time to prepare for and go to court to resolve family issues that could not be settled in the number of hours permitted by regular referrals. These cases usually involve more complex issues that cannot be resolved with a temporary court order. LSS is looking at ways to restructure our billing rules (the family tariff) to reintroduce these referrals so that some cases will receive additional funding to resolve family problems. (See Notice to Counsel #69 [PDF].)

Effective October 1, 2009, consensual dispute resolution and collateral child protection (CFCSA) referrals will end. Both were temporary projects to give lawyers more preparation and attendance time for child protection cases. Consensual dispute resolution referrals allowed lawyers to bill extra time for meetings such as collaborative law four-way meetings (outside of court) for child protection matters. Collateral CFCSA referrals allowed lawyers time to help clients with collateral issues such as debt, housing, welfare, bankruptcy, or foreclosure. (See Notice to Counsel #68 [PDF].)

All of these changes apply to extra services that were added over the past couple of years. Basic family law coverage has not changed. Please see the Serious family problems page on the LSS website for more information about the circumstances under which a family law referral is made.