Volume 1 September 19, 2007
Welcome to the Equal Access newsletter, the first of which is intended to reintroduce the Equal Access Project and the California Courts’ Online Self-Help Center websites to members of California’s self-help community. This bi-monthly newsletter will provide the latest news on self-help services and materials as well as updates to our websites, covering topics such as:
- Updates on funding
- Information on conferences and trainings
- Information from programs in California and throughout the U.S.
- Content expansion in existing areas of law
- Content in new areas of law not previously addressed
- Updates on translation of content for the Spanish site www.sucorte.ca.gov
- Updates on increased links to other websites and resources for self-represented litigants
Thank you for your support. To add or remove a recipient from our listserv, please send an e-mail to equalaccess@jud.ca.gov with your request.
Equal Access Project
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/equalaccess/
The Equal Access Project has materials available for courts, court-based self-help programs, and other nonprofit providers of legal self-help services.
The topics included currently are:
Establishing a Center
- Background: background information on California's courts' efforts to serve self-represented litigants.
- Service Delivery Models: information on a variety of ways to provide services to self-represented litigants including promising practices, distance services and law libraries.
- Planning: contains California's Statewide Action Plan on Serving Self-Represented Litigants, as well as local action plans.
- Funding: tips for grant-writing, sample grant proposals, and other funding tools.
Operating a Center
- Instructional Materials: samples from courts of informational materials, instructions, and videos providing basic legal information and explanations about the court process in a variety of matters. It also includes templates and sample pleadings developed by self-help centers to assist self-represented litigants in completing forms and pleadings.
- Best Practices: links to model programs throughout California and the nation that explore best practices in addressing the different needs of self-represented litigants.
- Program Management: information, materials and ideas for starting, operating, and managing a self-help center program including intake forms, triage tools, program brochures, and staff and volunteer training materials.
- Technological Resources: information on Web sites, form sets, video conferencing and other technological resources to assist self-represented litigants.
- Limited-English Proficiency (LEP) Materials and Resources: translated materials developed by courts, translated forms and websites, sample effective programs, interpreter resources and language access reference materials.
References and Other Information
- Ethical Issues: background information on ethical issues regarding the changing roles of attorneys, court clerks, judges and self-help center staff in serving self-represented litigants.
- Research and Evaluation: evaluations from self-help centers, sample forms, and evaluation strategies, as well as links to other research on self-represented litigants.
- Related Web Sites: links to websites committed to access to the judicial system.
California Courts’ Online Self-Help Center
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp
The Online Self-Help Center is a public website with over 1,000 pages of legal information on various areas of law as well as legal resources at courthouses and community agencies.
Currently, the primary areas addressed are:
Please submit any comments, updates regarding your programs and local courts, and any other information you would like shared in this newsletter by sending an e-mail to bonnie.hough@jud.ca.gov
In addition, please review the materials posted on the Equal Access Project http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/equalaccess/ credited to your program or court and let us know if you have updated or new materials you would like us to post as tools for other programs.
Finally, if there are any materials you would like assistance in developing or translating, or if you want to find out what other courts have done and can not find the information on these sites, please feel free to contact bonnie.hough@jud.ca.gov.