Central Minnesota Legal Services Incorporated

“The 990 is reviewed by management of the organization and provided to all board members prior to filing.”

“The organization relies on board members, most of whom are attorneys, to disclose conflicts in accordance with the minnesota rules of professional responsibility.”

“A compensation committee meets periodically and proposes a pay scale for all jobs/titles. The last adjustments were made in 2008. Considerations in developing the pay scale included reviewing the pay scale for the state public defenders for attorneys. The titles above the attorney line are usually just one year ahead of the lower position. The board of directors are presented with the proposed pay scale and either approve it or decline it. The salary schedule is reviewed and approved by the entire board. Legal services trade organizations and related organizations, such as the national legal aid and defender association, the management information exchange and equal justice works periodically conduct salary surveys and that information is used during compensation reviews. Cmls also contacts other legal services programs including in the midwest to obtain information.”

“All compensation is based on a pay scale, years of service, and board approved benefits. See description for line 15a above regarding process for determining pay scale. All staff is reviewed by their immediate supervisor.”

“The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and audited financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“The mission of central minnesota legal services is to advocate for access to the civil justice system for low income people by providing high quality legal services and to improve the lives of people living in poverty by empowering self-advocacy skills through legal education.”

“The cmls service area is a mixed urban and rural area. The 21 county service area includes hennepin county, the most populous county in minnesota, anoka county which increased in population by almost 19,000 people between 2010 and 2013 and stearns county, which has been described as a "micropolitan statistical area" because it includes a city of approximately 65,000 in an otherwise rural area. The remaining 18 counties are rural. Cmls is a non-profit poverty law firm and provides comprehensive legal services to low income people with a wide range of civil legal problems throughout its 21 county service area in central minnesota, which stretches from the western border with south dakota to the eastern border with wisconsin. The highest priority areas of legal need are family law and housing issues. Cmls emphasizes representing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in orders for protection, dissolutions of marriage and other family law cases. Housing cases typically involve prevention of homelessness and providing access to low cost, safe and sanitary housing. Cmls provide legal services through staff attorneys who provide advice, brief service and full representation for a broad range of legal problems experience by low income people. In addition cmls has a vibrant volunteer attorney program that serves 19 of the 21 counties in the cmls service area. Cmls staff attorneys provide assistance to self-represented litigants through self help clinics established by cmls in anoka, and stearns county. The volunteer attorney program includes legal advice clinics in partnership with the law libraries of sherburne county and wright county, two rural counties, and the kandiyohi public library in willmar, minnesota. Cmls pro bono attorneys provide mediation services through a volunteer family mediation program and address consumer debt issues in debt clinic that offers two monthly clinics to clients in the st. Cloud area. Cmls staff attorneys and pro bono attorneys serve veterans throughout its service area. Regular clinics are held in st. Cloud and montevideo to meet the legal needs of rural veterans. In hennepin county cmls provides full representation and advice to veterans on legal issues such as child support, parenting time and landlord/tenant cases. Cmls provides free legal help to noncustodial parents. Most clients are fathers referred from our partner, the father project, a responsible fatherhood program of goodwill/easter seals. The father project provides comprehensive services for fathers, including employment, training and legal services through a cmls staff attorney located at the project. Cmls staff and volunteers regularly present community legal education seminars to help low-income people and service providers understand legal issues and prevent some legal problems from occurring.”