Legal Aid Bureau Inc

“The form 990 is reviewed in detail by management and then management reviews the return with the finance committee. Once approved by management and the finance committee, the form 990 is distributed to the full board of directors, where they have the opportunity to discuss the return with management and the finance committee before the return is filed.”

“Annually, each officer, director, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers is required to sign a statement which affirms such person has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy, has read and understands the policy, and has agreed to comply with the policy. Determinations of whether a conflict exists, and appropriate resolution of those conflicts, is made either by the governing board of directors or by a committee appointed by the board of directors. No person determined to have a conflict of interest is allowed to participate in the deliberations or decision regarding resolution of that conflict or the approval of transactions related to it.”

“The policy with respect to the executive director's compensation is as follows: with its new executive director who joined in june 2022, the board reviewed her performance at its meeting in december 2023. The board considered the organizational assessment survey that was done by a 3rd party consultant, the site visit review by lsc in the summer of 2023, its own observations and participation in the strategic planning process and all-staff and board retreat, and the executive director's regular reports on progress regarding the organizational goals. Going forward, the board's executive committee will evaluate the executive director for 2024 and will report its conclusions, including any salary adjustments, to the entire board for their approval. The board is now considering changing the timing for the executive director's evaluation from december to june. This change would be in anticipation of and to align with the change of maryland legal aid's fiscal year from a calendar-based fiscal year to a july-through-june fiscal year in 2025.”

“The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request.”

“The process has not changed from prior year.”

“Maryland legal aid (legal aid bureau, inc.) is the largest provider of free civil legal services in the state. In 2024, we closed 18,277 cases, benefiting 41,167 low-income and vulnerable marylanders. From our 11 regional offices and numerous community-based clinics, our attorneys and advocates provided essential legal support that helped clients stay safely housed, maintain custody of their children, and escape domestic violence. We increased economic security by defending against consumer debt, foreclosures, and tax sales, removing barriers to employment, and assisting clients in accessing vital income supports such as unemployment benefits and food assistance. Our advocates represented vulnerable populations, including veterans, seniors, children in abuse and neglect cases, people with disabilities, victims of crime, migrant farmworkers, and individuals in mental health institutions. Maryland legal aid resolves fundamental legal problems that bring stability and opportunity to clients' lives. While many clients recognize their crisis, they often do not realize the legal problems they are experiencing or how they can be resolved. Our dedicated legal staff carefully identify and address these legal needs, providing respectful and accessible assistance whether clients find us online, by phone, or in person. We planned for our future. In 2024, maryland legal aid launched a bold new strategic plan that renews our mission, vision, and core values, guiding the organization through 2025 - 2029. This plan focuses on holistic lawyering, empowering clients and communities, challenging systems that perpetuate inequity, fostering a high-performing and diverse staff, and building an innovative, data-driven organization with the resources necessary to support our mission. We're taking cases that advance our priorities. Our legal practice integrates a holistic approach, recognizing the complex interplay of legal issues that entrench poverty. Understanding that unjust systems perpetuate inequality, maryland legal aid is committed to challenging those systems to achieve fairness and justice. To align with this vision, we revised our case acceptance priorities to address fundamental civil legal needs consistently across our offices, emphasizing cases with systemic impact and prioritizing vulnerable populations such as young adults aging out of child welfare and seniors or disabled persons at risk of wrongful discharge from nursing homes. The priorities also include our plan to expand representation of low-wage workers, addressing a critical service gap.”

“We tackled barriers to employment. Maryland legal aid helped 2,452 people benefit from criminal record expungements, eliminating that barrier to employment. We advocated for the removal of stringent licensing requirements that unnecessarily bar our clients from certain occupations. We are engaged in ongoing advocacy to improve the broken unemployment insurance system. We filed claims against the state on behalf of clients whose driver's licenses were unlawfully suspended due to child support obligations, highlighting due process violations and pressing for systemic reform. We stood up for tenants' rights. Maryland legal aid sued an eastern shore landlord for violations of landlord tenant and consumer protection laws. We referred this case to the attorney general's civil rights division, which brought its own suit: a sex discrimination case against the landlord for a pay-to-play sex scheme perpetrated against vulnerable low-income women tenants. Maryland legal aid furthered the tenant right to counsel project (trcp) as part of maryland's statewide access to counsel in evictions (ace) program. Being that maryland is one of only three states that provide a right to free counsel for its low-income residents facing eviction, we helped clients exercise this right, closing nearly 5,000 cases and expanding our reach across the state. Maryland legal aid was present in every jurisdiction that offers same-day court assistance for tenants, including baltimore city, washington county, carroll county, charles county, montgomery county and frederick county. Maryland legal aid's staff and its equal justice works housing justice fellows have been engaged in community-based outreach efforts to inform tenants about their rights. We also launched a public campaign to educate marylanders using bus ads, billboards, and digital marketing. Our robust bankruptcy practice, focused on homeownership preservation, continued to help clients establish viable repayment plans and litigate their claims. Recently, maryland legal aid had success in getting student loan relief as permitted by federal regulations. We kept women and children safe. Working with domestic violence providers, maryland legal aid represented 259 survivors in obtaining protective orders. We helped clients file for divorce and child custody, and obtain access to the resources necessary to rebuild their lives free from abuse. In prince george's county, maryland legal aid joined the collaborative justice law center and the circuit court of prince george's county in a creative child custody determination program. Cases in which both parents are unrepresented will be referred to the collaborative law pilot project which offers non-adversarial approach to child custody disputes fostering healthier co-parenting relationships through mediated agreements formalized by the court.”

“We helped seniors and people with disabilities access their benefits. Maryland legal aid actively participated in the governor's task force on the prevention of elder abuse, contributing to recommendations for strengthening protections for low-income seniors. Our advocates continue to address flaws in the unemployment insurance system, securing individual case resolutions and advocating for systemic reforms. We assisted clients with disabilities applying for social security benefits by helping them access interim state supports to maintain housing and basic needs during the often lengthy application process. Additionally, we have successfully represented clients wrongly charged with benefit overpayments due to agency errors, preventing unjust garnishments. We advocated to change the systems that keep marylanders in poverty. Maryland legal aid filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming baltimore city's tax sale process violates the constitution for failing to provide just compensation to property owners. This system strips low-income homeowners, primarily elderly and of color, of their homes and their equity, harming their ability to generate intergenerational wealth and de-stabilizing communities. The defendants' motion to dismiss and our opposition are pending before the court. In baltimore city, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of senior citizens, many of whom have disabilities and are living in unlicensed federally subsidized properties with numerous housing code violations. Maryland legal aid also joined amicus briefs to clarify critical statues and points of law and support the rights of our clients. We successfully led advocacy to amend court fee waiver rules, eliminating the burden for legal services attorneys and pro se litigants of having to file a second, unnecessary fee waiver request at the conclusion of their case. Maryland legal aid was also invited to provide input on a number of bills during the state's legislative session including enhanced legal services funding; expanding renters' rights; an assisted living bill of rights; pay stub transparency to fight wage theft; a new kinship-care bill; and a new grant program for family caregivers. Further, we paired our legislative work with underlying litigation (including impact litigation and appeals) to help drive critical systemic reforms. At the agency level, maryland legal aid engaged with agency leaders to urge improvements to systems and regulations. This integrated, holistic, community-centered approach to advocacy lays the groundwork for achieving our stated goal of ensuring dignity, equity and justice for all.”

“We made getting legal help easier. The first full year of maryland legal aid's centralized intake system improved statewide access by enabling clients to connect with services through phone or online platforms, streamlining intake processes and allowing real-time data monitoring for continuous improvement. Public outreach campaigns across social and traditional media raised awareness of legal rights and services related to expungement, eviction prevention, and foreclosure defense. To better serve limited english proficiency clients, we developed a comprehensive language justice plan, including translation of key materials and best practices for language access. Through our staff language proficiency program, over 40 staff members have tested proficient in multiple languages and can receive a stipend to act as a language resource to clients. We leveraged technology to efficiently expand access to justice. To enhance internal efficiency and collaboration, maryland legal aid launched briefcase, a centralized intranet consolidating policies, forms, and training resources into a single, searchable platform. We introduced mlagpt, a secure, internally controlled generative ai tool to assist legal staff with drafting and research while ensuring confidentiality. Additionally, a new web-based help desk improved it support responsiveness, and adoption of the cloud-based coupa system streamlined expense reimbursements, reducing administrative burdens and increasing accuracy. Our decisions were data-driven. Maryland legal aid strengthened its data-driven decision-making capacity by developing dashboards that enhance data visualization for board reporting, supervisory insight and oversight, private attorney involvement (pai) time, strategic benchmarks, legislative tracking, and our call center. A new data governance structure and a comprehensive data dictionary were established to ensure data quality and consistency, supporting more effective service delivery and strategic planning. We invested in our talent. Recognizing the importance of a skilled and supported workforce, maryland legal aid standardized supervision and performance management by rolling out new standards, management tools, and work planning processes. We convened training retreats for supervisors and offer ongoing monthly support sessions, fostering a culture of accountability and professional growth. Our new training department is building out a comprehensive training program for all staff members and launched hr-mandated programs on unconscious bias, sexual harassment prevention, and cybersecurity to equip all staff with critical skills. We made our offices safer. We enhanced workplace safety with significant security upgrades at our baltimore city headquarters, including access control, cctv monitoring, intrusion alarms, emergency intercoms, and a modernized fire alarm system. Safety assessments were conducted statewide to protect staff and clients. To accommodate organizational growth, the baltimore city office received new paint, carpeting, and donated or heavily discounted furniture and workspaces, creating a welcoming, professional environment that supports our legal advocates in delivering life-changing services to our clients.”