The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, in its role as the access to justice entity for the state of Ohio, recently gathered data from 20 Ohio specialty civil legal service providers on their structure, services, funding streams, and staff.
The results found that the specialty providers served nearly 8,500 Ohioans in 2021, helping to address the unique civil legal needs of immigrants and refugees, the LGBTQ+ population, human trafficking victims, people living with HIV and AIDS, and other special populations.
The specialty providers serve a racially diverse client base, with 48% of clients identifying as Black alone, 32.1% as white alone, 9.3% as Asian alone, 5.7% as two or more races, and 4.7% as some other race alone. Additionally, 815 clients identified as of Hispanic/Latino origin.
“The specialty providers do an outstanding job of providing civil legal services tailored to the needs of special populations in Ohio, which are sometimes unique,” said the Foundation’s Programs and Grant Counsel Camille Gill. “On minimal budgets, these organizations provide life-changing civil legal services for low-income Ohioans.”
The annual survey helps the Foundation understand the services provided by these organizations and the funding streams supporting their work. The Foundation invites specialty providers to apply for funding opportunities that target the populations they serve.
The Foundation awarded specialty providers mini grants for completing the survey.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. Learn more about our grantees at www.ohiojusticefoundation.org.