LSC says funding cuts will reduce staff, close offices

The Legal Services Corporation offices around the country will have to lay off staff – including 350 attorneys – due to funding cuts, according to a survey released Wednesday by the legal aid program.

All but one of the 134 LSC grantees responded to the survey. Based on the results, local legal aid programs expect to reduce staff by nearly 750 employees this year, which is an 8 percent decrease in full-time equivalent positions from the end of last year.

Because of the funding shortage, more than half reported they will accept fewer cases and restrict what cases they accept. Nearly 30 percent of the programs expect to cut back on foreclosure-related issue services and services for victims of domestic violence.

Sixteen percent of respondents expect to close offices this year, according to the survey.

LSC provides funding for Indiana Legal Services.

LSC was established in 1974 by Congress and is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. Congress has cut its funding recently and a bill passed in the House of Representatives would cut an additional 6 percent from the agency’s budget, which would give LSC $328 million. ILS Executive Director Norman Metzger told Indiana Lawyer late last year the cuts translate to a loss of $819,000 in 2012 for the legal aid provider.