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Sharing the Menu

Sharing the Menu. Using a Legal Health Check QAILS Webinar // May 1, 2014. Presented by…. Sue Garlick Senior Lawyer Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic QPILCH. QPILCH. Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House Inc

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Sharing the Menu

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  1. Sharing the Menu Using a Legal Health Check QAILS Webinar // May 1, 2014

  2. Presented by…. Sue Garlick Senior Lawyer Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic QPILCH

  3. QPILCH Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House Inc • QPILCH is a not-for-profit, community-based legal organisation that coordinates the provision of pro bono civil legal services for individuals and community groups • We assess applications from the public, and refers eligible matters to law firms and barristers for pro bono legal assistance; AND • Coordinate direct advice clinics: • Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic program (HPLC, Refugee Civil Law Clinic, Mental Health Civil Law Clinic, Outreach Legal Clinic, LegalPod) • Self Representation Service (State and Federal Courts, and QCAT) • Mental Health Law Practice • Administrative Law Clinic • Partnerships with: law firms, barristers, university law schools, QLS, BAQ, LAQ, other key stakeholders and CLCs

  4. Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic • Co- located with agencies such as Micah Projects, Roma House, 139 Club, New Farm Neighbourhood Centre • Brisbane (10 inner-city + 2 phone clinics to suburbs) • Regional (Townsville, Cairns & Toowoomba) • Mental Health Civil Law Clinics (Footprints and Open Minds) • Refugee Civil Law Clinic • 23 law firms, provide over 350 volunteer lawyers and $2.6m of pro bono services & support annually • Almost 100 new clients each month. • Coordinated by five Brisbane-based staff

  5. HPLC: Co-located pro bono legal outreach

  6. The context for HPLC to change…

  7. Lawyers - a fancy, expensive restaurant with foreign menus and scary waiters?

  8. Vulnerability Work/Income Family Housing Health ...all involve legal issue - e.g. employment conditions, tenancy agreements, treatment orders, family law etc

  9. …and trauma • To lose 3-4 of what keeps you balanced is trauma • And if a compounding vulnerability exists… • Cognitive impairment/mental illness/disability • Substance abuse • Domestic violence • Poverty • Institutionalised (child protection/prison/MHU) • Child at the time = chronic or iterative homelessness is likely

  10. …and self-help • Depleted skills…navigating pain and change, organisation, communication, emotions • Dislocated – from family//community// past careers • Destructive or chaotic coping mechanisms • Systems fatigue = “apathy” • People experiencing homelessness are: • over-represented in the criminal justice system; • not recognised by many government administrative procedures; and • mostly left to advocate for themselves. • It is our responsibility to create bridges to maximise choice

  11. HPLC legal casework • HPLC ‘top 4’ • Debt & Fines • Criminal • Tenancy & Housing • Family • Other civil: guardianship & administration, mental health law (ITOs), criminal compensation, reviewing government decisions (eg Centrelink), employment, child protection, discrimination

  12. Legal needs of vulnerable clients • All vulnerable client groups have multiple, unrecognised and unaddressed legal needs: • housing, debt, government decisions, employment, fines, criminal and family law • Disadvantaged clients rarely approach lawyers for help with their legal needs, but do approach others, such as community workers and health staff • Attaining and sustaining housing is a fundamental goal

  13. The research…

  14. Senate Legal & Constitutional Affairs Committee Reports Legal Aid and Access to Justice Report 2004 • Very few people become homeless without some interaction with legal or bureaucratic institutions • Factors preventing homeless people accessing the justice system, include: • limited availability and inadequate resourcing of appropriately targeted and directed specialist legal services; • limited legal aid; • lack of awareness by homeless people that they have a legal problem or that they have “legal rights” which have been infringed;and • individual barriers such as mental illness, language issues, expense or past negative experiences with legal system Access to Justice Report 2009 • “…a holistic approach would most benefit those members of the community experiencing multi‑facetted and complex problems, and commends those legal assistance service providers who have adopted this client‑focussed approach”

  15. No home, no justice?: The legal needs of homeless people in NSW • Immediate needs prioritised over legal issues • When homeless people finally do contact a legal service, if at all, the issue has reached crisis point • The multiple, urgent and inter-related problems of homeless people, together with barriers they face in addressing these issues, have significant implications for the nature and type of legal service delivery that is appropriate • Many homeless people turn to a non-legal services for help when they have a legal problem • Caseworkers play a vital role in assisting homeless people to identify their legal issues, obtain legal assistance, engage in legal processes and manage their legal outcomes • Non-legal service providers and caseworkers need access to timely legal information, legal advice and relevant legal “education” • Barriers include: lack of awareness of legal rights, options for redress and which legal process to follow Forell S, McCarron E & Schetzer L, ‘No home, no justice? The legal needs of homeless people in NSW’ (2005) Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney

  16. Justice made to measure: NSW legal needs survey in disadvantaged areas • 2431 disadvantage participants (not just homeless) • 2/3 of participants reported legal need • Substantial barriers to seek help • Subjects sought help for legal issues only 50% of the time (balance was “ignore” or DIY) • traditional legal advisors – 12% of that 50%; and • non-legal help for legal issues – 75% of that 50% • Perhaps the existing informal network of non-legal professionals used in response to legal issues could be harnessed and used as more formal gateway into available legal services. Tailored and proactive strategies to do this could include: • tailored assistance services to meet specific needs; • non-legal professionals acting as gateways; • coordinated response from legal and non-legal services to people with multiple needs; and • improved coordination between different legal services Coumarelos C, Wei Z & Zhou AH, ‘Justice made to measure: NSW legal needs survey in disadvantaged areas’ (2006) Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney

  17. Pathways to Justice: The role of non-legal services • Most people who have legal problems do not go straight to a lawyer for help • There needs to be more hand-holding…a central coordinator to go-between resources to assist that person instead of just a referral • Workers attending legal appointments with clients is beneficial to keep the client calm and to monitor comprehension levels • It would be beneficial to equip non-legal workers to at least be able to appropriately refer clients who have legal problems to legal assistance services • Building relationships between the legal and non-legal sectors, which recognise the key role of non-legal workers as a pathway to justice, has potential to improve the access to justice for socially and disadvantaged people, particularly those with complex needs, including sometimes overwhelming legal and non-legal problems Clarke S & Forell S, ‘Pathways to justice: the role of non-legal services’ (2007) Justice Issues Paper 1, Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney

  18. Pascoe Pleasence (UK) • Socially excluded people are most vulnerable to rights problems, perpetrating cycles of exclusion • People do not face legal problem, but clusters of problems, so need access to seamless, integrated service • [Bad spiral]:If you lack knowledge of your rights...do nothing...adverse consequence...less likely to meet objectives…more likely to be socially excluded AND if you do nothing you are far more likely to do nothing again (additive effects strategies) • [Good spiral]: If you obtain legal advice…you are far more likely to do so again…if you obtain legal advice, other household members are far more likely to do so Adapted from a PowerPoint presentation (2008) by Pascoe Pleasance at DLA Phillips Fox, Sydney

  19. The Justice Gap: The Unmet Legal Needs of Low-income Utahns • Many individuals are unaware of what issues can be resolved through the legal system • Only 13% of very poor households report receiving legal help with their civil legal problems, as: • feared cost and hassle; • didn’t know where to get help; • thought nothing could be done; • did not perceive they had a legal issue; and • received unsatisfactory help previously • Recommended that outreach to low-income individuals be increased to help them understand they have a legal problem and where to go for assistance; plus need specific plans for those who face additional barriers Utah Bar Journal blog (2007; accessed 9 October 2008)

  20. So in 2009, we asked ourselves… How do we build a bridge between lived-disadvantage and the services of a lawyer? How can vulnerable clients “choose” unless someone they trust shows them the “legal menu”?

  21. We need to collaborate more to solve legal problems Has multiple legal needs, but doesn’t know what/how/who to ask about them Will benefit from “diagnosis” of those needs Choice = knowing what’s on the “menu” Don’t always identify all legal need (just family law and criminal) Need training, resources and support to identify, prioritize and refer legal need Benefit from a structured interviewing tool Need community workers to ask Qs at the best time, and refer/support client

  22. Our answer = Legal Health Check

  23. Legal Health Check = The Legal Health Check enables lawyers and community workers to collaborate with each other and their mutual client to provide targeted, timely and appropriate legal assistance for all relevant legal needs. • The right issues • The right question • At the right time • By the right person The LHC is not a self-help tool.

  24. Which legal issues in LHC? • Representative: HPLC casework frequency • Endemic: Legal issues entrenched in homelessness experience • Barriers: Biggest legal barriers to sustaining housing • Solutions available • Debts; • Fines; • Tenancy; • Public Trustee/ITOs; • Crime (practical help and active referrals); • Family (practical help and active referrals); and • Other

  25. Showing the “menu” How can a disadvantaged client know what to ask for if we don’t show them the menu?

  26. LHC pilot at Roma House, 2009 • 39 bed crisis accommodation with intensive casework • Pro bono lawyers attend Roma House 2 hours/week and complete file work at their firm, with supervision from QPILCH • 81% of Roma House residents attend the HPLC (the LHC embedded in intake processes for Roma House) • Lawyers use LHC for every client • 6 months observation and “tweaking’ the LHC (by me) HPLC lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills, meeting with a client at Roma House in 2013

  27. LHC Data: Roma House 2011/12 • 67 new clients with 204 legal matters, across 7 issue types • Average of 3.04 legal matters per client • 58% of clients had a SPER issue identified. Compare with Café One (our busiest, standard-model HPLC) where 8% of clients had a SPER issue identified

  28. LHC Data: Roma House 2012/13 • 37 new clients with 89 legal matters, across 7 issue types • Average of 2.4 legal matters per client • 65% of clients had a SPER issue identified. Compare with Café One (our busiest standard-model HPLC) where 5.4% of clients had a SPER issue identified

  29. New research confirming the LHC…

  30. Legal Australia-Wide Survey • Disadvantaged or socially excluded groups, such as those experiencing homelessness, are: • grappling with non-legal needs; • more vulnerable to having multiple legal problems; • less likely to take action to resolve these problems; • less capable of handling their problems alone; and • more likely to suffer a variety of adverse consequences that may further entrench their social exclusion • Client-focussed or case-management services suggested: “a more systematic diagnosis of a client's full range of legal and non-legal needs at entry, followed by a case plan for addressing all of those needs through coordinated response across all services” (at 213) Coumarelos C, et al, ‘Legal Australia-Wide Survey: legal need in Australia’ (2012) Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney

  31. Home is where the heart of legal need is Homeless people: • 85.4% have a legal problem each year; • 50.5% experience multiple – 3 or more – legal problems each year; • compared to 22.8% people in public housing & 15.7% of people in other housing; & • require a holistic or client-focussed approach, involving an integrated response from legal and broader community services, to fully address their problems  Coumarelos C and People J, ‘Home is where the heart of legal need is’ (2013) Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Sydney

  32. Pascoe Pleasence (UK) • Inequality of experience, access and capacity • Some key messages: • joined up problems require joined up solutions; and • legal services should mirror the behaviour and needs of consumers Law Week Presentation by Pasco Pleasance (2013) at the Banco Court, Brisbane

  33. Training caseworkers with LHC • ‘Legal Basics’ Training day framework: • over 65 community workers from more than 25 homelessness organisations have received free training in March each year since 2010; • topics echo Legal Health Check, including debt, tenancy & housing, child protection and mental health law; and • presenters from Legal Aid Queensland, Tenants’ Union of Queensland, SPER, Commonwealth and Queensland Ombudsman and Welfare Rights Centre • In-house training program for community agencies – identifying parallel processes • Video and postcards HPLC Legal Basics Training day in March 2013

  34. Caseworker resources

  35. LHC training video www.qpilch.org.au/lhc

  36. How does it work for lawyers? Lachlan Mitchell, HPLC Team Leader with Herbert Smith Freehills: “Most of our homeless clients have great difficulty identifying what their legal issues are. They typically associate a lawyer only with criminal or family law problems and are unaware of the assistance we can provide them with their other legal issues. The Legal Health Check has been an extremely useful tool in helping to identify those problems, such as housing issues and SPER fines, and helping to facilitate discussions with the client on the assistance that HPLC lawyers can provide. Often these issues are placing significant stress on the client and preventing them from obtaining secure long-term housing. It continues to amaze me how helping homeless people resolve some of these issues can really make a difference to their lives” Garlick S, ‘There’s no place like HPLC’ (July 2013) Proctor, Queensland Law Society, Brisbane

  37. More lawyer feedback… Cassie Aprile, HPLC Team Leader with Herbert Smith Freehills: “In my experience, the clients we see at the HPLCs are often very much in need of legal assistance but have significant difficulties articulating those needs. The Legal Health Check aims to remedy this by using a checklist of open-ended questions which highlight those areas in which we can assist. The client can then choose whether or not to instruct the lawyer in any of those areas. The Legal Health Check also serves as a useful tool for the lawyer. The lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills who volunteer their time at the HPLC clinics are accustomed to practicing in the commercial sphere and aren’t readily familiar with the legal issues faced by homeless clients. The Legal Health Check can therefore act as a ‘prompt’ for the lawyer and allow for an interview with clear direction and structure” Garlick S, ‘There’s no place like HPLC’ (July 2013) Proctor, Queensland Law Society, Brisbane

  38. Case study- Claire • Claire was seeking shelter at a crisis women’s hostel, where she met with the HPLC and completed the LHC • Through several follow-up appointments and on-going collaboration with Claire’s caseworkers, the HPLC: • provided substantive advice in relation to the guardianship, administration and restrictive practices arrangements of Claire's adult son, including assisting with submissions to  the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal; • negotiated an infringement notice waiver from a local council; and • facilitated manageable arrangements for Claire’s SPER fines • Claire is now residing in more secure accommodation, and was able to meet with her son for the first time in over 10 years

  39. LHC at Bric Housing – A snapshot of legal needs... • The HPLC assisted 12 new clients during the pilot at Bric Housing, indentifying and addressing the following legal needs:

  40. Lawyers on using the LHC at Bric… Lachlan Mitchell, HPLC Team Leader with Herbert Smith Freehills: “While often clients will attend the clinic with a legal issue in mind, the Legal Health Check is a great way to ensure that the client is aware of the full breadth of advice we can offer” Garlick S, ‘There’s no place like HPLC’ (July 2013) Proctor, Queensland Law Society, Brisbane (distributed)

  41. More applications of LHC • Other HPLC locations and events in Queensland • Flood advice (LAQ collaboration) • CLCs in NSW/Victoria/NT • Legal POD – legal support for young people transitioning from care • Other demographics of disadvantage (new Nundah Phone Legal Clinic)

  42. LegalPod postcard

  43. Limitations/challenges of LHC • Only where accessible referral options once LHC completed • What is client’s priority (legal and non-legal) and story: caseworker drives process • Under-resourced, stressed caseworkers with “another form”: embed in their existing processes (e.g. 139 Club) • Can’t “set and forget”: maintain training and dialogue with agency

  44. Contact us QPILCH: www.qpilch.org.au Ph: (07) 3846 6317 Fax: (07) 3846 6311 PO Box 3631, South Brisbane BC QLD 4101 HPLC Senior Lawyer: Sue Garlick Email: hplcresearch@qpilch.org.au The client stories and photos used in this presentation are real, and we thank HPLC staff, volunteers and clients for their willingness to have their photos published. The stories are in no way connected to the photos, and do not relate to any person depicted. Many of the images used in this presentation were created by Roma House residents who participated in the HPLC poster project in 2011.

  45. Questions?

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