Part I: Vision & Goals

1. Part I: Vision & Goals

2. Build a Foundation • There are many reasons to create a hotline. Some have to do with client access; some have to do with funding. • The number one reason hotlines fail is because the program and/or staff do not recognize the goal of having a hotline and its benefit for clients.

3. Vision The backbone of leadership is vision. Your vision for the Hotline guides all decisions on support, design, implementation, and management.

4. Vision • Vision means you articulate • How it will fit within your program’s mission • How it will fit within your program’s delivery system(s) • Advantages and disadvantages of a hotline in your program • Impetus for creating hotline now

5. Role of Hotline in the Program’s Mission The hotline needs to have clear reasons-for-being to be sustainable. • Mission: How is the Hotline going to support the mission of the program? What is the nexus between starting a Hotline and the mission of the work we do? • Delivery Systems: How is the Hotline going to fit into existing delivery systems, or change them.

6. Role of the Hotlinein the program & the delivery system Gateway to services Intake system Service provider Referral provider Identifier of patterns and trends Collector of data Coordinate Services (in multi-program environment)

7. Role of Hotline in Your State’s Justice System • How are pro se services perceived? • If few or no pro se services are available in your state or area, this may impact the ability of the hotline to provide services, or may dictate what kinds of services should be prioritized. Wherever limited services exist, you will notice that volume “overtaking” the hotline. Example: family law matters.

8. Role of Hotline in Your State’s Justice System • Ethical Rules and Support from the Bar • Unbundled Services • Use of paralegals • Ghostwriting Planners need to be familiar with their ethics rules regarding these issues and review them with hotline staff.

9. Myths and Facts • Every delivery system has pro’s and con’s. • Your vision and leadership will determine your ability to mitigate challenges and build an effective system • What are the perceptions of the Pro’s and Con’s?

10. Advantages for Hotline • One point of entry for client & Efficient • Quicker decisions for clients: Yes or No • Uniform intake standards -- higher quality of intake and advice • Cheaper: cost per case is lower after start-up • Common supervision and intake decisions • Frees up branch offices and full service staff • Bridges rural inequities • More clients served in more areas • More exposure to client community • Improves technology infrastructure for advocates • Identifies advocacy trends for full services

11. Perceptions of Disadvantages • Expensive to start • Loss of exposure to clients by advocates doing full-rep • Clients need representation not advice: a Hotline gives more people service, but not in-depth service. • Diversion of staff time and resources into limited service • Less control over case acceptance or less control over experienced issue-spotting

12. Pros Versus Cons? An exact polarity of the pros and cons of a hotline, in fact, does not exist. A hotline or CIU is neither all these pros or all these cons. These are the issues that you need to consider in the development of your hotline. Many options exist to mitigate most concerns. A successful hotline is the result of vision, the assessment and addressing of these issues, and leadership.

13. The Impetus for some Hotline • Funding Cuts • Influx of Specific / Targeted Funding • LSC-initiatives / Mergers • Geographic Inequities (Equitable Service to Rural Populations) • Larger Service Area • Speedier Decisions and Acceptance on Cases • Client Convenience • Improving Efficiency of Full Service Staff • Providing Advice in Expanded Areas • Increase Numbers Served

14. Exercise I: Mission and Goals • What are the reasons your hotline is being created? • What are the main barriers to buy-in on the mission and vision? What concerns exist or are expressed as “cons”? • Who is the leader of the effort?

15. Part II: Approaches for Developing a Hotline

16. Major Decisions • Define the Model • Define the Services • Determine the Staffing • Map Out Basic Operations • Articulate Goals for Clients, Staff, and Administration

17. Services of Hotlines • Intake Screening: income eligibility, conflict checks, and general case acceptance • Diagnosis of Legal Matter • Fact-Specific Advice to All Callers or only Case-Eligible Callers • Brief Service Centralization • Pro Se Assistance • Providing Written Client Information • Directing Clients to Online or Written Resources • Improved and Targeted Referrals to Agencies • “Traffic” reports or Systemic problem identification • “Developing” Cases for Pro Bono Panel (hotline tells client how to prep for meeting with lawyer)

18. Clients Served • People eligible by legal problem type • People eligible by age • People eligible by income • Special needs? • Emergency cases? • Seniors • Limited English Proficient • Some victims of domestic violence • Specific legal matters that require specific handling

19. Geographic Scope • Local area • Regional: Urban or Rural or Both? • Statewide

20. Relationship to Other Legal Services Providers • Does it Serve One Program? • One office • Many offices • Many Programs? Include this in your vision to facilitate making it a reality as you design and implement the hotline

21. Model of Hotline • Stand-alone • Within a legal services program • Within another kind of program (e.g., bar association) (An important issue in this decision is the use of LSC funds and how the hotline will comply with LSC restrictions.)

22. Stand-alone Hotline Title IIIB Legal Services Legal Aid Offices Consumer Agencies Standalone Advice, Brief Service, Referrals Social Services Long Term Care Ombudsman Low Fee Attorneys Pro Bono Attorneys Health Insurance Counseling

23. Hotline Intake Unit (Single Office) Clients Call In Intake/ Screening Advice Referral Brief Service Full Service Unit

24. Centralized Intake Unit (Multi-Office) Office Office Office HOTLINE Intake, Screening, Advice, Brief Services, Referral Office Office Office Office Office

25. Multi-Program Intake Title IIIB Legal Services Legal Aid Offices Family Law Programs Hotline Intake, Advice, Brief Service, Referrals LSC programs Special issue Programs Pro Bono Project Special Population Programs

26. Call Routing and Flow • Eligibility Screeners • Handling Special Callers (LEP, DV, Elderly, Emergencies) • Call Back or Limited Call Back Systems

27. Basic Operations • What are current hours of intake? • What are intended hours? Considerations? • Shifts

28. Staffing and Productivity Screener vs. Advocate Which staffing model is more productive?

29. Factors • Complexity of Necessary Screening • Range of priority subjects • Ratio of screeners to advocates • Call Back vs. Queue • Bilingual Services

30. Staffing • Good listening and interviewing skills • Knowledge of area of law in the most frequently asked questions • Understanding of hotline operations • Good computer typing skills (or fast two-finger approach) From: More Frequently Asked Questions about Hotline Operations, by Jan May, et al. MIE, July 1995, page 33.

31. Staffing the Hotline • Staff Attorneys and Paralegals • Easy Supervision and Scheduling • High Level of Expertise • Stable and accessible • Volunteers and Law Students • The Price Is Right • Difficult to Find • May Be Difficult to Supervise • Continuity May Be Erratic

32. Attorneys • Pros: • Attorneys are easy to train in the substantive areas of law. • Can be used in multiple ways (as supervisors) • Can expand the services of hotline easily to provide limited representation. • Easier quality control systems. • Cons: • Cost • Paradigm shift: Need to change their thinking. Skill is to instruct client on how to solve problem for themselves versus approaching the problem as if client will be represented.

33. Non-Attorneys • Non-Attorneys • Non-attorneys are conscientious about learning the areas of law, but training time is longer and extensions supervision is needed. Depth of knowledge is weak. Quality control methods are essential.

34. Volunteer Lawyers • Pros • They are free, specialized, motivated. • Can participate or help in materials or training. • Best used in their specific area of specialty only. • Good to use if phone system allows for off-site routing of calls (from their office). • Cons • They are busy and frequently do not show depending on their own case loads. This, in turn, affects their ability to retain training information. • A hotline is only partially about legal advice; a lot of record keeping. They are not good at keeping track of that. Need to take time to train and keep motivated.

35. Volunteer Law Students • Pros • Free. Their involvement helps establish a relationship with a local law school and future people in the profession. Potential screening for future staff. A program can consider creative approaches to retention” “commit for two semesters and we’ll pay for your summer internship.” Cheap and quality, and you can expand their involvement over time, to extended service. • Cons • They require training. Several programs won’t accept law students unless there is a commitment for at least two semesters, 1 - 2 shifts a week. Also, you’ll have to juggle finals and breaks.

36. Inherited v. New Hires • Inherited Staff • Extremely knowledgeable, cross-training needed in other areas, can use them in the training and material development, already versed in administrative requirements. • Morale, perceptions of work, may be viewed as a demotion, may be unwilling to change former practices.

37. Staffing Discussion Discuss advantages or disadvantages to each staffing option. For ex: Lawyers v. non-lawyers; generalists v. specialists; contract v. staff; part-time v. full-time? What factors did you consider to determine staff size of the hotline or CIU?  What mechanisms or systems need to be in place for certain staffing patterns to be successful?  If you use volunteers, how are they used and with what success?  If you rotate staff in from different offices, can they do it from their offices, do they come into the main office, and how are they supervised if remote? For programs that inherit a staffing pattern, what are your options?

38. Exercise 2: What is the Scope of Your Hotline? • Stand alone or Integrated • What services offered? • What geographic scope of services? • What clients served? • What is relationship of hotline to other programs, other offices, other units? • Hours of operation and intended shifts?

39. Part III: Funding For Your Hotline

40. Budget & Cost Determinations Create a start-up budget • Staffing • Technology • Development of Materials and Policies • Office space and equipment • Training On-going costs • Staffing • Refresher training • Volunteer recruitment and coordination • Technology • Maintenance • Upgrades

41. Direct Costs Salaries for all staff Attorneys, paralegals and/or intake specialists Fringe Include consultants Technical support Project managers Indirect costs (time allocated to implementation) % time for executive and management staff Researching existing, mature systems Collecting samples and drafting materials Recruiting Advertising Interviews and references Initial orientation and training Staffing Costs

42. All the Bells and Whistlestechnology expenses • Computers • Hardware and equipment • Software • Open source versus licensing costs • Telephones • Hardware • Software and VOIP • Consultants and RFPs

43. Written Materials Create your own from samples Mission and Core Values Parameters Policies and Procedures Case handling criteria Checklists and flowcharts Scripts Reference materials Client Legal Information, Brochures, Online Self Help Space & Equipment Office furniture-desks, chairs, cubicles v. offices (Issue of volume control) Office supplies/postage Fax, copier, scanner Calculate overhead Rent and utilities Laying Foundation

44. Cost Savings Tips and Resources Cheaper or Free Trainers. Experienced attorneys in-house for substantive law Online training presentations with experienced hotline managers Community partners Referrals and resources Non-substantive skills Working with special populations including seniors, mental health consumers, LEP, physically disabled Prepare for Next Training: Video your trainings for future use Staff Training Costs

45. Project Manager: $35,000 - 75,000 New Hardware & Software: $1000 per station Phone System: $RANGE Space: $0 - 15,000 CMS: $RANGE ($XX - $100,000) Training: $0 - $15,000 Phone Consultant: $0 - $20,000 Materials (Creation and Reproduction): $0 (in-kind) - $20,000 Staffing: $Depends Contract Staff: $15 - 35 / hour Outreach and Marketing (Telephone book ads, etc.) Sample Budget Ranges

46. AARP Foundation National Legal Training Project Web Trainings for Lawyers on Particular Topics Legal Aid University http://www.legalaiduniversity.org/ Web Trainings for Hotline Lawyers Bar-Sponsored Classes Staff Training Resources

47. Telephone Consulting and Systems: APALC spent $XX on phone systems and phone consulting NWJP spent $XX on phone systems and upgrades Bay Legal spent $XX on telephone technology Case Management Systems: Bay Legal spent $XX on CMS tweaks APALC spent about $25,000 on a customized, newly created CMS developed for their hotline Others: Start Up Management Bay Legal spent $XX on start up management Room and Basics Bay Legal spent $XX on the room Sample Budgets from Forerunners

48. Resource Development • Funding sources and strategies • Using data to support the proposal • Writing strong narratives on technology and new delivery systems

49. Sources Local, regional, state, federal Private foundations and corporations Developing new sources (tech- related, telecom) Strategies Formal, written development plan Designated staff Collaborations Sustainability Seek guidance from funded legal services programs Seed funding and apportioning contributions Psychology in resource development Funding sources & strategies

50. Grant Writing • Think creatively about how you use data • Establish quality by • Range of services provided • Expertise • Productivity in number of clients served and accomplishments • Client satisfaction • Use national data if you don’t have local data