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Who Is Eligible?
Deciding who Prairie State Legal Services can help is based on the
relationship of a number of factors:
- Whether Prairie State has a
conflict of interest
- The income, assets and
household size of the applicant
- The age of the applicant. (There are funds for special programs
for those over 60)
- The
type of
case. Because of limited resources, Prairie State has
developed a
case priority system to help ensure that the most urgent and
critical needs are addressed. Prairie State Legal Services
cannot handle criminal cases
- If the case type fits a special project for which there is a
special grant or funding with different rules for eligibility (For
example in some offices, domestic violence or HIV related cases)
- Residency of the applicant. Does the potential client live within
the service area of Prairie State
Legal Services
- Government restrictions
on the kinds of legal services provided by federally funded legal aid
programs.
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More About Prairie State Legal Services
Eligibility
Types of Cases
Priorities
Office Locations
Grievance Procedure
History
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The chart below shows annual income at various levels of the federal
poverty rate. The rules about what is or is not considered income, and how
certain assets are handled are complicated. Potential clients are advised to
speak with a Prairie State Legal Services Telephone Counselor to determine
eligibility.
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Maximum Income Schedules as of May
2006 |
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Family Size |
100% of Poverty (Annual) |
125% of poverty (Annual) |
200% of poverty (Annual) |
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1 |
$ 9,800 |
$ 12,250 |
$ 19,600 |
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2 |
$ 13,200 |
$ 16,500 |
$ 26,400 |
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3 |
$ 16,600 |
$ 20,750 |
$ 33,200 |
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4 |
$ 20,000 |
$ 25,000 |
$ 40,000 |
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5 |
$ 23,400 |
$ 29,250 |
$ 46,800 |
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6 |
$ 26,800 |
$ 33,500 |
$ 53,600 |
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7 |
$ 30,200 |
$ 37,750 |
$ 60,400 |
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8 |
$ 33,600 |
$ 42,000 |
$ 67,200 |
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Additional person |
add $3,400/year |
add $4,250/year |
add $6,800/year |
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Illinois Counties served by Prairie State Legal Services (Click
here for map to find office)
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Boone |
Iroquois |
Livingston |
Rock Island |
| Bureau |
JoDaviess |
McHenry |
Stark |
| Carroll |
Kane |
McLean |
Stephenson |
| DeKalb |
Kankakee |
Marshall |
Tazewell |
| DuPage |
Kendall |
McDonough |
Warren |
| Fulton |
Knox |
Mercer |
Whiteside |
| Grundy |
Lake |
Ogle |
Will |
| Henderson |
LaSalle |
Peoria |
Winnebago |
| Henry |
Lee |
Putnam |
Woodford |
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Prairie State seeks to make its services accessible to as many residents
as possible. This access may be limited to legal advice because we do not
have enough staff to handle all of the requests for services.
Generally, Prairie State staff seek to be available for those legal
matters that impact a household’s ability to meet it’s basic human needs for
protection from violence and abuse, access to medical assistance,
subsistence income, or access to decent affordable housing.
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Some of the cases commonly accepted
for more extensive legal representation include:
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Domestic Violence Orders of Protection
(when legal representation is needed)
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Denials/terminations of Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) benefits
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Financial exploitation or abuse of the
elderly or persons with disabilities
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Problems associated with nursing home care
or paying for nursing home care
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Denials of special education services
required for children with disabilities
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Denials or evictions from public or
subsidized housing
Denials or terminations of
government assistance (welfare benefits, food stamps, home health
care, veterans’ benefits, Medicaid)
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Terminations of housing subsidies such as
Section 8 certificates or vouchers
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Illegal lock-outs and wrongful evictions
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Utility shut-offs
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Custody/visitation matters where there is
evidence that a child is in danger
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Representation of victims of domestic
violence to obtain a divorce
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Denials of admission to public schools
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Denials of or evictions from housing in
violation of Fair Housing Laws (because of race, age, disability, or
family status)
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Improper garnishment of exempt income or
assets (governmental assistance, etc.)
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Attorneys from the community volunteer to accept some types of cases such
as divorces, bankruptcies, guardianships, or other matters. Such services
vary in each community. In some communities, volunteer attorneys may assist
with preparation of wills and handle real estate issues.
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The need for legal services is significant and the resources
of Prairie State are limited. Prairie State offers legal advice on a range of
civil legal matters, but more extensive legal representation is targeted to the
priorities identified below.
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To protect eligible
persons from serious risk to health or safety in those situations where
a legal solution can remedy the issue
(Examples: The threatened
termination of essential medical care including nursing home care, a threatened
termination of essential utility services, and urgent family violence cases.)
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To ensure that eligible
persons are able to meet their basic human needs
(Examples: The denial of food stamps, TANF, or Medicaid benefits, evictions, or
denials of public housing, family abuse, illegal lock-outs, denials/terminations
of utility services, and divorces for battered women.)
All offices will seek to address issues in
priorities 1 and 2 unless there are other legal resources to provide such help.
As resources permit, problems within the remaining priorities may be addressed.
Priorities 3 - 7 are not ranked. In other words, matters falling in priority 3
will not necessarily be handled before matters in priority 4 are handled.
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To enable eligible persons
to preserve or obtain income, assets, or benefits needed to improve
their ability to meet their basic human needs or to better care for
members of their household
(Examples: Collection actions which threaten exempt income or assets, home
foreclosures, child support problems, and some bankruptcies.)
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To provide children with
resources that will facilitate their healthy development
(Examples: Denials of special education services to children with disabilities,
denial of admission to school, and guardianships for children who have been
abandoned or neglected.)
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To protect the legal
rights of parents with regard to their children
(Examples: Denial of visitation rights, termination of parental rights in
non-juvenile court matters, and divorces.)
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To enhance persons’ efforts
and opportunities to be self-sufficient and/or to maximize personal
autonomy of persons with disabilities
(Examples: Defense of guardianship actions, denial of vocational benefits, and
health care planning including power of attorney for health care.)
- To ensure low income residents have access to our system of
justice (Examples: Legal advice on a range of issues, and uncontested
divorces.)
Prairie State addresses this priority primarily
through the Telephone Counseling Service, which offers eligible callers legal
advice regarding their problems, or through referrals to volunteer attorneys.
How These Priorities Were Decided:
These priorities were developed after an extensive priorities study
(1999) involving input from clients, attorneys, judges, and human service
agencies throughout the service area. After review of the data from the
surveys and input from the staff, Prairie States case priorities were
adopted by the Board of Directors.
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Congress has restricted the kinds of legal services provided by
federally-funded legal aid programs including the following:
- Legal services cannot be provided in criminal cases
- There are significant federal restrictions on legal services to
non-citizens. These are explained in detail on the following page.
- Prisoners, including persons in county jails, are not eligible for
assistance beyond legal advice, even if they are in jail awaiting trial.
- Legal services organizations cannot handle cases involving military
discharge, abortion rights, political redistricting and certain
fee-generating cases. Federally-funded legal services programs also
cannot file class actions or engage in legislative advocacy.
- Prairie State cannot provide legal representation to community
agencies unless their boards are comprised primarily of low income
persons who are eligible for Prairie State’s services and they cannot
afford legal representation. Such groups include, among others, public
housing tenant organizations or neighborhood-based organizations.
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You have the right to fill out an application for our legal services.
If you feel you are unfairly denied legal services by Prairie State, you
have the right to file a grievance.
A copy of Prairie State's grievance procedure will be sent to you if
you are denied representation or if you receive advice from a telephone
counselor attorney. If you are given an appointment at the local Prairie
State office, you will receive a copy of the grievance brochure at the
time of your appointment.
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