Oregon Legal Research Blog
“Legal Aid funding cuts hit Marion and Polk Counties,” at the Law for Real People blog, posted 09/06/2011
Excerpt: “…We need to recognize legal aid as a kind of community public health resource, like a free vaccination clinic — because when we ignore the legal needs of the poor, they don’t just magically disappear, they get worse and become far more difficult and expensive to deal with. When society doesn’t fund vaccines for the poor, it’s not just the poor who suffer. Same with civil law. Sure we can shave a few bucks off the legal aid budget every year after year after year — but then we wonder why we, to take just one example, have to spend so much more to try to educate kids who change schools five and six times in two years (because the parent’s inability to defend themselves against an abusive debt collector caused wage garnishment and loss of housing, leading to a vicious downward spiral of unemployment and underemployment, which causes housing and food insecurity, which raises the likelihood of student failure, dropping out, and other social maladaptations)….“ (Link to full post.)