SCAO launches new grant program for legal self-help centers throughout Michigan

The State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) has launched a new grant program to award and disburse $500,000 appropriated by the state legislature in Fiscal Year 2023 to expand legal self-help center services across the state. The Justice for All Commission (JFAC) advocated for resources to expand legal assistance and self-help services throughout Michigan as part of its effort to achieve 100 percent access to justice.

“These funds will help the Commission meet our goal of ensuring that everyone in Michigan is able to access legal services when needed,” said Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian K. Zahra who serves as JFAC chair.

The application period for the Legal Self-Help Centers Grant Program ends March 31. Nonprofit and governmental organizations seeking to expand existing self-help centers and establish new centers in Michigan are eligible to apply. The maximum award amount is up to $100,000 for grant proposals establishing a new self-help center and up to $75,000 for proposals to expand services of existing centers.

The grant program will continue to award funds each year that funds are available. The JFAC is hoping to secure an increase in this amount in future years after more data on the usage and utility of self-help centers is available.

Legal self-help centers provide services to people who are seeking to solve legal problems through providing legal information, forms, resources, guidance, and referrals. These services and tools help educate and empower self-help center visitors to more effectively advocate for themselves within the legal system. The first legal self-help center in Michigan was established in 2002, and 26 centers have been established since then.

In addition to the grant program, the JFAC is working with Michigan Legal Help (MLH) to develop another important resource for legal self-help centers that is expected to launch in March: the Remote Navigator Pilot Program.

Under this pilot program, MLH will employ, train, and supervise several remote navigators who will provide one-on-one assistance—not legal advice—to legal self-help center visitors around the state using Zoom. This new service is critical because in-person navigators are not currently available at all centers.

“Through these remote navigators, we will level the playing field for litigants across the state by bringing staffing to self-help centers that are not currently able to provide in-person assistance to visitors,” said JFAC Vice Chair and MLH Executive Director Angela Tripp.

This pilot project was adapted from an October 2021 assessment by the JFAC Self-Help Center Work Group, and addresses a need expressed in the 2020 Justice for All Task Force Strategic Plan and Inventory Report.

The JFAC was created by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2021.