LAO Update: Fall 2017 edition
The second quarterly report, covering July to September 2017, provides an update on Legal Aid Ontario's latest access to justice initiatives
Message from the CEO
Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO) second quarter was a busy one with a particular focus on our work with vulnerable communities.
In September, we released our three-year action plan for domestic violence clients. This comes after months of consultations that led us to a stronger understanding of how survivors are the experts in their own experience and have an important role to play in the development of solutions.
I strongly encourage you to read our blueprint for domestic violence as we move forward with projects aimed at enhancing services.
You may also have heard that the Clinic Committee of LAO’s Board of Directors, through its Dispute Resolution Process, has decided to withdraw funding from the African Canadian Legal Clinic. In the interest of transparency, we have posted the Clinic Committee decisions and supporting material on our website.
At LAO, we’re deeply committed to ensuring that the Black community is well-served—and this is why we’re working directly with members of the community to support the creation of a new, independent, Black-focused and Black-led clinic that will be up and running within a year. In the meantime, in addition to the legal services that we already provide, we have a number of services available for members of the Black community.
We are also working with an advisory committee that plans to conduct consultation sessions across the province to hear directly from the Black community on how a future clinic can best meet the group’s legal needs.
We hosted a community meeting in September to hear from members of the Black community to ensure the best legal aid services are provided. As we move forward in the coming months, we will be sure to keep all of our stakeholders updated on how we will continue to serve this community.
On the financial front, we are very pleased with the Federal Government’s decision to provide LAO with an additional $7 million to ensure that refugee services continue uninterrupted this year.
In addition, the two increases in the Bank of Canada rate will significantly increase the revenue that LAO receives from the Law Foundation of Ontario. This will result in LAO having a balanced budget at the end of the fiscal year.
Best,
David
David Field
President & CEO
Legal Aid Ontario
Spotlight: Racialized Communities Strategy consultation underway
LAO began holding a series of in-person and online sessions in October and will be making its way across the province from now until December to talk with racialized communities about the legal services they need.
Projects and announcements from the last quarter
LAO launches pilot to expedite applications from Toronto South Detention Centre
Why did Legal Aid Ontario withdraw its funding from the African Canadian Legal Clinic?
Legal Aid Ontario hosts community meeting about legal services for Ontario's Black communities
Statement from Legal Aid Ontario President & CEO David Field about the African Canadian Legal Clinic
Legal Aid Ontario advisory committee on legal services to the Black community
LAO statement regarding the Dispute Resolution Process with African Canadian Legal Clinic
LAO releases racialized communities strategy ahead of consultations
Selected media
Legal Aid Ontario lends support to black youth facing suspension from school
CBC News – June 27, 2017
Legal Aid Ontario, the non-profit group of lawyers that specializes in representing low-income clients, is providing a major financial boost to a program designed to help black students who are in conflict with the education system.Legal Aid Ontario considering suspension of immigration, refugee services
Amanda Jerome, The Lawyers Daily – July 10, 2017
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) officials are meeting with the federal government in a bid to boost funding for immigration and refugee services, which are in danger of being suspended.Jacques Gallant, Toronto Star – August 16, 2017
Legal Aid Ontario is defunding the African Canadian Legal Clinic. The decision affecting the legal aid clinic, which has served Toronto's Black community for over 20 years, was announced Wednesday afternoon by the five-member clinic committee of LAO's board of directors.
Blog
The high cost of calling home from jail
– September 2017
Client services
Intake, triage and support services
LAO offers intake, triage and support services to people applying for legal aid, existing legal aid clients and lawyers who provide legal services on behalf of legal aid.
Call Centre – Tier 1
Agents in Tier 1 of LAO’s call centre can help assess service needs and provide information about qualifying for legal aid. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to: triage, making referrals, performing status checks and updating client profiles.
Call Centre – Tier 2
Tier 2 agents conduct an in-depth analysis of a client’s legal needs, financial situation and case details to determine eligibility for legal aid services. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to: processing applications, issuing certificates, making referrals, and providing enhanced public legal information.
Call Centre – In-custody
LAO also offers a service dedicated to helping people who are incarcerated across the province. Staff take calls directly from inmates to determine legal aid eligibility, process applications and issue certificates as well as conduct status checks on submitted applications.
Call Centre – Lawyers
Lawyers who do legal aid work can contact the call centre for information, including but not limited to: tariff, billing, account status and technical support. This group serves as a first point of contact for most lawyers’ enquiries.
Court-based staff
Legal aid workers do their jobs alongside duty counsel and staff lawyers in courthouses and legal aid offices. They can help clients with in-person certificate applications, contacting sureties and adjourning matters in first appearance court.
| Persons assisted for intake, triage and support | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
| Phone: Tier 1 | 59,673 | 72,204 | 74,088 | 74,118 | 68,891 | 78,089 | 75,588 | 69,813 |
| Phone: Tier 2 | 22,113 | 27,428 | 28,906 | 29,324 | 26,108 | 30,167 | 26,587 | 26,336 |
| Phone: In-custody clients | 8,381 | 8,244 | 7,180 | 8,236 | 7,419 | 8,992 | 8,773 | 8,919 |
| Phone: Lawyer Service Centre | 11,226 | 12,679 | 11,175 | 11,000 | 10,306 | 11,928 | 11,132 | 11,403 |
| In-person: Court-based staff | 27,834 | 28,619 | 31,145 | 31,169 | 25,555 | 27,304 | 20,907 | 18,373 |
Duty counsel services
Duty counsel are LAO staff and per diem lawyers in courthouses. They can give immediate legal assistance to low-income people who would otherwise be unrepresented and unassisted.
Criminal law services
| Persons assisted by duty counsel - criminal law | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
| Per Diem DC | 34,277 | 36,618 | 30,744 | 37,383 | 32,748 | 35,215 | 30,116 | 39,126 |
| Staff DC | 68,874 | 78,968 | 69,831 | 78,976 | 72,275 | 99,422 | 93,836 | 84,437 |
| Total | 103,151 | 115,586 | 100,575 | 116,359 | 105,023 | 134,637 | 123,952 | 123,563 |
Family law services
| Persons assisted by duty counsel - family law | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
| Per Diem DC | 21,924 | 22,669 | 20,284 | 18,864 | 17,711 | 20,527 | 15,118 | 19,148 |
| Staff DC | 14,684 | 17,674 | 13,416 | 16,248 | 17,858 | 19,068 | 15,096 | 14,684 |
| Total | 36,608 | 40,343 | 33,700 | 35,112 | 35,569 | 39,595 | 30,214 | 33,832 |
Representation by a private practice lawyer
Legal aid applicants who are financially eligible, and who are facing a serious legal matter covered by LAO, may be issued a certificate to cover the cost of a private practice lawyer.
A certificate is a voucher that a low-income person can take to one of more than 3,600 private practice lawyers across the province who accept legal aid clients. A certificate guarantees the lawyer payment for a certain number of hours if they accept the case.
| Certificates issued by area of law | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | |
| Criminal Law | 15,706 | 17,098 | 16,982 | 16,415 | 15,065 | 15,386 | 14,520 | 14,492 |
| Family Law | 7,269 | 8,274 | 8,483 | 7,535 | 6,841 | 7,452 | 7,200 | 7,028 |
| Immigration and Refugee Law | 2,424 | 2,869 | 2,753 | 3,178 | 3,276 | 3,451 | 3,259 | 3,306 |
| Other[1] | 1,240 | 1,344 | 1,369 | 1,372 | 1,235 | 1,316 | 1,314 | 1,365 |
| Total Certificates Issued | 26,639 | 29,585 | 29,587 | 28,500 | 26,417 | 27,605 | 26,293 | 26,191 |
[1] Other is a category that represents all other legal matters covered by LAO certificates, such as: CCB matters, prison law matters and matters before civil tribunal.
Performance measures
| Key Performance Indicator (KPI) name | Measurement frequency | Last measured | Target | Previous year (2016/17) | Current value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of same day decisions for certificates | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 75.6% | 80.0% |
| % of area office appeals heard within 3 days | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 51.6% | 47.5% |
| Acceptance rate for certificate applications | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 87% | 87.7% | 82.6% |
| % of calls answered within 3 minutes (L1) | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 83.0% | 52.0% |
| % of calls answered within 3 minutes (LSC) | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 69.0% | 74.0% |
| % of calls answered within 3 minutes (Worklist) | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 88.0% | 62.0% |
| % of calls answered within 20 minutes (L2) | Quarterly | Q1 2017/18 | 80% | 79.0% | 64.0% |
| Overall client satisfaction - % of positive responses (in-person) | Annual | Q3 2016/17 | 80% | 93.0% | 93.0% |
| Number of Ontarians financially eligible for LAO's services | Annual | Q1 2017/18 | Maintain | 1,540,000 | 1,540,000 |
| Overall lawyer satisfaction - % of positive responses | Annual | Q3 2016/17 | 60% | 56.0% | 56.0% |
Statement of operations
| Revenue | Apr. 1, 2016 - Sept. 30, 2016 ($M) | Apr. 1, 2017 - Sept. 30, 2017 ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Government Funding | $202.8M | $207.3M |
| Law Foundation | $12.1M | $21.0M |
| Other Revenue | $6.4M | $6.9M |
| Total revenue | $221.3M | $235.1M |
| Core Business Expenses | ||
| Certificate Costs | $112.2M | $115.9M |
| Client Service Offices | $11.4M | $10.4M |
| Clinic Program | $46.4M | $45.2M |
| Duty Counsel Program | $28.3M | $27.0M |
| Service Innovation | $1.0M | $1.1M |
| Total Core Business Expenses | $199.3M | $199.4M |
| Operating Expenses | ||
| Service Provider Support | $3.4M | $3.1M |
| Administrative Expenses | $19.6M | $17.0M |
| Other Expenditures | $4.0M | $3.8M |
| Program Support | $14.8M | $13.0M |
| Total Operating Expenses | $41.8M | $37.0M |
| Total expenditures | $241.1M | $236.4M |
| Surplus / (deficit) before other corporate expenditures / savings | ($19.8M) | ($1.3M) |
Totals may not add due to rounding