Southern Arizona Legal Aid

SOUTHERN ARIZONA LEGAL AID, INC. 1998 LEGAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc. (SALA) is an organization dedicated to providing high quality advocacy services to low-income clients. SALA has stayed true to its mission even though the organization has changed throughout the years due to numerous influences -- decreased funding being only one of them.

"Legal Aid" was first provided in SALA's service area by the Legal Aid Society of the Pima County Bar Association. Spouses of local attorneys interviewed applicants for assistance and cases were handled by the attorneys on a volunteer basis. This program first received funding from OEO in 1968.

In 1974, following passage of the LSC Act, SALA first received LSC funding for Pima County only. The program expanded, in 1976, to cover Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties, into Graham and Greenlee Counties in 1978-79. The Four Rivers Indian Legal Services program and the Arizona Statewide Legal Services program were opened under SALA's administration in the late 1970's. With funding provided by the Interest On Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program, services were expanded into Navajo and Apache Counties.

At the present time, SALA's service area covers approximately 54,079 square miles including seven (7) counties and fifteen (13) of Arizona's twenty-one (21) Indian reservations. We serve three counties in southern Arizona (Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz) all of which share a common border with Mexico. We also cover the entire eastern portion of Arizona (Navajo, Apache, Graham and Greenlee Counties) with the exclusion of the Indian reservations within those counties. Additionally, we serve the Pascua Yaqui Tribe whose reservation is approximately 20 miles southwest of Tucson. On October 1, 1994, we began providing Basic Field services to the low-income residents of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation through our White Mountain Indian Legal Services' office in Whiteriver, AZ.

Four Rivers Indian Legal Services (Four Rivers), a Native American component of Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc., serves the residents of eight (8) Indian Reservations located in Maricopa, Pinal and Yuma Counties including those Native American persons who are part of the service population of those Reservations and reside near those Reservations in border communities. The service area is entirely rural except for those individuals who migrate between the Reservation and town for employment or other reasons.

In each Basic Field branch office, SALA has, through IOLTA funding and in collaboration with the local bar associations, established Volunteer Lawyer Programs (VLP). Through these programs, we provide representation to 300 to 400 additional clients by referring them to a pro bono attorney. More than 2,400 hours of service to eligible clients were provided in 1994. Over 800 private attorneys have agreed to accept for representation at least two clients per year. At the end of 1994, 350 attorneys were available to accept new cases in 1995.

Our total client service area includes 214,895 eligible clients. Approximately 111,880 of those clients reside in Pima County, 10,068 are within the FRILS service area and the remaining 92,947 are scattered throughout our seven-county, service area. The client composition in our basic field component is approximately 45% Anglo, 5% Black, 45% Hispanic and 5% Native American. The clients served by FRILS are Native Americans living on or near reservations in Maricopa and Pinal County who are affiliated with one of the four reservations served. The clients served on or near the Pascua Yaqui Reservation are almost exclusively Native Americans.

In 1993, SALA conducted a major priorities' needs assessment in each of its Basic Field offices. A number of systemic problems were identified. The Native American and Statewide components conducted separate needs assessments. The needs assessment included clients, other provider agencies, and members of the legal community. Statistical data provided in this report is based upon the 1990 U.S. Census Report and information provided by the Arizona Community Action Association, Inc. - "POVERTY IN ARIZONA, a shared responsibility."

Pima County
Pima County is an urban county of 9,189 square miles in south central Arizona with portions directly adjacent to the Mexican Border. Based upon 1990 Census data, its total population is 666,880 with 114,703 (17.2%) living at or below the poverty level, including 28,000 (17% of all Pima County households) families headed by a female, an increase of over 10,000 female-headed households from 1980. Nearly 25% of the children - over 38,000 - live in a single-parent family, more than 80% with their mother. In April 1990, 59,261 (8.9% - 46.4% increase over 1985) people received food stamps. At the same time, 7,782 (9.7% - 53.9% increase over 1985) families were enrolled in the AFDC program.

Incomes in Pima County are generally lower than the national average. Fifty-two percent of all Pima County households qualify as being "low income" with incomes at or below 80% of the County median ($28,650 for a family of 4). Part-time and temporary jobs, without benefits, paying minimum wages are common in its service-based economy. Many are subject to strong seasonal fluctuations. Unemployment rates vary by ethnic group. In 1990, ADES projected unemployment rates as follows: Black - 7.6%; Hispanic - 6.2%; Native American - 10.1%; White - 3.8%.

Unmet Needs
In Pima County, the following unmet needs were identified: Community Education to the low-income community which will allow its members to protect their own interests; establish an Intake System that will be open and accessible to the low-income community; assist community members in obtaining or maintaining a livable income, assist community members to live in a safe environment, safe from spousal abusers and gangs; assist elderly community members in protecting themselves from abuse by family members, caretakers or guardians, to guide and instruct community members through workshops, to assist community members keep families together; assist community members save their homes (homeowners, mobile homes or rentals), assist with utility problems, access for the disabled, habitability problems with private landlords, health care issues, equal access to education, due process and discrimination. The focus groups also recommended that SALA remain open and treat as a priority issues where there is the possibility of substantial harm to the client or the issue is of substantial significance to the client community.

Santa Cruz County
Based upon the 1990 Census, nearly 7,834 or 26.4% of the people in Santa Cruz County lived below the poverty level and, therefore, are eligible for legal services. This represented a significant increase of 110.7% since 1979 when only 18.1% of the County's population lived in poverty. About 90% of the eligible population is primarily Spanish speaking. Blacks experienced the highest poverty rate at 53%. Hispanics and those categorized as "Other" were represented at disproportionately higher rates among those in poverty than in the overall population.

Unmet Needs
The 1993 priority needs assessment indicated that several problems continue to plague Santa Cruz County's low-income community: the housing crisis, the substantial and deadly environmental degradation and its costs in lives and illnesses, the inadequacy of bilingual and special education, widespread employer disregard of wage and hour laws and working conditions, and the continued poor performance of the Child Protective Services office.

Graham & Greenlee Counties
According to the 1990 Census, more than 7,090 or 26.7% of the people in Graham County and more than 1,009 or 12.6 of the people in Greenlee County lived below the poverty level and, therefore, are eligible for legal services. This represented an increase in Graham County of 57.9% and in Greenlee County an increase of less than 1% since 1979. Greenlee County was the only county in Arizona to experience a drop in population between 1980 and 1990, decreasing by nearly 30%. In 1989, 14.5% of the total population in Graham County lived on reservations. The poverty rate for those 3,644 persons was 63.7%.

In Graham County, the poverty rate among all families with children under 18 years of age was 29.4%. The rate for families, with children, headed by males was 31.6% while those headed by females was 60%. More than 64% of all female-headed families containing children under five (5) years of age lived below the poverty line in 1989.

In Greenlee County, the poverty rate among all families with children under 18 years of age was 11.3%. The rate for families, with children, headed by males was 16.7% while those headed by females was 48.8%. More than 70% of all female-headed families containing children under five (5) years of age lived below the poverty line in 1989.

In April 1990, for Graham County, 4,639 people or 17.5% of the population received food stamps. At the same time, 573 (9.2%) families were enrolled in the AFDC program. (a 34.2% increase over 1985). In Greenlee County, 876 people (a decrease of 40.4%) or 10.9% of the population received food stamps. During that same time period, 114 (5.3%) families were enrolled in the AFDC program (a 35.7% increase over 1985).

Unmet Needs
The 1993 priority needs assessment indicated that several problems need to be addressed. They are domestic violence, Orders of Protections, landlord/tenant disputes, unemployment insurance matters, Social Security Disability appeals, and divorces and post-decree actions involving custody challenges.

Navajo and Apache Counties
Based upon the 1990 Census, in Navajo County, more than 26,947 or 34.7% of the people lived below the poverty level and, in Apache County 29,009 or 47.1% lived below the poverty level, and therefore, are eligible for legal services. In Navajo County, this represented an increase of 32.5% since 1979 and in Apache County, an increase of 38.5% since 1979. In 1990, 49% (37,394) of all people in Navajo County lived on reservation lands. These included 8,905 persons who lived on the Fort Apache Reservation -- 52.8% below the poverty level, 6,091 on the Hopi Reservation -- 46% below poverty, and 22,398 on the Navajo Reservation -- 55% below poverty. The poverty rate for the non-reservation population was 17.1%.

Apache County's poverty rate was the highest among Arizona's fifteen (15) counties. More than 27,000 or 56.2% of the people on reservation land lived below the poverty level in 1989 while 1,599 (12.6%) of the non-reservation population lived in poverty. (In Apache County, 65% of the land mass and more than 79% of its population lies within the Fort Apache and Navajo Reservations.)

The poverty rate among all families with children under 18 years of age was 28.2%. The rate for families, with children, headed by males was 39.9% while those headed by females was 45.8%. More than 46% of all female-headed families containing children under five (5) years of age lived below the poverty line in 1989.

In April 1990, for Navajo County, 14,589 people or 18.8% of the population received food stamps. At the same time, 1,593 (8.8%) families were enrolled in the AFDC program. (a 21% increase over 1985). In Apache County, 19,096 people or 31% of the population received food stamps. At the same time, 2,347 (17.7%) families were enrolled in the AFDC program (a 29.1% increase over 1985).

Unmet Needs
The 1993 priority needs assessment indicated that some of the more significant problems facing the low-income community in Navajo and Apache Counties were in the area of family matter (divorce and custody), health care (AHCCCS/ALTCS, Medicare & "Medicare" HMOs), public benefits (including SSI, Unemployment law, General Assistance, Food Stamps, and AFDC) housing (foreclosures, private landlord/tenant and subsidized), education and consumer issues.