Priority Setting - Website

PRIORITY SETTING/NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Iowa Legal Aid wants to know about the legal needs of low-income Iowans. By answering these questions, you are helping us decide what types of cases we should take for people. It also asks about other parts of our services. Thank you for answering these questions and sharing your unique view about the legal needs of low-income Iowans.

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* 1. Iowa Legal Aid has adopted priorities that are intended to help eligible clients protect their fundamental rights and basic necessities of life. The current priorities are listed below. Please rate how important each of these priorities are, with 1 meaning very important and 5 meaning not important.

	Very Important (1)				Not Important (5)
Providing advice and referral	Providing advice and referral Very Important (1)	Providing advice and referral	Providing advice and referral	Providing advice and referral	Providing advice and referral Not Important (5)
Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families	Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families Very Important (1)	Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families	Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families	Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families	Preserving safety and stability of individuals and families Not Important (5)
Preserving the home	Preserving the home Very Important (1)	Preserving the home	Preserving the home	Preserving the home	Preserving the home Not Important (5)
Maintaining or improving economic stability	Maintaining or improving economic stability Very Important (1)	Maintaining or improving economic stability	Maintaining or improving economic stability	Maintaining or improving economic stability	Maintaining or improving economic stability Not Important (5)
Obtaining necessary health care	Obtaining necessary health care Very Important (1)	Obtaining necessary health care	Obtaining necessary health care	Obtaining necessary health care	Obtaining necessary health care Not Important (5)
Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities	Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities Very Important (1)	Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities	Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities	Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities	Preserving fundamental rights and serving populations with special vulnerabilities Not Important (5)
Assisting in emergency situations	Assisting in emergency situations Very Important (1)	Assisting in emergency situations	Assisting in emergency situations	Assisting in emergency situations	Assisting in emergency situations Not Important (5)
Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys	Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys Very Important (1)	Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys	Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys	Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys	Providing legal education for clients and volunteer attorneys Not Important (5)
Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services	Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services Very Important (1)	Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services	Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services	Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services	Expanding partnerships and improving the delivery of legal services Not Important (5)

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* 2. Are there other areas that should be included in Iowa Legal Aid's priorities?

Yes

Please describe the additional priorities that you recommend:

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* 3. Iowa Legal Aid has limited funds and staff, and cannot meet all the civil legal needs of people who need a lawyer but cannot afford one. We use case acceptance criteria to help staff determine which specific legal problems we will handle.

Iowa Legal Aid could help low-income Iowans with the legal problems listed below. Please put an X in the boxes next to the 15 problems that you think are the most important for Iowa Legal Aid to handle for low-income clients.

Denial or termination of utilities

Garnishment of wages or bank accounts

Repossession of vehicles or other property

Unfair debt collection practices

Bankruptcy and debt counseling

Contract/warranty issues

Unfair sales or lending practices such as door-to-door sales, payday loans, and rent-to-own issues

Special education issues

School suspensions or expulsions

Employment issues or training programs that affect public benefit programs such as FIP, food assistance, etc.

Employment discrimination claims

Employment issues of farmworkers

Employment issues related to unjust discharge, the Family and Medical Leave Act, or wage and contract issues involving maintaining employment where union representation or other advocacy is not available

Obtaining unemployment compensation

Obtaining domestic violence protective orders

Immigrant self-petitions for domestic abuse survivors

Divorce, custody, alimony, paternity or visitation cases where the client has recently been abused or threatened with abuse

Divorce, custody, alimony, paternity or visitation cases where no abuse or threats have occurred

Visitation cases where visitation has been absolutely denied for an unreasonable period of time

Cases where a child has been seized, restrained, concealed or wrongfully transported away from home by the non-primary parent

Child support cases where the person is paying support when not actually owed or child is now in the person’s custody

Child support cases to raise or lower the amount of support

Reducing payments toward past child support for low-income people

Claims of parents challenging non-parent guardianships

Grandparent claims for visitation with grandchildren

Adoptions

Parental rights termination

Name change

Denial or reduction of Medicaid, Medicare, HAWK-I or other public-funded health benefits

Quality of care issues in hospitals, nursing home, care facilities and other long-term care facilities

Health insurance issues concerning the ability to purchase health insurance, the appropriate level of covered services or obtaining payment for services

Unlawful discharge from nursing homes

Advanced planning for Medicaid eligibility for nursing home care

Defense of housing evictions

Remedying housing conditions that affect health or safety

Illegal discrimination concerning the rental or purchase of housing

Obtaining return of rental security deposits

Home foreclosure defense

Purchase or sale of real estate or other real estate issues when the property is or will be the client’s homestead

Obtaining property tax credit, rent reimbursement or suspension of property taxes

Termination or denial of public benefits such as FIP, food assistance, general relief, Social Security disability and SSI

SSI and Social Security disability cases involving claims for benefits

Veterans benefits

Earned Income Tax Credit matters

State or federal tax problems

Issues related to natural disasters

Fundamental right of people with mental or physical disabilities and access to necessary services

Fundamental rights of farmworkers

Fundamental rights of people who are HIV+ or have AIDS, and access to necessary services

Protecting the interests of the ward in guardianship/conservatorship cases

Obtaining a guardianship/conservatorship for a minor or incapacitated person

Simple wills, powers of attorney and living wills

Termination or suspension of driver’s licenses

Wrongful placement on the abuse registry that would affect employment, child custody or other rights

Cases involving personal injuries

Probate and estate planning

Legal assistance to self-employed people and low-income small businesses

Expungement of criminal and juvenile records

Imposition or collection of "court debt" (i.e. fines and fees assessed in criminal, juvenile and civil cases)

Are there other legal problems with which Iowa Legal Aid should help clients? (please specify)

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* 4. What could Iowa Legal Aid do to improve the quality of services provided to clients?

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* 5. How well has Iowa Legal Aid served the particular groups of people listed below? For each group, please rate how well each group is currently being served, with 1 being the best level of service and 5 being the worst level of service

	Best level of service (1)				Worst level of service (5)	N/A
African Americans	African Americans Best level of service (1)	African Americans	African Americans	African Americans	African Americans Worst level of service (5)	African Americans N/A
Latinos/Latinas	Latinos/Latinas Best level of service (1)	Latinos/Latinas	Latinos/Latinas	Latinos/Latinas	Latinos/Latinas Worst level of service (5)	Latinos/Latinas N/A
Immigrants	Immigrants Best level of service (1)	Immigrants	Immigrants	Immigrants	Immigrants Worst level of service (5)	Immigrants N/A
Native Americans	Native Americans Best level of service (1)	Native Americans	Native Americans	Native Americans	Native Americans Worst level of service (5)	Native Americans N/A
Children	Children Best level of service (1)	Children	Children	Children	Children Worst level of service (5)	Children N/A
Farmers	Farmers Best level of service (1)	Farmers	Farmers	Farmers	Farmers Worst level of service (5)	Farmers N/A
People who live in rural areas	People who live in rural areas Best level of service (1)	People who live in rural areas	People who live in rural areas	People who live in rural areas	People who live in rural areas Worst level of service (5)	People who live in rural areas N/A
People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities Best level of service (1)	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities Worst level of service (5)	People who are living in institutions such as nursing homes and mental health facilities N/A
People receiving public assistance	People receiving public assistance Best level of service (1)	People receiving public assistance	People receiving public assistance	People receiving public assistance	People receiving public assistance Worst level of service (5)	People receiving public assistance N/A
People with disabilities	People with disabilities Best level of service (1)	People with disabilities	People with disabilities	People with disabilities	People with disabilities Worst level of service (5)	People with disabilities N/A
Senior citizens	Senior citizens Best level of service (1)	Senior citizens	Senior citizens	Senior citizens	Senior citizens Worst level of service (5)	Senior citizens N/A
Survivors of domestic violence	Survivors of domestic violence Best level of service (1)	Survivors of domestic violence	Survivors of domestic violence	Survivors of domestic violence	Survivors of domestic violence Worst level of service (5)	Survivors of domestic violence N/A
The "working poor"	The "working poor" Best level of service (1)	The "working poor"	The "working poor"	The "working poor"	The "working poor" Worst level of service (5)	The "working poor" N/A
LGBT+	LGBT+ Best level of service (1)	LGBT+	LGBT+	LGBT+	LGBT+ Worst level of service (5)	LGBT+ N/A
Farmworkers	Farmworkers Best level of service (1)	Farmworkers	Farmworkers	Farmworkers	Farmworkers Worst level of service (5)	Farmworkers N/A
Self-employed people	Self-employed people Best level of service (1)	Self-employed people	Self-employed people	Self-employed people	Self-employed people Worst level of service (5)	Self-employed people N/A

Other (please specify)

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* 6. Are there particular legal needs of a specific group that you believe are not being met?

Yes

If so, what are they? (Specify group and legal need)

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* 7. Iowa Legal Aid engages in community legal education to inform people about their legal rights and responsibilities. Another goal is to help people prevent problems or take care of them on their own. Which ways of providing legal education are most effective?

	Very effective	Somewhat effective	Not very effective
Development of pro se self help materials	Development of pro se self help materials Very effective	Development of pro se self help materials Somewhat effective	Development of pro se self help materials Not very effective
A meeting with an advocate who will not provide representation, but who will explain an individual’s rights or assist with pro se forms	A meeting with an advocate who will not provide representation, but who will explain an individual’s rights or assist with pro se forms Very effective	A meeting with an advocate who will not provide representation, but who will explain an individual’s rights or assist with pro se forms Somewhat effective	A meeting with an advocate who will not provide representation, but who will explain an individual’s rights or assist with pro se forms Not very effective
Workshops and presentations about legal rights	Workshops and presentations about legal rights Very effective	Workshops and presentations about legal rights Somewhat effective	Workshops and presentations about legal rights Not very effective
Information on our website for clients www.iowalegalaid.org	Information on our website for clients www.iowalegalaid.org Very effective	Information on our website for clients www.iowalegalaid.org Somewhat effective	Information on our website for clients www.iowalegalaid.org Not very effective
Information for volunteer attorneys and advocacy groups on our website www.iowalegalaid.org	Information for volunteer attorneys and advocacy groups on our website www.iowalegalaid.org Very effective	Information for volunteer attorneys and advocacy groups on our website www.iowalegalaid.org Somewhat effective	Information for volunteer attorneys and advocacy groups on our website www.iowalegalaid.org Not very effective
Booklets, pamphlets, flyers about legal rights	Booklets, pamphlets, flyers about legal rights Very effective	Booklets, pamphlets, flyers about legal rights Somewhat effective	Booklets, pamphlets, flyers about legal rights Not very effective
On-line videos or podcasts about various legal issues	On-line videos or podcasts about various legal issues Very effective	On-line videos or podcasts about various legal issues Somewhat effective	On-line videos or podcasts about various legal issues Not very effective
Articles in local newspapers	Articles in local newspapers Very effective	Articles in local newspapers Somewhat effective	Articles in local newspapers Not very effective
Television or radio shows	Television or radio shows Very effective	Television or radio shows Somewhat effective	Television or radio shows Not very effective
Telephone accessible recordings to explain various legal issues	Telephone accessible recordings to explain various legal issues Very effective	Telephone accessible recordings to explain various legal issues Somewhat effective	Telephone accessible recordings to explain various legal issues Not very effective

Other (please explain)

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* 8. Should Iowa Legal Aid do more to let low-income people know what Iowa Legal Aid does?

No, nothing more needs to be done.

Yes, Iowa Legal Aid should do more.

If yes, please explain.

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* 9. How many people in your household read articles on Iowa Legal Aid’s website?

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* 10. In general, is the information on Iowa Legal Aid’s website helpful to you?

Yes

Please explain.

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* 11. In general, the length of articles on Iowa Legal Aid’s website is:

Too short

About the right length

Too long

Comments:

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* 12. Are there specific topics we should write about and post on the website?

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* 13. Technology continues to have a greater impact on the law and access to legal information. Iowa Legal Aid may be able to enhance its capacity to deliver legal services by developing smart phone/mobile device applications or use of other internet tools such as a twitter feed to distribute helpful legal information to clients and volunteer attorneys. In regard to the ongoing development of our technological capacities, what are the most important areas on which Iowa Legal Aid should focus?

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* 14. Do you have any other suggestions for steps Iowa Legal Aid could take to improve its website or other suggestions for Iowa Legal Aid?

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* 15. Name (Optional)

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* 16. Your mailing address (city only):

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* 17. Do you live in an urban or rural community?

Urban

Rural

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* 18. Your age?

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* 19. Your race?

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* 20. Your gender?

Male

Female

Other

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* 21. Your primary language?

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* 22. Please check if you would like someone from Iowa Legal Aid to contact you to discuss this questionnaire or Iowa Legal Aid’s services.

Please contact me

Contact information:

THANK YOU! Your comments are very much appreciated.