OAKLAND – On Friday, December 1st, 2017, the Legal Aid Association
of California (LAAC) recognized Senator Skinner for her leadership in this year’s state budget process to secure legal aid funding for low-income Californians. In an effort to honor Skinner’s commitment to creating access to justice, LAAC Board and staff presented her with the Champion of Justice Award at the Oakland office of Disability Rights California.
Senator Skinner was instrumental in championing LAAC’s effort to increase funding to the Equal Access Fund (EAF), increasing the total amount of state general fund support to $20 million in both 2018 and 2019. This increase comes at a critical time for low-income Californians, as federal attacks on legal aid funding threaten to weaken the legal aid safety net across the country.
For more information on LAAC’s work, or how to find out more about the event/award, please contact Harmony King through our website at www.laaconline.org.
About Legal Aid Association of California
Founded in 1983, the Legal Aid Association of California (“LAAC”) is a nonprofit organization created to ensure the effective delivery of legal services to low-income and underserved people and families throughout California. LAAC is the statewide membership organization of 91 nonprofit legal services organizations in the state. Our members provide high-quality legal services to our state’s most vulnerable populations.
These services to low-income and other underrepresented individuals form an essential safety net in California and often ensure that the programs’ clients have access to life’s basic necessities, such as food, safe and affordable housing, freedom from violence, health care, employment, economic self-sufficiency, and equal access to justice through the legal system.