Legal services providers are frequently presented with the challenge of communicating complicated and evolving legal advice to large numbers of constituents. The Clean Slate Screening Project (CSSP), developed by Philadelphia-based Community Legal Services (CLS) in partnership with the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), was conceived as a solution to that predicament when in 2018, the state…
As one of our most loyal supporters, we have been thinking of you. You kept Community Legal Services going through this pandemic. Thank you for remembering us. Thank you for being there for us and our clients. We so appreciate all that you have done to fight for justice.
On December 2, 2021, Michael Froehlich, Managing Attorney of the Homeownership and Consumer Rights Unit, provided the following brief testimony before City Council in support of Councilmember Gilmore Richardson’s bill to require funeral homes to share information about probating estates and avoiding tangled titles. The bill passed unanimously out of Council. Good morning. My name…
During the pandemic, ID.me, a company providing digital identity credentials that promised to screen out fraudulent claims but “leave no identity behind,” emerged as a potential savior against rampant unemployment benefit fraud. Since then, ID.me’s influence has increased, as numerous federal departments and scores of states have signed on for its services, including in the…
Today, October 14, City Council unanimously passed the 2021-2022 Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Program Statement and Budget to provide significant new funding for affordable housing, first time home buyers, home repair programs, small businesses, rental assistance, eviction prevention, and tangled title representation. Community Legal Services strongly supports this new funding. Michael Froehlich, Managing Attorney of CLS’s Homeownership and Consumer…
More than 500,000 people are getting determinations disqualifying them from their PUA benefits because “you did not verify your identity as directed to secure benefits.” You might get this disqualification even if you already received PUA benefits, and an overpayment will be assessed against you! Take action to protect your benefits! How do I…
To get either UC or PUA benefits, you are required to prove your identity. Usually, you will be given a link to ID.me. You should use ID.me if you can. It is automatic and, for many people, quick. For those having trouble with ID.me, the State has created a new alternative: you can get help…
In August 2021, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Center for Advocacy for the Rights & Interests of the Elderly (CARIE), and a coalition of advocates for the rights of nursing home residents released Separate and Unconscionable: A Report on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pennsylvania’s Nursing Homes with Recommendations for Immediate Action. The report…
This report was written by Youth Justice Project inaugural Youth Action Board members, Deja Morgan, Alexi Chacon, and Madison Nardy. When the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, young people across the country became unemployed, had to adjust to a virtual learning environment, experienced loss, housing insecurity, and more with no clear…
Parents Describe TANF’s Strengths and Needed Changes in New Report on 25th Anniversary of “Welfare Reform” A new report on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), featuring the voices of parents receiving cash assistance, finds that TANF is crucial for supporting the lowest income families in Pennsylvania, but needs a grant increase and other…
