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Clinic transformation

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Community legal clinics are non-profit legal centres. They are governed by an independent board of directors who are representative of the community they serve.

Clinics employ lawyers, legal workers, paralegals and other staff to provide information, legal advice and representation. Clinics deliver services within a specific geographic area or community, and work at a grass-roots level to help people in their area

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Thanks to additional funding, community legal clinics take on transformation

Last modified: April 29, 2014

by Jayne Mallin

Clinic transformation ideas have been in the works ever since the provincial government announced in 2013 they were providing $30 million in additional funding to Legal Aid Ontario. Many of these great ideas are about to become a reality.

LAO put out a call for proposals to clinics and other community organizations.  In response, LAO received proposals requesting approximately $27 million dollars.  Many of these proposals were great ideas and fit squarely within the funding criteria, touching on key priority areas such as Aboriginal justice, mental health, and family law. 

Great ideas outside the scope of poverty law services will be funded out of one of LAO’s other budgets.

So what is LAO excited to be funding?   

GTA Transformation Project:  This project started with a bold idea which led to a report with evidence showing that, with shifting demographics and changing needs amongst the most vulnerable members of their communities, clinic law services might look very different if the services were being designed today.  Further funding was provided to see whether the evidence supported change in the rest of the GTA.  The evidence gathering stage has been completed and LAO can expect models for service delivery in the GTA in the coming months.  LAO is pleased to announce that transformation funding will be provided in continued support of this project.

Specialty Clinic Co-location Project:  There are 13 specialty law clinics providing specialized services in areas such as disability, HIV/AIDS, housing, income maintenance and injured workers & workplace safety.  Despite the widely disparate areas of law they cover, these clinics are exploring the possibility of co-locating to find administrative efficiencies that can then be directed back into client services.  This project hopes to find savings through real estate but also through collaboration and cooperation that could result in the sharing of administrative functions and litigation expertise.  LAO is pleased to announce that transformation funding will be provided in continued support of this project.

South-West Region:  Clinics in this region have applied for funding to explore the creation of a shared administrative services office; to conduct a region wide needs assessment; and to explore a service delivery model that will effectively triage clients using a legal health checklist and mobile technology in partnership with other community agencies. LAO is pleased to announce that transformation funding will be provided to support all of these initiatives as well as to provide project coordination for the region.

Northern Region:  The north arguably presents the most unique challenges in Ontario for the delivery of services to isolated, impoverished clients without adequate transportation and communication in mostly French-speaking and Aboriginal communities. Clinics in the north have applied for funding to conduct a feasibility study and needs assessment to determine how they might work together under these unique challenges, exploring ways to free up resources that can be redirected to client services that will enhance access to legal services for their clients.   LAO is pleased to fund this exploratory project in conjunction with another project that has cross-regional implications for the delivery of rural and remote service delivery. 

Central and Eastern Regions: The eastern region has been a leader in exploring collaborative approaches to service delivery exploring ways in which to connect their communities through Law Foundation of Ontario grants.  The clinics in this region are looking to conduct a feasibility study and needs assessment which will allow them to look at creating administrative efficiencies by unlocking resources to allow them to continue exploring direct service delivery models that will enhance the client experience in their regions.  LAO is pleased to announce the funding of this transformative exploratory project.  They are also involved in the Rural and Remote Service Delivery Project which is taking place in the northern region.

Strengthening capacity funds have been approved for various projects which look at systemic law reform; developing holistic service delivery models through locating in multi-service hubs and the use of social workers; expanding service to vulnerable populations not adequately served; use of technology; and multi-partner service delivery models focused on vulnerable populations. 

Stay tuned for a link on this page to all approved projects.

Jayne Mallin is LAO’s Senior Counsel, Clinic Transformation.