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Legal aid groups urge restoration of county funding cut for civil legal services
Summary
Representatives of nine local legal service organizations told the Board of Supervisors that a recently announced 60% reduction to the county's unmet civil legal needs fund and a planned elimination in 2027 would remove essential services for seniors, families and immigrants and shift costs to the county safety net.
Representatives from multiple legal service organizations told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Monday that recent budget changes will sharply reduce a long‑standing county program for unmet civil legal needs, and they urged the board to restore the funds.
Lisonbee Brenner, executive director of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, told the board the program had been cut "by 60% for most of us to a pot the size of $310,000" and that the entire funding stream is slated for elimination in fiscal 2026–27 under the current plan. "This important program dates back to 2001 . . . and has long been a recognition by the county that legal aid interventions…
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