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Committee backs sending contract amendment to expand Right to Counsel on CAM hotline to formal review
Summary
Council members agreed to send a contract amendment to formal session to expand Right to Counsel intake and attorney connectivity through the city's CAM hotline, a move intended to let callers reach eviction-defense attorneys earlier in the process. Staff will correct a timeline error in the contract to reflect availability through 6/30/2027.
The committee voted to send a contract amendment to formal session that would expand Right to Counsel access by integrating attorney intake into the city's CAM helpline.
Diamond Conley, executive director of Right to Counsel, said the helpline already runs a small pilot connecting subsidized tenants to legal services and that the amendment would expand that functionality: "The helpline has already been getting, called right to counsel callers... What we want to do though is expand what has already been happening under the helpline," she said. Conley explained the plan is to add a phone-tree option and an intake so callers can be screened for eligibility and connected to attorneys immediately.
Council members praised the expansion as a way to get tenants legal help earlier than the current practice of waiting until a first court date. Member Gabriela Santiago Romero thanked staff and flagged an inconsistency in the amendment's timeline; Right to Counsel staff said funding is available through 06/30/2027 and that they will work with the city's law and procurement teams to correct the contract language before Tuesday's session.
The committee moved the amendment (contract 6007355-A1) to formal with a recommendation to approve. Members said the expanded hotline should reduce missed opportunities for residents facing eviction by enabling faster attorney contact and intake at the helpline stage.
