Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legal Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawyer in the School seeks board OK to bring free legal clinics to Lincoln County
Summary
Amber Hanna of Lawyer in the School asked the Lincoln County Board to approve an MOU allowing the program to provide free legal clinics and referrals for school families, emphasizing guardianships, adoptions, domestic-violence support and housing help and noting recent funding cuts.
Amber Hanna, program supervisor for Lawyer in the School at the Charleston Legal Aid office, asked the Lincoln County Board of Education on March 31 for permission to operate clinics and referral services in the county.
Hanna described the program as focused on keeping children safe and stabilizing families by providing legal advice and representation to caregivers and parents in matters the school is not a party to. Services she listed include guardianships for grandparents and kinship caregivers, adoptions, domestic-violence-related assistance, housing help and wills for caregivers. She said the program was launched in 2017, expanded with Department of Education COVID-era funding, and has since been reduced after state funding cuts; Lawyer in the School now operates through private grants and can serve families up to about 200% of the federal poverty level.
Hanna said clinics can be set up at a single school on a recurring schedule or run as pop-up clinics at multiple sites and that referrals commonly come from school counselors, McKinney-Vento staff and community partners. She offered a Memorandum of Understanding in the board packet and asked the board for approval to begin outreach to principals and families in Lincoln County. "Our whole program is about keeping kids safe," Hanna said, describing quick guardianship filings that lead to a court hearing within about 10 days in urgent cases.
A meeting participant added that a local food bank is available to families with proof of residence; board members signaled they would review the packet and follow up with the superintendent about next steps. Hanna provided informational flyers and a QR code for families and staff to request contact.
Board members did not take final action at the meeting; the board said it would discuss the request and the superintendent would follow up with Hanna.
