Label
Council Member Gadus
Agenda Review
CLAS Funding O-622-24
12/11/24
Title
From: Council Member Gadus Response Requested: ASAP
Since 2019, how many people have we served total each year and how many people have been serviced in each category?
Body
Referral Response:
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
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December 16, 2024
To: Carrie Hartman, President, and Honorable Members of Toledo City Council
Through: Karen Poore, Deputy Mayor
Abby Arnold, Deputy Mayor
Dale R. Emch, Law Director DRE 12/16/2024
From: Steven P. Spitler, Senior Attorney 12/16/2024
Subject: The Total Number of People Served Each Year by the Civil Legal Assistance Services Program in Partnership with Legal Aid of Western Ohio
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The Law Department has been asked by Council for additional information regarding the total number of participants served by the Civil Legal Assistance Services (“CLAS”) program offered by Legal Aid of Western Ohio and what service categories.
ANALYSIS
In 2005, the City of Toledo established by Ordinance 632-05, the CLAS program to assist indigent persons who have been sued in a civil action in Toledo Municipal Court, primarily for cases involving housing eviction and consumer collections. This program is not supported by General Fund dollars, but is entirely funded by the collection of a $10.00 filing fee per civil case filing. The expenditure of these collected filing fees funds the service for staff attorneys made available daily in Municipal Court to represent indigent defendants.
The revenue history of the Indigent Civil Defense Fund since 2019 is below:
|
Fiscal Year* |
Revenue |
|
2019 |
178,172 |
|
2020 |
110,268 |
|
2021 |
121,731 |
|
2022 |
136,222 |
|
2023 |
143,052 |
|
2024* |
152,600 |
* FY 2024 as of 12-11-24
The following table provides the total number of cases (indigent persons served) as well as the types of cases the CLAS has assisted each year since 2019.
For additional context, the attached is the most recent year-end report from 2023 detailing the number of cases and summary of services provided by CLAS as well a breakdown of the outcomes. A year-end report from 2024 will be made available early next year.