California Rural Legal Assistance Overview
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) is a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal aid services to low-income people. Founded in 1973, CRLA has a long history of helping clients from all walks of life solve even the most difficult legal problems. CRLA serves all California counties, with 12 offices, including one in Stockton.
CRLA provides its clients with a range of services, including domestic violence assistance, housing counseling and preservation, migrant farmworker safety, access to healthcare services, elder law assistance, education and public benefits related representation, disaster response, and addressing environmental injustices. In addition, CRLA conducts policy advocacy at local , state and national levels to expand access to justice for the low-income and rural populations it serves. Over the years, CRLA has helped tens of thousands of people and many communities. In the past year alone, CRLA has assisted over 5,000 people with a wide variety of client services, including housing, civil rights, community development, environment, and agricultural and labor work advisement. The organization also focuses on youth and children’s rights to safe environments, discrimination, poverty-related concerns, affordable housing, farmworker rights, civil rights, gender based violence, and lead poisoning prevention. CRLA is a respected source of legal knowledge and social justice advocacy throughout California, particularly in rural and remote communities, where free legal assistance is scarce.
Legal Services in Stockton
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) in Stockton provides all sorts of legal services that help many vulnerable individuals and families within the community. Certain populations such as migrant and seasonal farmworkers, low-income seniors, children, and the homeless homeless are at an increased risk for various types of discrimination, exploitation, and abuse. CRLA, together with a number of partner organizations, work to protect the rights and interests of these vulnerable populations by providing a wide range of free or low-cost legal services.
CRLA’s programs currently consist of bilingual assistance to low-income residents of the area through civil right advocacy, and an emphasis on the following topics:
Labor Rights
The Labor and Employment Unit exists to provide comprehensive labor-related legal services to low-income workers throughout California. CRLA’s attorneys, advocates, and field workers are dedicated to the goal of protecting all workers and their dignity, regardless of citizenship status, language, immigration status, or level of education.
Housing
Immigrants often require guidance in helping them navigate through housing issues. The Immigration Unit offers free consults and waivers for citizenship requirement and housing requirements, i.e., rental assistance. They also provide legal assistance for squalid housing conditions, eviction representation, foreclosure defense, unlawful detainers, landlord-tenant disputes, mortgage frauds, and housing discrimination (discriminatory zoning and land use).
Education
Most immigrant families with children in school often struggle with achieving educational success. CRLA offers legal assistance in enforcing special education laws, enforcing the made-in-America act (lower-priced books written by American authors), and meeting student standards (such as ESL) in a timely fashion.
Farmworkers Involved in California’s Fresh Produce Industry
CRLA’s agricultural program seeks to ensure that farmworkers and other vulnerable farm laborers are protected and empowered with the legal tools necessary to combat abuses and illegal activity in the farming industry. CRLA also works with industry professionals who provide services to farmworkers and their families.
Effect on the Community of Stockton
For the residents of Stockton, the presence of California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) in their community has proven to be a vital asset. Serving the area since 1971, CRLA has offered comprehensive legal assistance in a region where access to affordable legal representation is increasingly scarce. From agricultural workers to the homeless, CRLA has become a beacon for those needing legal advice and representation.
One notable impact of CRLA’s work in Stockton is its commitment to addressing housing issues. Since the housing crisis of 2008, Stockton has seen a surge in foreclosures and tenant displacement, not to mention a general trend of deteriorating living conditions. CRLA has been at the forefront of aiding tenants facing eviction, sometimes even serving as intermediary between landlords and renters with grievances. The case of a Stockton nurse who was being illegally evicted from her unit is a prime example; CRLA stepped in to provide legal counsel and helped the woman secure a stable living environment for her and her son.
Moreover, CRLA’s focus on the community goes beyond immediate legal needs. Their outreach programs have provided workshops to educate people about their civil rights, tenant rights, and access to government services. This has led to a more informed and empowered population, although challenges still remain.
The impact of CRLA on the Stockton community is substantial and ongoing. Despite the myriad issues Stockton faces, the resilient and dedicated legal support provided by CRLA continues to stand up for residents, proving that even in the face of adversity, the community is not alone.
Accessing Services in Stockton
CRLA in Stockton provides critical services for eligible individuals. To qualify for these services, potential clients must:
Because CRLA does not have staff attorneys present at its office, most clients must go through a screening process. To begin the process, clients can call or simply walk into the office during the organization’s regular office hours. As an alternative, potential clients can also send an email to request legal assistance. Once an individual contacts CRLA, the client will be asked to provide identifying details and information about the legal issue. CRLA will then conduct a prospective client screening and let the client know if he or she is eligible for services.
During the client intake process, identified individuals will be referred to one of CRLA’s attorneys or paralegals . The intake process does not typically take long. However, it is important to note that CRLA operates on a first-come, first-served basis. If the organization has limited staff, the waiting time may be longer than expected.
If additional documentation is requested of the potential client, the client must provide this information. If the potential client cannot provide the necessary documentation, the client will be referred to other legal organizations in Stockton that may be able to assist with the issue.
CRLA requires all staff members to meet certain case management expectations. Attorneys are also required to meet with the client before providing assistance, which could include traditional legal representation or advice on self-representation.
Partnerships and Important Collaborations
CRLA forms strategic partnerships with other organizations to maximize service delivery and strengthen its impact in the community. In Stockton, they are part of three area-specific Collaborative Justice Project (CJP) groups that serve the Central Valley. Each CJP is focused on working with traditionally underserved populations, such as the Native American and homeless communities, as well as those facing housing issues. CRLA has also collaborated with the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative to expand its reach and promote more inclusive services.
In addition to these collaborations, CRLA collaborates with the local legal services community through various initiatives and refers cases to them. The organization’s five staff attorneys handle a sizeable caseload annually while its five paralegals perform the bulk of the initial triaging and client work. The staff attorneys are able to focus on complex cases and do not take the majority of client intakes which allows them to work on significant cases while still serving the community.
The organization’s office in Stockton also collaborates with other law firms for expertise and to help meet their legal service needs. They work closely with pro bono attorneys to represent people throughout San Joaquin County who on average receive less than $32,000 annually and are unable to afford legal services.
Challenges and Future Aspirations
The ongoing bite of the recession is the biggest challenge facing CRLA’s Stockton office. Although the unemployment rate in California is down to average national levels, it remains stubbornly elevated in the Central Valley where 15% of able-bodied adults are unemployed. The Stockton office worries over how to serve their clients while "helping them to help themselves." The office wants a new social worker to oversee volunteer services so that "we’re utilizing our resources wisely." As one manager puts it, you can’t plump up future farm workers in detail without actually participating in their lives and families. After trying to assist them on a piecemeal basis for half a century, CRLA figured that it was time to employ comprehensive case management.
CRLA staff is now conducting an intensive study of migrant housing. They are seeking to understand what the specific housing needs are for agricultural workers by sector, and to determine how available housing stock is being put to use. Do many migrant units remain empty while new units are being built? Do residents face landlord evictions, or are there health issues? The United Farm Workers Union is their primary data source, and they also plan to look at UFW’s new "Housing for Health" initiative.
The Housing for Health initiative calls on lawmakers to address migrant housing through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health reform bill, and by modifying the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) , a statute from 1983 on which the American Farm Bureau has substantial input. Many growers are already facing an uphill climb to build and maintain appropriate housing for their workers because they have become accustomed to exploiting the subsidized restaurants and schools available to their resident workers, according to UFW.
CRLA understands that strong affordable housing units in the area will improve the health of community as a whole. While the focus is on new migrant housing, getting tenants to pay on time is another issue affecting the housing program. Although 80% of their cases include some kind of community improvement issue, only 20% of housing cases involve agricultural workers. The Stockton office is now looking at ways to work with the other housing programs operating in their territory.
CRLA senior managers say they’d like to add staff to provide outreach to the Latino population, "not just for separate recognition but because we are best able to serve those who are most in need." Hiring more staff whose skills are highly relevant to farmworker families would also open the door to providing training and experience to Latinos in the region, and creating a cadre of potential lawyers.
While CRLA’s funding ads have gone from a half-page to a full-page in regional newspapers, and the organization is writing op-eds in the local papers, understanding the shift away from indoor agriculture has required much more service. The disappearing jobs in green houses has given way to a workforce almost entirely composed of migrants. "It’s one of the reasons our staffing has dropped," the field director says, "because there are many more out-of-work poor, and they won’t pay for us to serve them."