ARIZONA FOUNDATION FOR LEGAL SERVICES & EDUCATION TO 2015.PDF

Last updated: 06/12/2015
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General information
Organization Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education
Contact First name Kevin
Contact Last name Ruegg
Contact e-mail <a href="mailto:kevin.ruegg@azflse.org">kevin.ruegg@azflse.org</a>
Contact phone number 602-340-7356
Address
Street 4201 N 24th St, Ste 210
City Phoenix
State Arizona
ZIP Code 85016
From what tribe is the organization requesting the grant?
Tohono O’odham Nation
Total grant amount request
180,573
The Gila River Indian Community offers multi-year awards. If your organization is requesting a multi-year grant for this
project or program from the Gila River Indian Community, enter the amount to be requested each year.
Amount
Year 1 (Gila River Indian Community Only)
Year 2 (Gila River Indian Community Only)
Year 3 (Gila River Indian Community Only)
Year 4 (Gila River Indian Community Only)
Year 5 (Gila River Indian Community Only)
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IRS Internal Department Revenue of the Treasury Service
P.O. Box 2508 In reply refer to: 0248567572
Cincinnati OH 45201 July 08, 2011 LTR 4168C E0
95-3351710 000000 00
00018792
BODC: TE
ARIZONA FOUNDATION FOR LEGAL
SERVICES & EDUCATION
4201 N 24TH STREET
PHOENIX AZ 85016-6288
2225
Employer Identification Number: 95-3351710
Person to Contact: Ms. Mueller
Toll Free Telephone Number: 1-877-829-5500
Dear Taxpayer:
This is in response to your June 29, 2011, request for information
regarding your tax-exempt status.
Our records indicate that you were recognized as exempt under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in a determination
letter issued in December 1979.
Our records also indicate that you are not a private foundation within
the meaning of section 509(a) of the Code because you are described in
section(s) 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi).
Donors may deduct contributions to you as provided in section 170 of
the Code. Bequests, legacies, devises, transfers, or gifts to you or
for your use are deductible for Federal estate and gift tax purposes
if they meet the applicable provisions of sections 2055, 2106, and
2522 of the Code.
Please refer to our website www.irs.gov/eo for information regarding
filing requirements. Specifically, section 6033(j) of the Code
provides that failure to file an annual information return for three
consecutive years results in revocation of tax-exempt status as of
the filing due date of the third return for organizations required to
file. We will publish a list of organizations whose tax-exempt
status was revoked under section 6033(j) of the Code on our website
beginning in early 2011.
If YOU have any questions, please call us at the telephone number
shown in the heading of this letter.
Sincerely yours/
S. A. Martin, Operations Manager
Accounts Management Operations

Equal Justice Across Arizona Project
1) The Need and the Project’s Solution.
When someone is faced with the loss of shelter, income, safety or education, the best solution is
often the legal system.
Since there is not right to counsel in the U.S. civil courts, that’s where Community Legal
Services (CLS), DNA People’s Legal Services, and Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc. (SALA)
work to fill this gap in the civil justice system. The legal system is complex, expensive, and
designed to be navigated by attorneys. Many Arizonans can’t afford a lawyer but are compelled
to participate in the civil justice system to solve critical problems. Legal Aid uses the power of
the law to help our most vulnerable citizens.
The harsh reality – Arizona has one of the highest percentages of residents living in poverty.
According U.S. Census estimates for 2013, there are 1,206,460 Arizonans at or below federal
poverty guidelines – that’s 18.5% of the population. 421,100 Arizona children are living in need
– representing 24% of all of our children and 8.9% of our elderly; 89,550 people over 65 are
living their retirement years struggling with financial hardships.1
For those moving out of poverty, legal aid is part of the big picture solutions. Low-income
Arizonans have legal rights, but without an attorney, those rights will not be enforced.
Impoverishment is overwhelming in Arizona’s rural communities. In Apache and Navajo
counties the poverty rate is over 30% and in Coconino, Graham, Gila, Santa Cruz, Mohave, and
La Paz counties it is over 20%.2 This presents a twofold problem. High poverty coupled with the
vast geographic area of our state puts our most vulnerable population hundreds of mile away
from a court and is many instances, far away from an attorney.
The small number of attorneys who practice in our rural counties creates a major disparity in the
availability of legal help. Dealing with a limited pool of potential volunteer attorneys is
challenging, if not nearly impossible, for Arizona’s three federally funded legal aid programs to
recruit and engage enough local attorneys to assist staff to meet the demand for civil legal needs.
The result, eligible individuals in rural areas are cannot access legal aid services available to
people in Arizona’s urban areas.
It must be noted that in addition to the small numbers of attorneys practicing in most rural
counties, a high percentage are prosecutors and public defender government attorneys who
exclusively handle criminal cases. They have severe limitations imposed by their employers
regarding free or pro bono service. Governments must be very wary of creating possible future
conflicts that could disqualify their attorneys if an indigent person later is a subject of any
1
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_S1701&prodType
=table retrieved 5/29/2015
2 http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/county-level-data-sets/poverty.aspx retrieved 5/29/2015
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government action. That leaves few private attorneys to approach. In Greenlee County (9,346
population – 2014 estimate) there are three practicing attorneys; Gila County (53,119 population
– 2014 estimate) has 39; and Graham County (37,957 population – 2014 estimate) has only 19
active attorneys with at least 3 years of experience.
This situation is exacerbated by the frequency of conflicts indicative in small communities. It is
most notable for family law matters – the largest service area in legal aid. A third barrier is
attorneys not speaking Spanish. According to the State Bar of Arizona, there are no active
private non-judicial attorneys in San Luis who speak Spanish and only 11 active private
attorneys who speak Spanish in all of Yuma County (203,247 population – 2014 estimate; 61.1%
are Hispanic or Latino; 51.2% language other than English spoken at home), and they all are
located in the city of Yuma.
The Equal Justice Across Arizona Project will afford equal justice for rural Arizonans by
addressing legal counsel disparities and inefficiencies in the following three ways:
Engaging CLS’s, DNA’s and SALA’s long-standing, well-established, and experienced
Volunteer Lawyer Programs’ staff with the thousands of existing urban volunteer
attorneys to donate their services in rural areas through video conferencing. Volunteer
attorneys will continue their commitment to the underserved with technological
assistance. Technology will provide the platform to have immediate, empowering, and
impactful outcomes. CLS, in Phoenix, and SALA, in Tucson, will share the coordination
the urban volunteers, as well as collaborate with DNA People’s Legal Services to expand
delivery across rural northern Arizona. Additionally, CLS and SALA will partner with
the Arizona Bar Foundation to engage the courts and local libraries to increase the video
conferencing reach in rural communities.
Training, consulting, and mentoring from experienced, diverse, and bi-lingual staff and
urban volunteer attorneys to their rural colleagues offers them tremendous support. Video
conferencing will provide to those rural attorneys who are willing to volunteer knowledge
and support not readily available without this technology.
Empowering all Arizonans with web-based legal education videos in English and
Spanish. Webinar topics will align with areas of highest information demand, i.e. Family
Law – child custody, child support, and orders of protection. Individuals will receive
basic legal education required when working with the courts. Knowing what forms are
required, meanings of legal terms, and step-by-step instructions will improve court
efficiency and reduce court costs.
This project will establish the infrastructure to narrow the justice gap. Equal justice contributes
to healthy communities. When a person’s legal problems are addressed, the benefit ripples out to
their family, neighbors, employer, and community.
2) Population Who Will Benefit From This Proposal.
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The beneficiaries are limitless – tens of thousands of low-income Arizonans in rural
communities who are seeking fairness in the justice system to protect their families, health, and
livelihoods. All Arizonans benefit from the webinars. Partnerships with the courts, libraries, and
community groups will assist those without web access. The partnerships evolve to beneficiaries
– the courts have improved efficiency and reduced costs; libraries and community groups
increases their service capability and impact. Rural attorneys benefit with increased education,
support, and mentoring. Urban attorneys benefit by lending expertise and support to achieve
successful results. The primary beneficiaries, low-income Arizonans, will continue to increase
for multiples years after this request for the necessary funding to implement this project.
The population served through this grant will mirror the general demographics of Arizona and of
those currently seeking legal aid. In 2014, of the 31,605 assisted, 44% were children (13,942)
and 54% adults (17,663); 68% were women and 32% male; 18% were Hispanic; 44% White; 3%
African American; 21% Native American; 1% Asian/Pacific; 12% self-reported as Other.
3) Budget of the Requested Funds.
Number TOTAL Total Cost Subtotals
for per Item
multiple
locations
Video Conferencing Hardware
Remote Legal Service delivery
6 Tablets for volunteer lawyer 6 $ 2,530 $ 11,385
staff to assist in clients in remote
locations connect with urban
volunteer attorneys
Cisco BE6000 medium Density 11 $ 5,278 $ 14,066
Server, Export Restricted SW
SX20 Quick Set HD, NPP, 5 $ 12,650 $ 39,758
4xPHDCam, 1 mic, remote
control
Performance Microphone 20 5 $ 523 $ 1,643
Wall Mount Kit for SX20 + 5 $ 592 $ 1,862
power supply
SX10HD w/int 5xCam and mic 9 $ 5,658 $ 37,789
Extreme Integration 2 $ 16,280 $ 21,680
Configuration and Installation
ESS with 8X5*NBD SX10 HD 10 $ 640 $ 4,800
w Int 5x Cam and mic
55" HD Monitor 11 $ 1,600 $ 12,800
65" HD Monitor 1 $ 1,050 $ 1,050
80" HD Monitor 2 $ 2,500 $ 5,000 $ 151,833
Video Conferencing Software
Remote Legal Service delivery
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BE 600- User license starter 1 $ 520 $ 520
bundle with UWL Licenses (25
licenses)
Order L-VTS-UPG-PAK for e- 3 $ 6,240 $ 18,720 $ 19,240
delivery Virtual TS Screen
Licences
WEBINAR Legal Education
Hardware
Canon XF205 High Definition 1 $ - $ 4,500
Professional 1080p Camcorder,
20x Optical Zoom, 3.5" OLED
Display, Wi-Fi, HDMI
/Ethernet/HD-SDI/3G-SDI, with
tripod, battery pack, etc.
Video editing software 1 $ - $ 1,500
MAC computer for video 1 $ 2,000
editing
Power Edge T430 server 1 $ - $ 1,500 $ 9,500
TOTAL $ 180,573
Note: Remote legal service delivery hardware & software will be property of CLS & SALA. The
Webinar Legal Education hardware & software will be property of the Arizona Bar Foundation.
d) Pending Applications - There are no other pending applications
e) Prior Distributions - Kids Voting Arizona, a program administered the Arizona Bar
Foundation, received $10,000 in 2007 from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
and $50,000 in 2008 from the Tohono O’odham Nation.
f) Contact Persons -Dr. Kevin S. Ruegg, kevin.ruegg@azflse.org 602-340-7366, fax-602-773-
3105 and Lara Slifko, lara.slifko@azflse.org 602-340-7366, fax 602-773-3105
Address for both: Arizona Bar Foundation, 4201 N 24th Street, Ste 210, Phoenix, AZ 85016
g) Priority Area -The priority area of this proposal is Education, but will include child
advocacy.
h) If the proposal is from a non-profit organization, include the name of the city, town or
county an agreement will be made with if funds are granted.
Tom Manos, Maricopa County Manager, represents the governmental agency with understanding
that full board approval will be required pending the award by the Tohono O’odham Nation.
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