Section 401.9. Priorities in Allocation of Resources

Recipients daily must make decisions concerning what cases to handle, what area of client need to pursue, what models of delivery of services to choose, what communities to serve, and related issues. A high quality Recipient program responds effectively to changing client needs and integrates its priority setting process into its daily operations. This section is intended to assure that Recipients plan and perform services provided under the Act in a way that responds to existing and changing client and community needs, promptly and strategically.

(a) The governing body of a Recipient shall adapt procedures for establishing priorities in the allocation of its resources. The procedures adopted shall:

(1) Include an effective appraisal of the needs of eligible clients in the geographic areas served by the Recipient;

(2) Insure an opportunity for participation by representatives of all significant segments of the client community and the Recipient’s employees in the setting of priorities.

(b) The following factors could be among those considered by the Recipient in establishing priorities:

(1) the appraisal described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;

(2) the population of eligible clients in the geographic areas served by the Recipient, including all significant segments of that population with special legal problems or special difficulties of access to legal services;

(3) the resources of the Recipient;

(4) the availability of another source of free or low-cost legal assistance in a particular category of cases or matters;

(5) the availability of other sources of training, support, and outreach services;

(6) the relative importance of particular legal problems of the individual clients of the recipient;

(7) the susceptibility of particular problems to solution through legal processes;

(8) whether legal efforts by the recipient will complement other efforts to solve particular problems in the area served; and

(9) whether legal efforts will result in efficient and economic delivery of legal services.

(c) A Recipient shall allocate resources consistent with the purposes and requirements of the Act and regulations, and in a manner that assures such resources are put to their highest and best use in meeting client needs. To the extent possible efforts should be made to provide that all potentially eligible clients in the Recipients’ service area have reasonably equal access to similar types of services. If the governing body of the Recipient so desires, the types of services may vary so as to take into account different priorities in different parts of the Recipient’s service area, a higher incidence of a particular kind of problem, the considerably higher costs of providing services, or differences in individual client financial resources.

(d) The governing body of a Recipient shall establish policies and procedures that assure clients that cases which are accepted for representation of eligible clients substantially comply with the priorities adopted by the Recipient.

(e) Annual Review. Priorities shall be set periodically and shall be reviewed by the Recipient at least annually.