What Is California Rural Legal Assistance?
In 1971, a group of visionaries with the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) formed a non-profit organization aimed at defending the legal rights of the low-income people of California. They sought to change the social climate in which the poor lived and worked, and improve economic conditions and social justice access for communities of color. It began providing legal services in Madera, and now serves more than 56,000 low-income farmworkers and families each year. Since its inception, it has grown to 23 field offices and several special projects, forming a statewide network that serves an 18-county area of the Central Valley. Services offered include family law, immigration, housing, employment, and civil rights .
At the Madera office, we provide a broad scope of immigration services to low-income families who often face complex and difficult situations, and who would otherwise not have legal recourse against their abusers. We help four types of immigrants: Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; Youth under the age of 21 related to an immigrant parent or sibling; and people currently being held in either the Madera County Main Jail or the Madera Juvenile Hall awaiting an immigration trial.
As part of CRLA’s goal of increasing access to justice, we partner with pro bono attorneys, other organizations, and volunteers to deliver free and low-cost quality legal assistance to the underserved in the Madera area, and across the Central Valley.
What Services Does CA Rural Legal Assistance Provide In Madera County?
CRLA offers a diverse array of legal services to the residents of Madera. Presently, they cover the following areas: Due to the large migrant and seasonal workforce in Madera, CRLA provides essential housing law services for substandard housing. There are particular problems with overcrowding and lack of basic essentials such as sanitary facilities, heat, potable water, and refuse collection. CRLA assists in many areas for low-income or impoverished people in Madera. In addition to housing law services, CRLA also provides legal assistance to immigrant populations with issues of Immigration and Nationality law, including asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). For those who have experienced employment issues, CRLA can assist with agricultural labor, wage and hours, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and retaliatory termination. They frequently represent workers in cases of unlawful employment practices with various stakeholder groups, including state and county government agencies. As an extension of their advocacy for health rights and access to care, CRLA represents individuals with benefits claims, critical illness issues, health care access, MediCal, and Medicaid. They have been particularly successful in aiding individuals with appeals, including Access and Medical Appeals through the court system. Other areas in which CRLA provides legal aid services include refugee issues, education, and family law matters.
How To Qualify For And Access Services
CRLA (California Rural Legal Assistance) provides free legal services to low-income individuals and farmworkers in Madera. Those who qualify include residents who qualify for free legal assistance under federal immigration guidelines, applicants for SSI or CalWORKs, and low-income immigrant families with children. Farmworkers and their families are also eligible in cases involving work-related violations.
Individuals interested in receiving assistance from CRLA in Madera can walk in between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday. No appointment is necessary for walk-ins. All clients during the walk-in period are screened for eligibility by staff members. In addition, applicants who qualify for intake are given a brief description of the services offered by the law firm. Phone calls are also accepted in both English and Spanish.
If you cannot reach a representative by phone and are unable to stop in to the office, you may send a letter outlining your case. All correspondence must be sent to the following address:
Madera Office
211 North J Street, Suite 1
Madera, CA 93637
(559) 674-5798 (Phone)
Additionally, documentation that may be required includes pay stubs, Social Security or federal tax returns, green cards, birth certificates, divorce decrees, and any other documents pertinent to your case. Note that all services are provided free of charge and confidentiality is a priority.
Past Cases And Success Stories From Madera Residents
One of the most effective tools in CRLA’s arsenal is its ability to prosecute successful legal cases in high-impact, systemic litigation. Since the early 90s CRLA’s Madera office has tackled cases which have far reaching and ongoing impacts on vulnerable communities. In a case called Valdivia v. Schwarzenegger, CRLA attorney Daniel Torres represented a class of thousands of parolees who were being required to check in with their parole officers by in-person appearances, rather than by phone as had previously been the case in order to save costs. This case made its way to the California Supreme Court, who ruled against CRLA’s client multiple times. However, as a result of this case the Parole Division modified its practices to "allow meaningful, regular phone contact with clients with community-based supervision."
In another example the Madera office brought a lawsuit regarding systemic barriers surrounding the application process for Section 8 housing vouchers. Many people who were eligible to apply for the Section 8 housing program were being turned away because the application process was too onerous to be completed by most low-income individuals. A settlement was reached which allowed clients to use a one-page application that was easier to utilize and thus guaranteed that more individuals would have access to the program. When the City opened up applications again in 2013 they received approximately 16,000 applications (compared to only 800 applications in 2005). This is important because CRLA estimates there are about 7,000 Section 8 vouchers in Madera County. Therefore, we can conclude that the new application practices allow the Section 8 waiting list to more accurately reflect the amount of applicants who are in need of the program.
The Difficulty Facing CRLA In Madera
Despite these successes, CRLA faces a range of challenges that complicate the delivery of legal services. One major concern is funding; their budget is limited to federal and state grants. As a result, they need to apply annually for funds, which may or may not be approved. This unpredictability makes it difficult for CRLA to hire and retain staff, and can hinder long-term planning. Geography is another issue; Madera County is a small, relatively rural county with pockets of poverty. Serving the large footprint of the county is no easy task . The fact that California has chosen to fund CRLA directly through the State Office of Legal Services has presented further challenges. Most community programs are funded through the federal Legal Services Corporation, which provides comparably stable funding. Furthermore, CRLA has not been billed for the costs of administering programs, which has impacted them financially. Overall, CRLA has found that there needs to be ongoing commitment to and inclusion of support from local communities to effectively implement and maintain projects.
How You Can Help With CRLA’s Work
Collaborative Law is not the only way that members of the community may support the work of CRLA. They actively welcome opportunities for volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks, including providing nutrition education in Madera schools, office administration, translation and interpretation services, fundraising activities, and speaking engagements. Among other ways, people may give their time by participating in our fun and interactive "Community Safety Net" presentations at community events, food distributions, and senior educational seminars. The organization also relies heavily on financial donations to continue to serve communities across California. Donors include individuals, private and public organizations (including law schools), legal service organizations, and community-based organizations. While many of CRLA’s current funding sources are expiration-dated (i.e., grants that will run out within two years), we still need to pay our staff and our rent in Madera to ensure peace of mind for the housing stability advocacy program and for the families they help.
Conclusion: What Lies Ahead For Madera
As California Rural Legal Assistance continues to thrive and evolve, Madera has both a vital need and opportunity for expansion of the organization’s efforts. A growing population within an ever diversifying country presents the ideal setting for expanded CRLA services to particular ethnicities, age groups, and disadvantaged communities. With efforts already focused on those in need at the Madera County Department of Social Services, detention facilities, and seasonal crop workers, CRLA has made significant progress on its mission. The accretion of the population and subsequent economic challenges has left Madera residents in search of several key resources, from affordable housing to employment protections, CRLA has the potential to broaden its audience and provide assistance on a wider scale. A community so burdened by housing discrimination has presented CRLA with the ideal forum through which to educate residents as to their rights as tenants and employees. The future promises to be bright for CRLA , with the organization all but destined to see an increasing number of clients in the years to come. Recent groundbreaking strides such as the implementation of the VRU have already proven successful in Madera and pose an opportunity to service persons of all ages, both pre and post rehabilitation as means to prevent and protect against the cycle of incarceration. The organizations ability to adapt to the diverse and unique nature of the community has proven invaluable and will undoubtedly remain crucial in the years ahead. It is the future of CRLA that inspires consistent hope and determination in all those whose lives it has touched and improved, proof that innovation and advocacy can and will make a difference. While the client facing arm CRLA may have traditionally been the largest avenue for expansion, the evolution of technology has opened up new doors through which a global audience can become acquainted with the organization’s efficient programs and services. What has historically been the basis of CRLA’s success, its presence in the present will continue to be the catalyst for prosperity in the future.