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.
