Legal Aid Society of Hawaii will receive two Technology Initiative Grants from the Legal Services Corp., or LSC, totaling $168,955, which will be used to improve the organization's use of technology in assisting low-income individuals with civil legal needs.
Established in 2000, the grants program supports legal aid organizations in developing and replicating technologies that improve efficiency and provide greater access to high-quality legal assistance, LSC said in an announcement earlier this month.
“LSC’s Technology Initiative Grants support projects that improve the delivery of legal services and information to people who would otherwise have to navigate the legal system alone,” LSC President Ronald Flagg said in a statement. “These projects use technology to leverage scarce human resources and increase access to justice for low-income individuals and families facing critical legal needs such as unemployment, evictions, or domestic violence.”
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii will use a $93,290 grant to support Legal Navigator, which employs artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to help states guide low-income individuals to the best forms of legal assistance available.
Additionally, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii will use the funding to create an administrative system for the long-term maintenance and development of the tool, as well as to create pathways for new states and partners to use the tool, according to officials with LSC.
The organization will use a second $75,665 grant to redesign its intake system to better use technology and ensure that intake is accessible to all eligible residents, according to LSC.
“Legal Aid Society of Hawaii does critical work to protect the rights of the people in our communities whether it be a food-insecure mother, an abused child, or a homeless family,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement. “These two grants will harness the power of technology to better reach our community’s most vulnerable and guide them to the best legal assistance available to them. Combined with a recent grant expanding the ranks and knowledge of LASH’s pro bono attorneys, this funding will help safeguard justice and legal rights for all.”
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii is one of 29 recipients of 2021 TIG funding totaling more than $4 million.
