Section 3: The Prevalence of Civil Legal Problems

Section 2: Today’s Low-income America

A significant majority of low-income American households have faced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, and most have had to deal with multiple problems. These problems typically relate to essential needs like housing, health care, and providing for their families. Using data from the 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey, this section presents findings on the prevalence of civil legal problems among low-income households, the most common types of problems they face, and the impact these problems have on their lives.

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ABOUT THE DATA: The findings presented in this section come from the Justice Gap Measurement Survey conducted at the end of 2021 and are based on that survey’s nationally representative sample of low-income households. The survey presented respondents with an extensive list of problems that typically raise justiciable civil legal issues (“civil legal problems” henceforth) and asked them to indicate whether they and/or anyone else in their household had experienced each problem in the past 12 months. The survey explored a total of 81 distinct problems, which are grouped into 10 categories for the purposes of this report. Respondents’ answers about their and other household members’ experiences make it possible to estimate how common various civil legal problems are at the household level. The primary unit of analysis in this section is households.

Prevalence of Civil Legal Problems

Most low-income American households faced one or more civil legal problems in the past year.

The 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey assessed the prevalence of 81 distinct civil legal problems among low-income households. The results indicate that an estimated 74% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year – with many households dealing with multiple problems. As Figure 3A shows, about three in five (62%) households experienced two or more problems, about two in five (39%) experienced five or more, and a shocking one in five (20%) of all low-income households experienced 10 or more problems in the past year.

74% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year.

Figure 3A. Number of civil legal problems experienced by low-income households in the past year21

74%
1 or more
62%
2 or more
39%
5 or more
20%
10 or more

Percent of low-income households | n=2,003

Types of Civil Legal Problems

Figure 3B presents the prevalence rates for the six most common types of civil legal problems among low-income households. The dark blue bars correspond to the proportion of all low-income households that experienced a given type of problem. The occasional red bars correspond to subpopulations of particular interest for a given type of problem. For example, the chart shows the percent of all low-income households that experienced a housing-related problem (33%) as well as the percent of renter households that experienced this type of problem (43%).

Figure 3B. Percent of low-income households experiencing common types of civil legal problems22

50%
Consumer Issues
39%
Health care
34%
Income maintenance
33%
Housing
43%
Renters (n=1,194)
26%
Family and safety
44%
with children <12 (n=699)
19%
Education
42%
with students (n=925)

Percent of low-income households | n=2,003

Barbara | Pennsylvania | Domestic Violence. Barbara’s ex-husband was abusing their two children. She had a protection order against him for herself, but she could not get the authorities to believe her about the child abuse. She spent all of her savings and her parents’ savings to pay for a private attorney to help her case, but she eventually ran out of money. Meanwhile, the abuse continued. Eventually, a women’s crisis shelter connected Barbara to Neighborhood Legal Services Association, who helped her successfully build a case to demonstrate the abuse and protect her children.

The two most common types of civil legal problems among all low-income households relate to consumer issues and health care.

Consumer Issues. One-half (50%) of low-income households experienced a problem related to consumer issues. Common problems in this area include difficulties with medical debt (affecting 26% of all low-income households), having utilities disconnected (18%), dealing with harassment from creditors (16%), and falling victim to a scam (15%).

Health care. Nearly two in five (39%) low-income households experienced a problem related to health care in the past year. Common problems in this area include difficulty getting insurance to cover needed health care (affecting 20% of all low-income households), being billed incorrectly for medical services (16%), and difficulty accessing necessary health care from providers (12%).

Other common types of civil legal problems relate to essential needs, such as income maintenance, housing, education, and family and safety.

Income maintenance. More than one-third (34%) of all low-income households experienced a problem related to income maintenance in the past year. These problems center on people’s difficulty accessing benefits to supplement their income and meet their household’s basic needs. Common problems in this area include difficulty accessing food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) (affecting 17% of all households), difficulty with their COVID stimulus payment (16%), and difficulty claiming or keeping unemployment benefits (13%).

Housing. One-third (33%) of all low-income households experienced a civil legal problem related to housing in the past year. As Figure 3B above shows, renter households are disproportionately likely to experience these types of problems. Indeed, 43% of renter households experienced a housing problem in the past year (compared to 23% of homeowner households;23 result not shown in chart). Common problems among renter households include a landlord failing to keep the property in good repair (affecting 26% of renter households), falling behind on rent or being threatened with eviction (18%), and disputing the terms of a lease (18%).

43% of low-income, renter households experienced at least one civil legal problem related to housing in the past year.

Family and safety. About one-quarter (26%) of all low-income households have experienced at least one problem related to family matters or personal safety. The prevalence is significantly higher among households with children under 12 years old (44%). The most common problems across all households in this area include experience with domestic violence (affecting 10% of all households), problems collecting or paying child support (9%), and separation or divorce (9%).

Education. Nearly one in five (19%) low-income households has experienced a civil legal problem related to education in the past year. When we look solely at households with a student in school, this incidence rate more than doubles to 42%. Common problems among households with a student in school include difficulty attending remote classes due to lack of technology (affecting 21% of these households), inadequate supplies or equipment for school (17%), and inadequate protection from threats or harassment from other students (17%).

Table 3A. Additional types of civil legal problems experienced by low-income households24

Dark Blue And Red Chart Showing Data

Vicious Cycle of Civil Legal Problems

Households that experienced issues with eviction or domestic violence are disproportionately more likely to face multiple problems.

Consistent with other research about the dynamics of poverty and civil legal issues, the 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey finds that households that have to deal with certain types of issues tend to encounter even more problems.25 This pattern can feed a vicious cycle of civil legal problems that is difficult to interrupt without legal help. The survey data point to two poignant examples of this dynamic: households that have dealt with issues related to eviction and/or domestic violence are disproportionately more likely to have experienced multiple problems in the past year. See Figure 3C below.26

Figure 3C. Prevalence of civil legal problems for low-income households facing eviction and domestic violence27

39%
All households
20%
n=2003
81%
Eviction households
58%
n=228
87%
Domestic violence households
62%
n=225

Percent of low-income households
5 or more problems 10 or more problems

The Impact of Civil Legal Problems

In the past year, more than one-third of low-income Americans experienced a civil legal problem that substantially impacted their lives.

We consider a problem’s impact to be “substantial” if the respondent says the problem affected them “very much” or “severely” (as opposed to “moderately,” “slightly,” or “not at all”). The survey finds that more than one-third (38%) of low-income Americans personally experienced at least one civil legal problem that has had a substantial, negative impact on their household overall.

Figure 3D presents the percent of low-income Americans who experienced civil legal problems with a substantial negative impact in various aspects of their lives. As the figure shows, the most common impacts were on finances and mental health. Indeed, 35% report substantial impacts on their household’s financial situation, and 31% report the same for their or other household members’ mental and emotional health.

35% of all low-income Americans experienced a problem that has substantially impacted their household’s financial situation in the past year.

Figure 3D. Percent of low-income Americans experiencing civil legal problems with substantial impacts in various aspects of their lives28

38%
Overall
35%
Financial situation
31%
Mental and emotional health
25%
Physical health and safety
21%
Relationships

Percent of low-income individuals | n=2,003

Problems relating to housing, employment, income maintenance, and family and safety stand out as the most impactful types of problems overall.

Narrowing our focus to only those low-income Americans who personally experienced problems in the past year (as opposed to all low-income), we see that more than one-half (55%) say at least one of their problems substantially impacted their lives overall. Some types of problems tend to impact people more than others. Figure 3E shows the percent reporting a substantial negative impact among those who personally experienced various types of problems. At least one-half of those personally affected by the following types of problems reported a substantial impact on their lives: housing (54%), family and safety (52%), employment (51%), and income maintenance (50%).

Civil legal problems had a substantial negative effect on 55% of those who personally experienced a problem in the past year.

Figure 3E. Percent of low-income Americans experiencing substantial impacts from civil legal problems, by problem type29

Red and white pie chart icon at 55%

55%

All problems
(n = 1466)

Red and white pie chart icon at 54%

54%

Housing
(n = 622)

Red and white pie chart icon at 52%

52%

Family and safety
(n = 463)

Red and white pie chart icon at 51%

51%

Employment
(n = 361)

Red and white pie chart icon at 50%

50%

Income maintenance
(n = 585)

Red and white pie chart icon at 42%

42%

Consumer issues
(n = 975)

Red and white pie chart icon at 40%

40%

Education
(n = 316)

Red and white pie chart icon at 35%

35%

Disability
(n = 165)*

Red and white pie chart icon at 35%

35%

Official records
(n = 246)

Red and white pie chart icon at 30%

30%

Health care
(n = 690)

Red and white pie chart icon at 20%

20%

Wills and estates
(n = 180)*

Percent of low-income individuals who personally experienced at least one problem in a given category
* Small base size

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

One-third (33%) of all low-income Americans personally experienced at least one civil legal problem related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year.

This translates to nearly one-half (47%) of all the low-income Americans who experienced one or more problems overall. Those most likely to experience a COVID-related problem track with our common understanding of who has been most affected by the pandemic. Among those that experienced at least one problem in the past year, those most likely to attribute their problems to the pandemic come from the following types of households: household in which someone struggles with substance use disorder (SUD) (64% attribute at least one of their problems to the pandemic), single-parent households (57%), households with children <12 years old (57%), and renter households (51%). See Figure 3F.

Figure 3F. Percent of low-income Americans attributing recent civil legal problems to the pandemic, by household characteristics30

Red and white pie chart icon at 47%

47%

All individuals
(n = 1,466)

Red and white pie chart icon at 64%

64%

From households with SUD
(n = 187)*

Red and white pie chart icon at 57%

57%

From single-parent households
(n = 416)

Red and white pie chart icon at 57%

57%

From households with children <12 yrs
(n = 552)

Red and white pie chart icon at 51%

51%

From renter households
(n = 919)

Percent of low-income individuals who personally experienced at least one problem in a given category
* Small base size

The types of problems people are most likely to blame on the pandemic also track with our common understanding of how the pandemic has affected people. For example, respondents attribute nearly one-third (32%) of all their income maintenance problems to the pandemic, 31% of their education problems, and 27% of their housing problems. Looking at specific problems, more than one-half of low-income Americans attribute their problems related to unemployment benefits (52%) and eviction (56%) to the pandemic.

Geographic Focus

This snapshot presents the percent of low-income households in each region that experienced 1 or more, 5 or more, and 10 or more problems in the past year. All estimates come from LSC’s 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey.31 The unit of analysis is households.

Dark and light gray striped icon for Midwest region

Midwest (n=534 households)

75% had 1+ problems.

45% had 5+ problems.

23% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue icon for Northeast region

Northeast (n=257 households)

74% had 1+ problems.

34% had 5+ problems.

15% had 10+ problems.

Blue icon for West region

West (n=402 households)

72% had 1+ problems.

38% had 5+ problems.

18% had 10+ problems.

Light Blue icon for South region

South (n=810 households)

75% had 1+ problems.

39% had 5+ problems.

21% had 10+ problems.

United States map showing the regions of the population - West, Midwest, Northeast, and South

Special Focus

This snapshot presents the percent of low-income households for each subpopulation of interest that experienced 1 or more, 5 or more, and 10 or more problems in the past year. All estimates come from LSC’s 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey.32 The unit of analysis is households.

Dark blue circle showing white 65+ inside

Senior Households (n=593)

70% had 1+ problems.

31% had 5+ problems.

14% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue circle showing white person with landscape icon inside

Rural Households (n=419)

77% had 1+ problems.

40% had 5+ problems.

23% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue circle showing white military medal icon inside

Veteran Households (n=242)

76% had 1+ problems.

44% had 5+ problems.

27% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue circle showing white house icon inside

Households with High Housing Costs (n=826)

84% had 1+ problems.

49% had 5+ problems.

26% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue circle showing white woman and child icon inside

Households with Children (<18 yrs) (n=889)

83% had 1+ problems.

52% had 5+ problems.

30% had 10+ problems.

Dark blue circle showing white hand with circle and line through center icon inside

Households with Recent Domestic Violence* (n=225)

98% had 1+ problems.

87% had 5+ problems.

62% had 10+ problems.

* These estimates exclude problems related to domestic violence.

Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help
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