Executive Summary
Low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems.
Section 1: Introduction
Every day, millions of low-income Americans grapple with civil legal problems, which often involve basic needs like safe housing, access…
Section 2: Today’s Low-income America
Typically, legal aid organizations can use LSC funds only to serve the legal needs of people with household incomes at…
Section 3: The Prevalence of Civil Legal Problems
A significant majority of low-income American households have faced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, and…
Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help
While a significant majority of low-income Americans faced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, they rarely…
Section 5: Comparing Income Groups
Leveraging the 2021 Justice Gap Measurement Survey’s sample of households above 125% of the federal poverty level, this section compares…
Section 6: Reports from the Field
Sections Four and Five examined the justice gap through the lens of people’s personal experiences dealing with specific civil legal…
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments LSC acknowledges the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur…