A Belated NLADA Annual Conference Report (Part 1)
I sat in on several great sessions at the NLADA Annual Conference. While most weren't technology sessions, technology was nicely woven in to all of the presentations.
LSC Updates - Helaine Barnett, Karen Sarjeant, John Constance
I missed the first few minutes of the session, but I did arrive in time to hear Helaine Barnett talk about the LSC technology survey and the resulting guidelines document, Technologies That Should Be in Place in a Legal Aid Office Today, which was recently released. LSC is working to support grantees as they implement the outlined technologies. In particular, they worked with LexisNexis to develop a HotDocs software donation program and have funded the national document assembly project (NPADO) to support programs implementing document assembly initiatives. Through TIG, LSC provided funding for an updated version of the case management system report as well as a rating system for hardware, software, and vendors. LSC is also looking at identifying additional training opportunities and, as a part of this, will be webcasting parts of the TIG conference. In order to ensure that programs are looking at using technology to improve their service delivery, a technology plan will become a required part of an LSC grant application as was previously mentioned on technola. Additional technology-related news that was mentioned: LSC will shortly be sending check notices electronically; 33 TIGs were awarded; and LSC has funded the development of a website that focuses on legal issues for active military and veterans.
Client Use of Technology: 2008 Updates - Gene Donney, Kathleen Brockel
Gene led a great session about Internet use. (His slides are available on the LSNTAP.org site.) It was one of the most interactive sessions that I've participated in for a while. And Kathleen was an amazing Vanna White! My take aways:
- The digital divide still exists, but it is getting smaller.
- Our clients are using technology with us or without us, and we need to adapt, so that we can better serve them. For example, another attendee told the story of being asked to send a homeless client a text message rather than phone him because it cost less on a pre-paid cell phone. This is simple and can provide significant benefit to the client.
- Legal aid has to provide more than one way of accessing its services. I will be the first to acknowledge that technology is not the solution for everything. Some communities, like migrant workers, can be best reached through in-person intake; others can easily access legal aid through hotlines. In the same way, online intake can act as an important funnel for others--homeless families who don't have access to a phone because public telephones are disappearing and people who turn to the Internet for resources first.
That's all for today. Check back later this week for more. - K
