Group Expands To Provide Legal Aid To Low-Income LGBT Families
Nationwideby 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 18, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET

(San Francisco, California) The National Center for Lesbian Rights is launching a new project to provide access to family law services for low-income same-sex parent families.

NCLR already has a track record representing same-sex couples in legal battles for marriage rights.

Existing legal services for poor and low-income families generally lack the specialized knowledge and expertise to effectively serve clients the San Francisco-based organization said in a statement.

Called the Family Protection Project, NCLR said it intends to fill this gap by providing specialized training and materials to legal services programs in selected states, beginning with California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

"Every day, NCLR receives calls from LGBT people across the country who are desperate because they cannot afford an attorney," said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell.

"This is a huge unmet need. By training attorneys who work specifically with low income and poor communities about the unique legal issues facing the lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community, we will be giving them the tools to assure that their LGBT clients get meaningful help and representation."

Nationally, experts estimate that at least six million children in the U.S. have LGBT parents.

On average, according to recent studies by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law, same-sex parents with children earn $10,000 less than married couples with children. Despite the need for free or low-cost legal services for these families, however, they are virtually non-existent in most states, Kendell said.

The Family Protection Project will help low-income LGBT parents protect their relationships with their children by increasing and improving the capacity of legal services organizations and by educating families about their rights.

The organization said that the Project will train and assist attorneys who provide free and low-cost family law representation. NCLR said it is working with community groups to educate families about their rights and reach out specifically to communities of color with relevant, culturally competent information.

"Children with LGBT parents often don’t have a legal relationship with at least one of their parents, which leaves them and their families vulnerable,” said NCLR attorney Cathy Sakimura, who will manage the project.

"If a child’s biological parent dies or is incarcerated and her other parent isn’t a legal parent, she can end up in foster care, even though she has another parent who is able to take care of her. Also, low-income families are ineligible for many government benefits if their parent-child relationships aren’t recognized."

Sakimura said that in each state, NCLR will collaborate with organizations serving low-income families, LGBT people, and communities of color.
NCLR’s first partnership is in Pennsylvania with Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, one of the few organizations providing free representation specifically for low-income LGBT families.

©365Gay.com 2007