A Project Based on Insights from the Legal-Aid Hackathon 2018 | https://www.legalaidhackathon.org/
This Virtual Legal Clinic Prototype really arose as a result from working with two teams in the May 2018 Legal Aid Hackathon. Both of these amazing teams were two of the many amazing teams who wanted to use technology to reach those who needed legal assistance.
In short, tasking was to take off-the-shelf technology and create a video-clinic that may reach the many who need legal help, but cannot afford to come to a lawyer's office. There's many reasons a person needing help cannot access legal help, even though many, many lawyers want to reach out to those in need. Health and wealth are two major barriers, that we feel, may be overcome with technology. To that end, the video clinic must be:
- Free
- Mobile
- Use a "mix" of authorization and authentication technologies and protocols. Some technologies are wide open to ensure quick and easy access, so that even illiterate, ill, injured or isolated clients could talk to someone without a need to sign in, if necessary. However, for long-term service, and especially for HIPAA and other privacy concerns, authentication and authorization technologies are employed at different times and different locations.
- Off the shelf technology is used. For example, to upload documents, Slack is used; attendant to that is all the authentication technologies used by Slack.
Abhijeet Chavan | Joseph Schieffer | Sam Harden | Brian Stewart | Jack Haycock | Jessica Rae | Kimi deMent |
All teams were doing great things, and in all cases we found that members from one team would reach out to help another. It so happened that my efforts focued on the work of two teams; Chatbot for Youth Aging Out Of Foster Care, and the Virtual Legal Clinic, as both wanted to use chatbots for outreach. Below are more details for the two projects, from which the proof-of-concept for this repository rests.
I am interested in building a remote connectivity platform (such as an app) that can be used to set up remote/virtual legal clinics specifically designed to service rural areas that LSC funded organizations could overlay into their existing intake/screenings, and non LSC funded organizations could also utilize. It would theoretically be set up so that the user would access either a web platform or app and would be guided through a series of plain-language questions on income, eligibility, etc.
The user would then be virtually connected with an "on-call" pro bono attorney (either in real time or by appointment) who would provide pro bono counsel and advice through the web portal on behalf of the legal services organization in the same way as if the person attended a traditional walk-in clinic. Ideally, the platform would be a secure connection (thus avoiding the problems of waiver of confidentiality) and the user could upload documents such as warrants, etc, directly into the screen through their smartphone or other web access device through photos, screenshots, or even just pointing the camera toward the document if they lacked technological sophistication.
Something that was built in plain language that is universally acceptable for an LSC org but was also available for other types of legal clinics (bar associations, non-LSC funded partners, etc) would be ideal. Preferably, no set-up would be required by the LSC org on the user side as the accessibility would be user-friendly and in plain language.
-Kimi deMent
Project Reason/Description | https://trello.com/c/HTLXnoF7/143-reason
Build a remote connectivity platform (such as an app) that can be used to set up remote/virtual legal clinics specifically designed to service rural areas that LSC funded organizations could overlay into their existing intake/screenings, and non LSC funded organizations could also utilize. It would theoretically be set up so that the user would access either a web platform or app and would be guided through a series of plain-language questions on income, eligibility, etc. The user would then be virtually connected with an "on-call" pro bono attorney (either in real time or by appointment) who would provide pro bono counsel and advice through the web portal on behalf of the legal services organization in the same way as if the person attended a traditional walk-in clinic. Ideally, the platform would be a secure connection (thus avoiding the problems of waiver of confidentiality) and the user could upload documents such as warrants, etc, directly into the screen through their smartphone or other web access device through photos, screenshots, or even just pointing the camera toward the document if they lacked technological sophistication. Something that was built in plain language that is universally acceptable for an LSC org but was also available for other types of legal clinics (bar associations, non-LSC funded partners, etc) would be ideal. Preferably, no set-up would be required by the LSC org on the user side as the accessibility would be user-friendly and in plain language.
Every year, approximately 20,000 youth age-out of the foster care system throughout the U.S. The statistics on how youth fair after they leave foster care are grim. Compared to their peers, youth who age-out of foster care without being connected to caring and committed adults are less likely to complete their education and obtain employment that pays a living wage. They are at greater risk of homelessness, incarceration, becoming parents early and having their own children involved in the foster care system. Many are left to deal with the trauma they experienced at home or in the foster care system without adequate access to medical and mental health care.
To combat these dire outcomes, both federal and state laws have created rights and protections for this vulnerable population. However, many youth and those who advocate on their behalf are unaware of those rights or do not understand how to access them.
Florida, in accordance with federal law, has enacted several programs which provide access to health care, housing, education, social and financial support. However, the eligibility requirements for each program are specific and can depend on the youth's legal status at certain ages, the length of time the youth spent in certain placements, the youth's educational achievements and current age.
To help navigate this complicated system, we would like to create a chatbot that walks a youth and/or their advocate through questions to help determine eligibility for the various programs. Most of the questions could be answered with yes, no, or I don't know.
In an ideal world, this chatbot could be expanded to cover the entire U.S. and be available to all youth and young adults who have aged out of care.
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