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July 28, 2010 Faifield County Community Foundation An anonymous donor who receives philanthropic advisory services from the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF) has awarded Connecticut Legal Services, Inc. (CLS) a $35,000 matching grant to support the services that CLS provides to the low-income community in Fairfield County. Through this matching grant, FCCF will match any new or increased donation that CLS receives from any member of the Fairfield County community. Connecticut Legal Services is a private, not for profit law firm committed to helping low-income people improve their lives by providing access to justice. For over 30 years, CLS has provided free legal assistance to thousands of low-income people across a broad range of civil law areas including housing, disability, public benefits, family, immigration, employment, and juvenile. In 2009, CLS received a $40,000 competitive grant from the FCCF which was supplemented by an additional $20,000 from this same anonymous donor. “The Foundation continues to demonstrate vital support for the work that we do for the low-income population of Fairfield County by awarding us this grant,” says CLS executive director Steven Eppler-Epstein, adding “The $70,000 in new money we would raise through this grant would allow us to help low-income residents of Fairfield County who need us now more than ever.” The Fairfield County Community Foundation promotes the growth of community and regional philanthropy to improve the quality of life throughout Fairfield County. Individuals, families, corporations, and organizations can establish charitable funds and contribute to existing funds. The Foundation also provides philanthropic advisory services to donors and develops and leads initiatives to tackle critical community issues. The Foundation has awarded over $110 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org. “The Foundation believes in and supports the work that CLS does in our community.” says Karen R. Brown, Vice President of Programs, adding “During this difficult financial time, we are thrilled we were able to successfully broker this second year general operating support grant to a very generous donor whom I have the privilege of working with at FCCF.” January 6, 2009 Connecticut Legal Services staff Connecticut Legal Services (CLS), the largest provider of civil legal aid to the poor in Connecticut, is facing a financial crisis, and is addressing it directly in an attempt to avoid massive layoffs. The staff has agreed to reduce pay and hours by 20% in order to save jobs and maintain services to its clients. CLS managers are taking a larger 25% to 35% cut in their wages. “Our staff is incredible. Their sacrifice is a testament to their commitment to the poor and their desire to ensure that the much needed ervices we provide continue to be available to the fullest extent possible,” says Steve Eppler-Epstein, executive director of CLS. He notes, “CLS is implementing cost cutting measures in every area of our operations. What’s terrible is that these cutbacks come at a time when client need is rising, and the huge sacrifice by our staff still makes up only half of the current financial shortfall -- it isn’t enough to prevent lay offs and further service cuts. We will need the state’s help to keep this from being a disaster.” CLS’ financial crisis is a result of an enormous decrease in IOLTA funding for 2009. Revenues from IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) have plummeted due to the stalled housing market and the drastic reduction in interest rates. As a result, CLS’ 2009 overall funding has been cut by 40% - $4 million. “Legal services staff across the state have given up a large portion of their already below market salaries in order to deal with the funding cuts and preserve services to the thousands of low-income people who are affected by this financial crisis,” says Sandy Klebanoff, executive director of the Connecticut Bar Foundation which administers the revenue on IOLTA accounts, adding “and with the state’s help, we can make up the rest of the statewide $8-$9 million shortfall and prevent the terrible loss of legal services to the poor.” CLS staff’s drastic measures in reducing hours, cutting salaries
and reducing health care expenditures prevented initial substantial
lay offs which otherwise would have been required on January 1, 2009.
Although the cost saving measures go a long way toward closing the
gap the funding cut has created in the current fiscal year of CLS’ budget,
lay offs are still possible starting in July 2009 if a solution to
the funding problem is not found. "It will worsen the state's
situation if thousands of poor people don't get help because we have
been forced to lay off staff," notes Eppler-Epstein, "Individual
donors and foundations are stepping up in important ways, but given
the economy they don’t have the resources to close a gap of this
magnitude. Despite the state's budget pressures, we hope legislators
can help us find a solution that would allow us to retain our staff
and continue to provide the current level of high quality legal services
through the next fiscal year." August 20, 2008 CLS’ Stamford Day Laborer Wage Clinic Connecticut Legal Services’ (CLS) Stamford Day Laborer Wage Clinic, for the first time, files mechanic’s liens to collect unpaid wages owed to day laborers. Two day laborers performed work for a subcontractor at a condominium complex in Stamford. After the subcontractor refused to pay them for their work, they visited the Stamford Day Laborer Wage Clinic and asked for help. The Clinic uses CLS staff and community volunteers to help day laborers and other workers collect the wages withheld by their employers. The Clinic contacted Brian Rice, an attorney at McCarter & English, to evaluate whether the case was appropriate for a mechanic’s lien. “It had been a little less than 90 days since the day laborers had performed work at the site and the work involved the demolition and construction of chimneys. We concluded that the work was within the scope of the mechanic’s lien statutes and took the necessary steps to record liens on the property,” says Rice. “We faced a unique challenge with this case, however, because the work involved a condominium complex. Under the mechanic’s lien statutes, we were required to prepare 38 mechanic’s liens and provide notice to all of the owners within a very short amount of time.” Rice prepared and recorded the liens before the deadline. A settlement was reached shortly thereafter. Rice noted that “the case presented an interesting issue of law: whether an employee of a subcontractor can record a mechanic’s lien to recover wages owed by his or her employer for construction services. We believe that the mechanic’s lien statutes and case law reflect an intention to protect individuals who provide labor or materials for the construction of buildings, and thus permit individual employees to record mechanic’s liens.” “This is the first time that the Clinic has used a mechanic’s lien as a way to collect unpaid wages from employers. General contactors need to understand that they are liable if their sub-contractors refuse to pay their workers’ earned wages.” says Nadine Nevins, Regional Director for Connecticut Legal Services, adding, “Mechanic’s liens are a method of collecting unpaid wages that we will continue to use on behalf of Clinic clients.”
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