Funding declines for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid will cause the organization to lay off about 20 percent of its staff in the coming weeks.
Including satellite offices, JALA employs about 85 people. A 20 percent cut would indicate a loss of 17 positions.
A major source of funding for JALA is the Interest on Trust Accounts program, commonly referred to as IOTA, that is managed by The Florida Bar Foundation. The program was implemented by the Florida Supreme Court in 1981.
IOTA contributions are allocated annually to the three uses approved by the Florida Supreme Court: legal assistance for the poor, improvements in the administration of justice and law student assistance.
With interest rates at historically low levels, legal aid organizations are struggling to maintain their levels of service.
“The local legal community is moving to try to find a way to help us with our fundraising efforts, but the sad reality is that JALA can no longer wait for the results from those efforts,” said Martyn.
The downward trend in interest rates means less funding per grant request.
JALA received $1.2 million in 2011, and is projected to receive $550,000 in 2013 and $350,000 in 2014.
The Florida Bar Foundation, projects a 73 percent cut in funding over the next four years, according to Paul Doyle, director of legal assistance for the poor and law student assistance grant programs for the Foundation.
JALA employees assist low-income residents with civil legal problems including foreclosure, landlord-tenant disputes, naturalization, consumer law and child and youth advocacy.
“The cuts will be made across the board. We are trying to figure out how to maintain services while implementing the cuts,” said Martyn.
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