Civil Theme - Visualizing Where We Will be in Five Years

For the last 100 years, NLADA's civil members have faced enormous challenges in the pursuit of justice for people living in poverty. Incredible victories have been won over that century of change. These gains have always been followed by further challenges. Never have those challenges been greater than they are today.

Communities across the nation remain in the depths of a deep and enduring recession. We continue to see record numbers of home foreclosures, enormously high rates of unemployment and incidents of domestic violence stemming from the troubled economy. These issues require a national response. Recently, states have begun to address the lack of a national policy on immigration by considering harsh enforcement policies that have ledto racial profiling and other civil rights violations that signal a return to some of the worst practices of the nation's past.

The confluence of these issues demands that the civil legal aid community look creatively to fashion the most effective strategies possible during a time of shrinking resources to meet the incredible growth in demand for services. We invite our communities to come together to strategize together as to where we can, and want to, be in five years. By creating together a shared vision for our future, we can all work in concert to achieve that goal.

This year’s civil them will provide a forum for legal aid leaders to: share with each other what is working; brainstorm together how to garner more resources locally and nationally; plan strategic advocacy efforts for lasting and substantial impact; engage client and other communities in creative ways to help us communicate our values; and learn more about data collection and analysis, evidence-based practices and research as a strategic tool.

This year's civil theme will also explore what legal aid providers can do to mitigate the financial challenges they face while, at the same time, retooling their advocacy efforts to achieve maximum impact.

Among the areas we intend to address are:

• The Changing Demographics of Poverty in the United States/Likely Trends Over 5 Years
• Key Substantive Issues Related to the Economic Crisis Affecting Poor People and Communities of Color
• Representing Immigrants in an Uncertain World
• Scenario Planning for Political Change
• Strategic Advocacy for Lasting Results
• Increasing Funding in a Time of Economic Crisis
• Developing and Using Research and Data Effectively

Back to Annual Conference Homepage