Scott Kovach is the new staff attorney for the Ohio Justice Bus. Kovach is a Capital University Law School graduate and holds a master’s degree in legal studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Kovach is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and has served since 2009. Kovach joins the Bus in his first [...]
An innovative program in Springfield funded by the Supreme Court of Ohio is bringing together Clark County Juvenile Court, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), and Springfield City Schools to help chronically absent kids and their families get back on the path to success in school. The program, envisioned and developed by Clark County Judge [...]
When CareSource, one of the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care plans, set out to help address social determinants of health (SDOH), the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation was a natural partner. As the state’s access to justice entity, the Foundation understands that civil legal services are particularly effective in improving SDOH, as non-medical factors affect [...]
Crystal Bryant-Agyemang is a fierce advocate, leader, attorney, and public servant with a drive to serve her community. With a background in social work and the law, Bryant-Agyemang is an effective collaborator and organizer, a sought-after leader, and a staunch advocate for Ohioans impacted by the criminal justice system. As Executive Director of the Cleveland [...]
Since the Supreme Court of Ohio declared the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation the official access to justice entity of Ohio in 2019, the Foundation has been busy. Through the Foundation’s continued funding and support of Ohio’s legal aid organizations, its expanded focus on developing and funding access to justice initiatives like Ohio Legal Help [...]
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, in its role as the access to justice entity for the state of Ohio, recently gathered data from 20 Ohio specialty civil legal service providers on their structure, services, funding streams, and staff. The results found that the specialty providers served nearly 8,500 Ohioans in 2021, helping to address [...]
2022. It’s been a whirlwind of progress at the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and a year filled with accomplishments both big and small. Here are a few highlights. The year kicked off with the Foundation awarding $1.15 million to support the immigration legal needs of nearly 2,000 Afghan evacuees seeking safety and security in [...]
Keeping Ohioans housed has always been a top priority for Ohio’s legal aid organizations. Now, thanks to a collaborative partnership with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), legal aid is helping more homeowners experiencing pandemic-related economic hardship avoid foreclosure by combining civil legal services with funds from the Save the Dream Ohio: Help for Homeowners [...]
B. Janelle Butler Phifer, staff attorney at Legal Aid of Western Ohio, is the 2022 recipient of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Denis J. Murphy Award. The Foundation presents the Murphy Award annually to an Ohio legal aid staff member to recognize outstanding leadership and advocacy. At a reception at Legal Aid of Western [...]
Most people would agree that it benefits kids to have both parents involved in their lives. Yet too often, fathers, particularly non-custodial Black fathers, encounter barriers to accessing visitation with their children. Community Legal Aid’s Parenthood Project, led by Managing Attorney John Petit, is on a mission to change this. The Parenthood Project reframes the [...]
