Texas Bar Foundation Grants Awarded Spring 2016 Amarillo College Foundation $25,000 Legal Student Internships with Community Legal Clinics To develop periodic legal clinics offering guidance through the legal system, professional legal advice from volunteer attorneys, and assistance with completing filings and documents for community members who are economically or otherwise disadvantaged. Court Appointed Special Advocates of Trinity Valley, Inc. $2,850 CASA Volunteer Recruitment To increase community awareness and recruit at least 45 additional volunteers. Center Against Sexual Family Violence $5,000 Legal and Immigration Advocacy for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault To support court accompaniment and immigration advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Center for Child Protection $3,000 Interviewing & Prosecuting Child Molesters: Understanding the Psychopathy and Actions of Adult Sex Offenders To create a training focused on understanding the motivation behind child sex offenders in order for investigators to better design their interview and interrogation techniques. Volunteers at the Creek $15,000 Travis County Drug Court Support To provide evidence based, peer recovery coaching services to individuals referred from court. Communities in Schools Houston, Inc. $5,355 Summer Legal Internship Program To add a public-interest component to the summer internship program and place 10 students in the court system or pro bono legal service agencies. Community Justice Foundation $20,200 Expansion of Pro Bono Services in Bexar County and New Client Intake and Resource Center for Free Legal Services for Low-Income Residents of the San Antonio Area. To fund an expansion of the Community Justice Program as an independent program. Dallas Children's Advocacy Center $5,000 28th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference To provide critical training to professionals across Texas who assist with the prosecution of child abuse cases.
Unlocking Doors, Inc. $29,500 New State Headquarters Rent, Furnishings, Equipment and Finish Out To combine two separate locations into one statewide headquarters that can better fulfill client needs in a comprehensive manner. DORS Community Services $6,000 Operation Turnaround To enable indigent young people on probation to complete court-ordered classes, receive training, job search assistance, counseling to resolve issues underlying legal charges, and legal assistance. Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates $10,000 2016 National Teachers Law School To send four administrators to the National Teachers Law School. Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas $3,500 Guide to Texas Open Records and Open Meetings Laws To create a concise guidebook on Texas open records and open meetings laws to be distributed in print form and in PDF form online. Front Steps $20,000 Front Steps SOAR Program To connect people experiencing homelessness with benefits for which they may be eligible. GENaustin $7,500 The 180 Program Expansion in Central Texas Expansion throughout Central Texas of prevention and intervention program designed to reach middle and high school girls involved in or at high risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. Grayson County Children's Advocacy Center $22,000 SART Team Equipment To purchase forensic examination camera for use in responding to acute sexual assault investigations by the Grayson County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). Texarkana Volunteer Services Bureau, Inc. $8,173 Skilled Parenting Program Pilot program to offer services and classes to assist prisoners learning basic parenting skills as well as legal rights and obligations as they return to their roles as fathers and to meet the requirements of HR 759 at the Federal Corrections Institution in Texarkana.
Historic Fort Worth $3,500 Historic Preservation Handbook: Laws & Incentives at the Local, State, and Federal Levels To create, publish, and distribute a handbook explaining the local, state, and federal laws that guide historic preservation projects as well as the financial incentives available for such projects. Houston Urban Debate League $29,800 Middle School Camp Expansion and Teacher Training Program To fund a one-time project to expand middle school debate opportunities through summer debate instruction at an overnight camp, held at the University of Houston, and teaching training program. Houston East Texas Justice for Our Neighbors $10,000 Houston/East Texas Immigration Legal Services To provide low-income individuals and families with affordable, high quality immigration legal services and education. Matagorda County Women's Center Crisis Center $3,000 Advocating for the Helpless To provide and expand basic legal services for victims of domestic violence, provide and expand pro bono clinics for low income individuals, and work with Matagorda and Wharton County Bar Associations to establish a private attorney involvement program. Northeast Texas CASA, Inc. $9,600 Family Matters Visitation & Exchange Center Assistance Program To provide a secure environment for court-ordered, supervised visits between children and their non-custodial parent. ProBar ABA Fund for Justice and Education $50,000 ProBar San Antonio Bar Association $11,750 Membership Database and Website To fund new database software to integrate multiple outdated systems and provide new website hosting and improvements for members and the community at large. Social Motion Inc. $25,000 Gaining Employment with Autism - Transition, Training, Taxpaying! To develop an 8 week transition to employment training curriculum for teens and young adults with autism and similar social impairments, and offer a pilot session of these classes.
Texas A&M School of Law $25,000 Texas Apprenticeship Network: Empowering Solo Practitioners to Help Bridge the Justice Gap To supervise recent law graduates who plan to pursue solo practice and represent lower income clients. Texas Access to Justice Commission $20,000 Access to Justice Summer Internship Program Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts $10,500 Part time Staffing To hire a part time administrative assistant for 10 hours per week, engage contract staff members in Houston and DFW, and use a consultant to improve features of TALA's database system. Texas Center for the Judiciary, Inc. $30,000 Annual Judicial Education Conference - Texas Bar Foundation Day To sponsor the opening day of the 12 hour Annual Judicial Education Conference. Texas Legal Services Center $20,000 Rural Legal Clinics Pilot Project To deliver free, face-to-face legal assistance to rural low income Texans who live in counties without a brick and mortar legal aid office, law library, or on-site legal clinic. Texas State University San Marcos $5,000 Discourse in Democracy To encourage a lively and wide-ranging discourse among students, faculty, and the local community on democratic institutions and practices in the local community, United States, and the world. Texas Tenants' Union $5,000 Tenant Education Program To provide free weekly workshops covering topics such as evictions, leases, repairs, and security deposits with 3 volunteer attorneys and one paralegal giving one-on-one, pro bono counseling at the workshops. Dallas Urban Debate Alliance $10,000 Comprehensive Debate Program To enhance the comprehensive debate program in Dallas ISD at 31 high schools and 19 middle schools. University of North Texas Foundation $23,600 UNT Dallas College of Law Community Lawyering Centers Pilot Program A pilot program to provide access to competent legal services for underserved persons.
Women's Protective Services of Lubbock, Inc. $5,000 Regional Outreach/Community Education Project To increase the availability of legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence in 12 West Texas counties. YMCA of Greater San Antonio $13,220 YMCA Youth & Government Program To support financial assistance and offset program costs for low-income youth to participate in the YMCA's Youth & Government program who cannot afford full program fees.