The Judicial Council received an overview April 25 of the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission's grant programs and strategic priorities. Erica Connolly (co-chair) and Duann Nguyen (program director, State Bar Office of Access and Inclusion) reported substantial growth in grant administration and highlighted programs focused on housing, family law, domestic violence and immigration assistance.

Connolly and Nguyen described a portfolio of 10 grant programs that in 2024 provided roughly $200 million to about 110 nonprofit legal aid organizations and public defender offices, including $127 million in core funding distributed via the IOLTA-based formula. For 2025, the commission reported administering approximately $313 million to 115 nonprofit and public defender grantees, including roughly $283 million in core funding.

The presenters described partnership grants (equal-access partnership projects with trial courts) that fund local clinics and workshops to assist self-represented litigants (about 32,000 litigant assists and 1,800 workshops per year). They also highlighted the CARE Court grants (planning grants in 2023 and subsequent allocations to legal providers and public defenders) and the homelessness-prevention grants (initial $20 million in 2019 and subsequent renewals), noting the homelessness funding stream ended in December and that some programs have had to reduce services or lay off attorneys. Across equal-access fund grants in 2023, grantees reported more than 28,000 attorney-client assists and more than 620 attorneys funded.

Commission staff said they continue convenings, technical assistance, and partnerships with the Judicial Council and trial courts and will report further on outcomes and program needs.