TESTIMONY
Anna Arkin-Gallagher on Enhancing Civil Legal Services to Support Public Defense Clients
4:28:06
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162 sec
Anna Arkin-Gallagher discusses the vital role of Brooklyn Defender Services in providing legal and social work services to minimize collateral consequences for clients facing criminal, family, or immigration matters.
- Advocates for increased city support and investment in civil legal services to address issues before litigation.
- Describes how their civil justice practice assists clients in maintaining their public benefits, housing, and family stability through preventive interventions.
- Highlights the importance of interdisciplinary representation and early intervention in avoiding court proceedings.
- Calls for renewed and expanded funding for civil legal services, including immigration practice support, to enhance their ability to enforce low wage immigrant workers' rights and offer immigration relief.
- Stress on the necessity of full representation for legal aid recipients beyond just court appearances to provide comprehensive solutions.
Anna Arkin-Gallagher
4:28:06
Hi.
4:28:06
Good afternoon.
4:28:08
My name is Anna Arkin Gallagher.
4:28:09
I'm a supervising attorney in policy Council on the civil justice practice at Brooklyn Defender Services.
4:28:15
Thank you to the committee and deputy speaker Ayala for the opportunity to testify today.
4:28:21
BDS is a public defense office representing people in criminal, family, and immigration matters.
4:28:26
Our civil justice practice provides legal and social work services to our clients to minimize or prevent collateral consequences and ensure that the people we represent can keep their jobs, stay in their homes, and support their families.
4:28:40
We echo our colleagues' requests that the city increased support for civil legal services, but urged the city to also invest in opportunities to fund organizations in ways that allow providers to intervene to resolve issues before the need for litigation arises.
4:28:56
As an example, we routinely address public benefits benefits issues for our family defense clients whose children are temporarily removed from their care, ensuring their public assistance budget for rental assistance and housing vouchers remains unaffected despite a temporary change in household size.
4:29:14
Without intervention, children are removed from their parents' budgets.
4:29:18
Without notice, resulting in rent not being paid and eventually in nonpayment proceedings being filed, often before the family is even made aware of this issue.
4:29:27
We believe full representation is essential, but tying access to legal representation only to court appearances misses opportunities for earlier, more efficient resolution of issues that can avoid future court proceedings entirely.
4:29:41
We're grateful to Speaker Adams and the counsel for the generous speakers initiative funding to support our allowing us to provide interdisciplinary representation, including the early intervention assistance referenced above we ask ask that this funding be renewed.
4:29:57
BDS also receives discretionary IOI funding in support of our immigration practice.
4:30:02
We continue to expand services to meet our clients' needs, including focusing on enforcing low wage immigrant workers' rights and also seeking deferred act for workers who are experiencing labor exploitation.
4:30:15
We've seen dozens of clients whose employment claims have also led to meaningful immigration relief, including obtaining work authorization, as well as the administrative closure of their removal proceedings, where it would otherwise not be possible.
4:30:28
We ask that the council increased this funding to allow us to fans this work.
4:30:32
Thank the city council for the opportunity to testify today and for your continued support of the people, family, and communities we represent Our written testimony further elaborates on the critical interventions we provide to clients with criminal, ACS, and immigration matters.
4:30:47
Thank you.
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McGregor Smyth, Executive Director, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest on Immigrant Health Initiatives and Legal Services
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Omarax Rosa, Director of Housing Justice at the Harlem Community Justice Center, on the Importance of Addressing Economic Justice and Housing Instability
