Okaloosa County BOCC — August 4, 2015 — annualreport2013(1) — reading text

and given the magnitude of the a.m. one morning and held her captive beating, she was granted a 2 year injunc- until sunrise. She endured repeated beat- tion. She has since moved to a new ings throughout the early day and had apartment in an attempt to erase the clumps of hair ripped from her scalp. She horrific memory of that morning. was covered in bruises by the time he finally left. Fort Walton Beach After calling for help, she filed an injunction with the court. The sheriff’s office called his cell phone to find out where he was in order to serve the Petition for Injunc- tion For Protec- tion Against Re- peat Violence. He Panama City HOPE AND JUSTICE FOR ALL TEENS AND CHILDREN: Under LSNF’s sexual assault legal assistance grant, staff attorneys recently helped a 17 year old girl who was raped by three members of the military. Bethany’s mother tried to get information on the ongoing investigation, but since the sexual assaults happened on base, the military would not release information to civilians. Also, she was not permitted into the room when investigators began interviewing Bethany. Nor could she Pensacola obtain the names of the soldiers who assaulted her daughter. Furthermore, Bethany was being bullied at school by classmates who were taunting her and spreading lies about how she “wanted it.” When Bethany’s mother contacted LSNF, staff attorneys immediately contacted the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) office on base and began to coordinate weekly meetings with investigators in order to keep all parties in- formed. All three of the men involved in the rape were prosecuted. Throughout the proceedings, LSNF attorneys stood by as advocates for Bethany and her mother help- ing to explain the complex legal issues involved, advising them not to discuss the case with anyone, getting Bethany’s high school principal to launch an investigation into the bullying allegations, and confronting a classmate and threatening her with civil prosecu- tion for her defamatory speech. All of the issues with the bullying and speech stopped immediately. Bethany continues to undergo therapy dealing with victim trauma and is receiving other crime victim’s assistance. Victims of such crimes residing in LSNF’s service area have a strong voice! Quincy 6  Pro Bono Awards Each year LSNF participates in The Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award nomina- tion process in the First, Sec- Daryl Parks and former LSNF board member Ben Crump, Retired LSNF Senior Attorney Marc Taps, presents the Joy ond and Fourteenth Judicial present the Thurgood Marshall Award to Circuit Judge, Aukema Taps Children's Advocate of the Year Award to Circuits, putting forth names of James O. Shelfer. Dr. Mimi Graham. deserving volunteer attorneys for consideration for this im- Private Attorney Involvement—PAI portant recognition. The LSNF works closely with private attorneys throughout its sixteen county service area awards were established in to provide legal assistance to low-income individuals. Through the Private Attorney 1981 and intended to encour- Involvement (PAI) Program this cooperation takes several forms, coordinating volun- age lawyers to volunteer free teer attorney resources of time and/or financial support. Over 900 attorneys make legal services to the poor by up LSNF’s support pool. Five hundred and twenty-nine of these lawyers (529) con- recognizing those who make tributed over $160,000. In addition, pro bono attorneys provided over 5,671 hours public service commitments of service in 2013. This is the equivalent of $1,134,200 worth of legal services. and to raise public awareness of the substantial volunteer A large part of client assistance continues to come from volunteers at our telephone services provided by Florida legal advice hotline. We are grateful to our partners at the Department of Business lawyers. In 2013, all three of and Professional Regulations, Department of Transportation and the City of Tallahas- LSNF’s nominees for the award see Attorney’s office for encouraging their attorneys to participate in this important for each Circuit in its service program for so many years. area were selected by the local Board of Governor’s nomina- Volunteer Recognition tion committees. The 2013 winners included Fred Gant The work of volunteers is a vital part of Legal of Frederick J. Gant, Attorney Services’ effort to succeed in its mission. Each at Law, in Pensacola; Carolyn year LSNF recognizes its volunteers by publish- Cummings of Cummings & ing in area newspapers all the names of lawyers Hobbs, P.A., in Tallahassee; who contributed time and other resources. and, Bob Pell, Assistant State Additionally, in the 1st and 2nd Judicial Cir- Attorney of the 14th Judicial cuits, LSNF holds a Pro Bono Week and Law Circuit in Panama City. Week Celebration reception each October and May in honor of all volunteer attorneys. Congratulations! Congressional appropriations for legal services have not kept pace with infla- tion. In real dollars, the current federal investment in Legal Services Corpora- tion (LSC), which funds a major portion of LSNF’s budget, is roughly half of Fred Gant the 1980 funding level. Our Challenges Carolyn Cummings Our staff is one of Legal Services of North Florida’s most valuable resources. To maintain consistently high quality client services, it is imperative to keep well-qualified and dedicated attorneys, paralegals and support staff that are committed to making a difference in people’s lives. Toward that end, we strive to expand community support by helping the business and private community understand the role of legal services in the quality of life for all and to educate and inform our leaders, philanthropists, politi- Bob Pell cians, business people and residents about how integral LSNF is to a safe and healthy community. 7  Common Questions about Legal Services of North Florida LSNF FUNDING PARTNERS Where does your money come from? Area Agency on Aging of North Florida LSNF is funded from a variety of public and private sources. Our largest funder is the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) which is funded by Congress. Additionally we receive funds from Bay County Commission the Florida Bar Foundation and its Interest on Trust Accounts funding. We also have a variety of governmental grants which help fund our domestic violence programs, representation of children Calhoun County Commission and taxpayer clinics. We receive funds from 14 of our counties derived from ordinances in Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida accord with a legislative mandate. The remainder of our funding comes from other governmen- tal and private grants, the United Way, private contributions and fundraising events. City of Quincy Are you a state or govern- Florida Attorney General’s Office mental agency? Florida Bar Foundation No, we are a private not- for-profit agency. Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence How many lawyers do you have? Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Over the 16 counties we Florida Guardian ad Litem serve, we have 18 staff Franklin County Commission and over 300 volunteer lawyers. Gadsden County Clerk of the Courts What is the composition of Gadsden County Commission your board? LSNF Tallahassee Office Gulf County Commission Our board is comprised of representatives of the various attorney groups throughout our region