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About Texas Legal Services Center...
Providing assistance to the poverty law advocate and client community.
The Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC), a Legal Services Program, is a state support office which provides specialized assistance to advocates of low-income people. The areas in which we provide assistance are training, litigation support, and communication. We encourage you to take advantage of these services.
ADVOCACY
TLSC helps the poverty law advocate in several ways:
- providing legal updates and analysis
- keeping the various field programs informed of one another's litigation
- monitoring and disseminating information about state agencies
- assisting the task forces, groups made up of legal services personnel with expertise in particular areas of poverty law. There are task forces for such areas as public benefits and housing/consumer law.
TLSC represents low-income Texans before state administrative agencies which oversee medical, nutrition, cash assistance, and workforce development services.
TLSC also offers litigation support through co-counseling, identification of expert witnesses, and assistance with individual cases upon request.
If you would like to find out more about TLSC's support for advocacy or have questions related to litigation, call the Director of Advocacy and Client Services at TLSC.
COMMUNICATIONS
TLSC facilitates sharing of information among poverty law advocates. TLSC disseminates information on legal developments electronically and in paper form.
TLSC maintains a briefbank and information clearinghouse which catalogue briefs, forms, pleadings, and videotapes.
TLSC publishes pamphlets on topics of concern to the Legal Services community. They cover such topics as elder law, public benefits, and nursing home law.
TLSC staff regularly prepare legal updates that appear in the TLC Alert.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Legal Hotline for Older Texans
With assistance from AARP/Legal Counsel for the Elderly, the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, and the Texas Department on Aging, TLSC established a toll free telephone hotline for persons over 60 needing brief legal advice. Licensed Texas attorneys help resolve callers' problems including matters with Social Security, health care, consumer issues, and elderly abuse. Clients may reach the Hotline at 1-800-622-2520.
Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP)
TLSC is one of the lead agencies in Texas' HICAP Program. This Program provides legal awareness and legal assistance to older persons throughout Texas.
Utility Representation
TLSC represents electric consumers in the current restructuring of the electric utility industry. TLSC's efforts have served to improve access to energy conservation programs and life-line rates for Texans of modest means. TLSC also represents telephone customers to secure life-line telephone service for low-income Texans.
Texas Legal Services Center provides support services in civil legal matters affecting the poor through grants from the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Texas Department on Aging, the Economic Opportunities Advancement Corporation, and the Texas Bar Foundation.
This page was last updated on: 08/17/05