In May 2019, the Court appointed a Justice For All Task Force to evaluate the civil justice system in Michigan and develop a strategic plan<https://courts.michigan.gov/News-Events/JusticeForAll/Final%20JFA%20Report%20121420.pdf> to ensure 100 percent access to justice. That plan was finalized in December 2020 and includes a provision that recommends the Michigan Supreme Court adopt an order creating an ongoing Justice For All Commission to continue and build on the work that has been done to date. Samantha Ashby, Head of Adult Services at the Peter White Public Library, and I are working with the Justice For All Commission as part of the Self-Help Center (SHC) Work Group. This work group will focus on improving the services and offerings of Self-Help Centers around the state by building capacity for services; working to improve relationships between SHCs and critical partners; developing and improving systems to make SHCs more effective and efficient; and building a stronger statewide network to help each individual Center realize its full potential, regardless of local resources. We are reaching out to librarians across the state to get a clearer picture of what Self-Help Centers, official or unofficial, exist in each county and what other legal services your library may provide. As public librarians, Samantha and I know that our patrons rely on libraries for legal information and that librarians are often the best resources for finding out about services available in our communities. With that in mind, we’d like to know: · Does your library offer a Michigan Legal Help Self-Help Center or something similar? Are you aware of a SHC in your county? · Do you offer legal information, services, or programming to your community? · What are the resources in your community for legal assistance (e.g. legal clinics)? Thank you for any information you can share. Please contact me at caitlinh@kpl.gov<mailto:caitlinh@kpl.gov> or Samantha Ashby at sashby@pwpl.info<mailto:sashby@pwpl.info> to let us know or for any questions you may have. Caitlin Hoag | Law Librarian Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Kalamazoo Public Library | CEN 315 S. Rose St. | Kalamazoo, MI 49007 (269) 553-7840 [Kalamazoo Public Library]<https://www.kpl.gov/> [Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/KalamazooPublicLibrary/> [Instagram] <https://www.instagram.com/kzoolibrary/?hl=en> [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/KzooLibrary?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor> [KPL Videos] <https://www.kpl.gov/videos/>
