Texas Bar Foundation

Texas Bar Foundation Grants Awarded 2011-2012

For 46 years, the Texas Bar Foundation has relied on the generosity of its Fellows to improve the lives of the people of Texas. Beginning with a $5,000 grant, the combined efforts of the Fellows over the years has resulted in the distribution of more than 900 grants throughout Texas totaling over $14 million. The financial support has grown, and the Foundation currently has five program areas:

 Legal Aid for the Underserved  Education of the Public  Victim Services  Professionalism/Research/Publications/Forums  Administration of Justice

During 2011-2012, the Texas Bar Foundation approved 64 grants for organizations totaling $803,000.

Texas Access to Justice Commission $20,000 “Access to Justice Summer Internship Program”

American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education $50,000 “ProBAR”

Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc. $750 “Padilla v. Kentucky Legal Assistance Project” To continue and expand the Padilla v. Kentucky Legal Assistance Project to educate the West Texas legal community as to their professional obligations towards immigrant defendants pursuant to the recent Supreme Court decision.

Community Justice Foundation $1,000 “Community Justice Program” To redesign, update and print more program brochures and ensure their placement in the Bexar County Staff Attorney's Office, Bexar County Law Library, local community centers, hospitals, workforce center, shelters, and other areas that typically assist low-income people.

League of Women Voters - Texas Education Fund $2,625 “2012 Texas Voters Guides (Judicial Elections)” Production of the online judicial portion of the Voters Guide for the primary elections and general election of 2012. Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas $7,405 “Victim Assistance Awareness Program” To develop and deliver a series of community outreach sessions to heighten awareness of the legal remedies available to immigrants who have been victimized by certain types of criminal activity and domestic violence.

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. $7,750 “Outreach to Low-Income Domestic Violence Survivors and Domestic Workers in Texas” To implement two projects, a Public Service Announcements program focusing on the rights of domestic violence survivors and the creation of a new, printed guide focusing on the legal issues of domestic workers.

Arc of the Capital Area $9,009 “Future Care Guardianship Program” To continue the Future Care Guardianship program funded last year to provide critical additional time to build sustainability for the program and to meet the need for these services.

State Bar of Texas Committee on Law Focused Education $25,000 “We The People ... The Citizen and the Constitution State Competition” To promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation's upper elementary and secondary students.

Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Inc. $25,000 “Human Rights Curriculum” To raise awareness of human rights issues among Dallas area high school students by teaching human rights education in private and public high schools.

State Bar of Texas $35,000 “Oyez, Oyez, Oh Yay! Civics Resources for Texas Students and Teachers” An interactive web-based initiative to assist Texas teachers and students in preparing for the new TEKS standards, focusing on landmark court decisions that middle and high school students must know to be successful.

Texas Young Lawyers Association $43,800 “The Unconscious Truth – The Physical and Legal Effects of Underage Binge Drinking” A public service, law-related education project intended to educate the public, including teens and their parents, about the consequences of underage binge drinking.

CASA of Central Texas, Inc. $4,000 “Court Program Services/Casework Supervisor to train and support community volunteers” To partially pay the salary and benefits of a Casework Supervisor to train and guide community volunteers. Court Appointed Special Advocates of Grayson County $4,500 “Casework Management/Advocacy” Support for current volunteers and program expenses, and to manage, solicit, train and recruit new volunteers.

GENaustin $5,000 “The 180 Program” Provide court-ordered services for adolescent girls involved with the juvenile justice system in order to reduce recidivism, increase bonding and pro-social behaviors and improve in-school functioning.

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Burnet County $5,000 “Outreach for Program Growth” To increase the volunteer corp in outlying counties.

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Bastrop County $5,000 “Volunteer Advocate Recruitment and Retention” Volunteer coordinator to recruit, train and maintain dedicated volunteers who will advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system of Bastrop, Lee and Fayette Counties.

Voices for Children Inc. - CASA of Brazos Valley $5,000 “Guardian ad Litem Representation” Partial funding for one Volunteer Coordinator to assist, supervise, and provide ongoing support for up to 24 CASA volunteers.

Ft Bend County Child Advocates Inc $5,000 “No Project Title Submitted” To partially fund a therapist position in the Children's Advocacy Center to provide services to sexually or seriously physically abused children.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star $5,000 “Amachi Texas” To help break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration by providing responsible mentors who encourage, enrich, and empower children of incarcerated parents to reach their highest potential.

YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas $6,000 “YMCA Texas Youth and Government Program” To provide financial assistance/scholarships to high school students to attend the annual YMCA Texas and Youth & Government State Conference in January 2013 and the new YMCA National Judicial Conference in July 2012. Bluebonnet Childrens Center $6,640 “Child Advocate Recruitment and Training Project - CASA Volunteers” To recruit and train 20 new CASA volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in Medina, Uvalde and Real Counties.

Casa de Esperanza $7,000 “Adoption Program” To provide legal services for the adoption of children in crisis due to abuse, neglect or effects of HIV.

Bexar County Partners for Youth $7,002 “CHAPS - Children and Horses Always Produce Success” To complete onsite round pen at the Krier Juvenile Correction & Treatment Center for a program that will utilize horses as part of the youth mental health services.

Center for Family Relations d/b/a San Antonio Kids Exchange $7,500 “Monitored Exchange Scholarship Program” To renew and expand the 2010 Monitored Exchange Scholarship program.

CASA of Tarrant County $9,000 “Transitioning Youth Specialist” To provide volunteer advocacy services to foster children, age 15-18, who are positioning to leave the foster care system.

University of Texas at El Paso $10,000 “CASA Service for Undergraduate Students” Extension of the Law School Preparation Institute that puts UTEP undergraduates through CASA training and educates them in children's rights law while assigning them to be advocates for children in the court system.

CASA of Travis County $10,000 “Transition Court Youth Advocacy” To advocate for youth, 14 to 18, who are in permanent managing conservatorship of the State, some of whom participate in the Transition Court, a new initiative of the Travis County Courts.

Communities in Schools Houston, Inc. $10,500 “Summer Legal Internship Program” To add a public interest component to the summer internship program and place three students in the court system or pro bono legal services agencies.

Texas CASA, Inc. $12,000 “Advocacy for Children Training Video” To create the "CASA Advocacy for Children" training video to provide a critical training resource to CASA volunteers in each of the 69 local CASA programs in Texas. Houston Urban Debate League $12,000 “2012 Summer Student and Coach Workshop” Summer student and coach workshop to prepare 200 students for the school year and debate season.

Children's Advocacy Center of Smith County $15,000 “Kids in Court” The Kids in Court Program is a court education program for child victims of sexual and severe physical abuse and their protective caregivers to reduce the trauma associated with testifying in court.

The Women's Center of Tarrant County $20,000 “Play It Safe!” Play It Safe is a specialized, age appropriate sexual assault/sexual abuse prevention and awareness training program available in English and Spanish for children pre-school-12th grade, as well as their parents, teachers, and caregivers.

Dallas Children's Advocacy Center $20,000 “24th Annual Crimes Against Children Conference” The Crimes Against Children Conference targets law enforcement officers, child protection caseworkers, prosecutors, medical professionals and therapists fighting child abuse on a daily basis.

VSTEP Inc. $3,000 “Step Up Now! Crime Victims' Rights Awareness Campaign” To increase awareness and understanding about crime victims' rights through education, advocacy and enforcement with an emphasis on providing pro bono legal services to victims/survivors of crime.

Hope's Door, Inc. $5,000 “Legal Advocacy for Victims of Family Violence” Legal Advocacy for Victims of Family Violence program collaborates with law enforcement agencies, health care providers and social services agencies to reach out to victims of domestic violence.

Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services $10,000 To enhance case management for legal clients who qualify as victims of domestic violence, violent crime and other forms of abuse.

Women's Protective Services of Lubbock, Inc. $10,000 “Regional Outreach/Community Education Project” To increase the current availability of legal advocacy, community education, information and referral and accompaniment to court with victims of domestic violence in a 12-county service area around Lubbock. Mosaic Family Services, Inc. $10,000 “Multicultural Legal Services: Language Access Program” To maintain the Language Access Program, which provides interpreter services and improves access to justice for Limited English Proficiency victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.

Texas Muslim Women's Foundation, Inc. $11,520 “Legal Services for Victims of Family Violence with Special Language Needs” To expand social services to combat domestic violence by increasing free legal service office consultations from one day a month to two days a month.

Texas Advocacy Project, Inc. $11,960 “Access to Attorneys for Sexual Assault Survivors Program” To expand the Access to Attorneys Program to service clients at an additional three domestic violence and/or sexual assault service agencies across Texas through the use of high definition teleconferencing equipment.

SafeHaven of Tarrant County $18,000 “Enhanced Legal Services for Clients with Limited English Proficiency” Enhance the legal department by engaging a contract translator to provide written and spoken English translation for Spanish speaking clients.

Children at Risk, Inc. $18,500 “Safe House Now Initiative” To create a blueprint and toolkit for how to establish a safe house for victims of human trafficking, and raise awareness, increase services and provide judges and attorneys with a better understanding of the needs of victims of human trafficking.

Texas Civil Rights Project $6,000 “Disability Rights Program” To address issues of accessibility for the underserved rural disability community in West Texas.

AIDS Services of Austin $7,500 “Capital Area AIDS Legal Project (CAALP)” Provide pro bono legal assistance on civil matters, not including immigration status, to low-income people living with HIV and AIDS in Central Texas.

Opening Doors Immigration Services, Inc. $7,700 “Project Good Citizen” To develop and implement Project Good Citizen by hiring an experienced immigration attorney to provide legal advice and services at a nominal cost to those in need. Saheli $8,000 “Legal Advocacy for Limited English Proficient Survivors of Domestic Violence” To provide legal advocacy to underserved victims of domestic violence who are Limited English Proficiency and fall below the poverty line.

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center $11,500 “The Asylum Project” To assist refugees and asylum seekers from all over the world who arrive in El Paso either by crossing the US- Mexico border or by being transferred to the El Paso Processing Center from other locations in the United States.

CASA of the South Plains, Inc. $14,000 “Permanent Managing Conservatorship Advocate” To add a new staff member to provide dedicated support to teens aging out of permanent managing conservatorship, working specifically with the new Buckner Children's Home transition center that is opening in Lubbock.

Lone Star Legal Aid $15,000 “Foreclosure Prevention and Home Protection” Assist low-income homeowners facing the loss of their homes by providing foreclosure prevention and other home protection legal assistance.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth $15,000 “Immigration Consultation Satellite Office - Cooke County” Seed money to establish a satellite office in Gainesville, 70 miles north of Fort Worth, to provide immigration-related legal assistance to low income individuals and families who might not otherwise be able to access services due to the distance.

Pharr Community Outreach Project $19,960 “Justice for Our Neighbors South Texas” To provide free, high quality immigration legal service to the low-income community and provide education to the immigrant community about their rights and responsibilities.

Casa Marianella $20,000 “Immigration Legal Services” To provide free legal services for indigent immigrant and asylum seekers who reside at the Casa Marianella shelter.

Texas Access to Justice Commission $21,965 “Pro Bono Winter Break” To create Pro Bono Winter Break involving all 9 Texas Law Schools to deploy 62 students and 6 law professors to underserved communities throughout the state to participate in law-related volunteer projects during their winter recess. Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas $22,550 “Pro Bono Mobility Project” To acquire notebook computers, portable printers and scanners, and internet connection cards so pro bono staff can provide a virtual version of regional legal aid office at every pro bono legal aid clinic.

American Gateways $25,864 “Immigrant Women Education and Assistance Program” To provide legal education and assistance to immigrant women at the Hutto Detention Center who cannot afford a private attorney.

Lexi's Place $31,000 “Transitional Housing & Services for Disadvantaged Girls Aging Out of Foster Care” Seed money to fund needed renovations and security measures to meet current code requirements for transitional housing for disadvantage young women who age out of state protective care.

Texas Center for the Judiciary, Inc. $30,000 “Annual Judicial Conference - Texas Bar Foundation Day” Texas Bar Foundation Day during the 12 hour CJE Annual Judicial Education Conference.

Texas Defender Service $10,000 “Preliminary Mitigation Investigation Project” To increase access to quality, early mitigation investigations to indigent capital defendants.

Tarrant County Bar Foundation $5,000 “Tarrant County Pro Bono Summit” As part of Pro Bono Week celebration, provide a Pro Bono Summit to foster pro bono activities among the Tarrant County legal community and Tarrant County non-profit organizations.

Office of Court Administration $7,500 “Supreme Court Advisory Committee Meeting Materials Digitization and Website Initiative” To scan and make searchable the post-1982 Supreme Court Advisory Committee materials not already digitized and make them freely available online through the Supreme Court of Texas Website.

Healthcare for the Homeless $5,000 To aid in programs that promote health, hope and dignity for the homeless population in Houston through advancing systematic change that addresses homelessness as a wide spread social issue.

University of Texas Law School Foundation $1,000 To further legal education, legal research, financial assistance to deserving law students. University of Texas School of Law $1,000 To promote programs such as the UT Trial Advocacy program which has accumulated 14 national championships in the past 11 years.

SMU Dedman School of Law $1,000 To support programs that strengthen the education of future Texas lawyers.