Family Legal Care

Justice for All. One Family at a Time.

 September 18, 2026

Thank you to Chief Judge Wilson, the Presiding Judges, Chief Administrative Judge Zayas, the New York State Bar Association, and the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice for the opportunity to testify about the importance of the JCLS program, the critical services it makes possible, and the work we have ahead of us to increase access to justice for New Yorkers, particularly pro se litigants in Family Court.

My name is Sarah Nolan and I am the Chief Executive Officer at Family Legal Care, formerly LIFT. We are the only organization in New York State dedicated solely to empowering parents and caregivers to represent themselves in New York Family Court cases. With a budget of just under $4 million, we serve over 32,000 families every year, including over 15,000 people on our Helplines, and 7,000 in New York City’s busiest courtrooms. We also complete over 3,000 legal advice consultations every year.

I want to thank everyone involved with the JCLS program and cannot emphasize enough how crucial their funds are to our small-but-mighty organization. These funds have provided invaluable stability in a tumultuous funding environment and their increased funding over the past two years has been a lifeline as other sources of funding have shrunk, become extremely competitive, or disappeared entirely.

This funding helps us to offer competitive salaries and benefits so we can retain talented, experienced staff. Having a five-year contract not only means that we can project our finances with more certainty; it also means we are not spending time every year responding to new RFP’s. Likewise, coordinating with the IOLA Fund on data collection and reporting saves us valuable administrative time, and we encourage continued collaboration to reduce administrative burden.

In short, JCLS funding helps keep us nimble so we can respond quickly to emerging needs and remain a vital resource to families confronting issues at the heart of their well-being. We are proud of all that we do to help pro se litigants, but serious justice gaps remain, and more resources are needed.

As you all know, pro se litigants in Family Court face unique challenges. They are disproportionately low-income and Black and Latino/a and are forced to navigate the complex Court system on their own. Due to decades of underfunding, Family Court is

overburdened and understaffed. Litigants often have mere minutes in front of a jurist on issues with incredibly high stakes, like having enough child support money to put food on the table or a safe place to live.

The demand for free, expert legal advice has never been greater. Our clients are experiencing high levels of anxiety, frustration, and fear, and they need extra support. For example, many of the people we serve are affected by changes in the economy –we see this reflected in more tense, emotional calls to our Helpline about their child support cases. We have seen significant increases in the number of calls about domestic violence cases, a sobering indicator of increased stressors on families. There is also more fear of using the Court system due to increased immigration enforcement action. Providing the extra support these callers need means that calls are taking longer to resolve.

We are grateful that JCLS funding helps make our unique model possible. Our innovative programs and services stand alone in their effectiveness.

Our in-house staff attorneys and outside pro bono volunteers provide limited-scope legal consultations—a model that helps us serve exponentially more people than if we provided full representation. We have found that when we help pro se litigants get started on the right track, and provide additional support as needed, they are able to achieve positive outcomes. Many clients return to us several times as their cases work their way through Court, and take advantage of our robust suite of legal information programs and resources.

We provide legal information to callers throughout the state on our Helpline, and in-person in New York City’s busiest courthouses. In these programs, nonlawyers are extensively trained to provide legal information in real time, without losing the empathy and care that only the human touch can provide. These services are increasingly valuable to the Courts. Approximately 75% of participants come to us with questions about Court Navigation or Procedure – questions that Court clerks can answer, but often do not have the time to. We also offer a vast library of Legal and Trial Resource Guides.

JCLS has also helped us to embrace the power of technology. Our programs are offered remotely, so people don’t have to take time off work or pay for childcare to get the legal information and advice they need. Remote programming also increases access to legal advice statewide, even in rural areas.

We continue to innovate through our Digital Justice Initiative, where we have created three digital tools that make legal information easy to access and understand. For example, our Guided Court Forms –which we sometimes like to call our Turbo tax for court forms--make it easy for litigants to complete, and upload essential court documents from any web-connected device. This is particularly essential as some of the most frequently-used forms, are not available on the Court’s website.

Our interventions make the Family Court more efficient for litigants, jurists, and Court staff alike. Litigants are better-prepared, and can avoid the technical mistakes that lead to delays and adjournments, making better use of jurist’s time and getting faster relief. Our guidance can also help people avoid Court altogether by recommending mediation when appropriate. We recommend the following strategies for JCLS to address the unmet civil legal needs of low-income and vulnerable New Yorkers:

  • · Continue to invest in innovative organizations like Family Legal Care, who have outside-the-box approaches that have been proven effective.

  • · Help to bolster access to legal services for rural and upstate communities by investing in remote services that already exist, like our Helplines and our Digital Justice tools.

  • · Support coordination between the Court’s Access to Justice Coordinators and legal services providers.

  • · Include organizations like Family Legal Care, who have spent years building trust in their communities, in the design and implementation of the Court’s creative pilots.

With continued and increased support from JCLS, Family Legal Care can continue to be part of the solution. There is no one who can better convey the impact of our programs and services than one of our former clients. I’m honored to introduce you to M.V., who has joined us today to share her powerful story.

Verbal Testimony of M.V., Family Legal Care Client

Good afternoon, my name is M.V.

When I was three months pregnant, my daughter's father, Julio, told me he was leaving and that he didn't believe our baby was his. But him leaving wasn't where the story started. There was violence in our relationship — Julio hurt me — and for a long time, I didn't tell anyone, not even my family or friends

My mother had just died. I was about to have my first child, and I felt completely alone.

When my daughter was eleven months old, Julio reappeared, banging on my door, threatening to file for custody. I was terrified. This was never just about custody — it was about whether my daughter would be safe, and I didn't know how to protect her.

I called every organization I could find. One finally connected me with Family Legal Care. I called their Helpline, where a kind and patient member of the team took the time to hear my story, give me information, and schedule a consultation to speak with one of their attorneys.

She explained every step and helped me understand my rights — including my right to child support. The first time I walked into court, my hands were shaking. But I was ready and determined — this was for my daughter.

For the first time since Julio came back, I could breathe.

That child support let me afford child care for the first time, and that changed everything. It gave me the space to go back to school. I earned my Master's in Social Work, graduated with honors, and I working on getting my social work license. Today I work in early childhood intervention, and every parent I meet who's scared and alone, I send to Family Legal Care.

My daughter is six now, and thriving. She's here with me today.

Family Legal Care helped me go from confusion to confidence. I am so grateful. I have my voice back. I can represent myself. I got justice and safety for my daughter — and now I get to help other families find theirs too.