2023-05-08T12:57:28-05:00 2022-06-30 310800053 CLARK SCHAEFER HACKETT & CO 4449 EASTON WAY SUITE 400 COLUMBUS OH 43219 990 2021-07-01 830571864 OHIO LEGAL HELP OHIO 6142856875 88 E BROAD STREET SUITE 720 COLUMBUS OH 43215 SUSAN A CHOE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 6142856875 2023-05-04 1 SUSAN CHOE 999009999 NATOSHA CARR P01225377 6148852208 2023-05-04 3 AAL1 IAL1 2021 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z SUSAN CHOE 88 E BROAD STREET SUITE 720 COLUMBUS OH 43215 511953 0 X HTTPS://WWW.OHIOLEGALHELP.ORG/ X 2018 OH OHIO LEGAL HELP LEVERAGES TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TO IMPROVE JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL OHIOANS. OUR WORK REMOVES BARRIERS TO THE LAW SO THAT ALL OHIOANS CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR LEGAL OPTIONS, MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND CONNECT TO LEGAL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES. 9 9 6 25 0 0 799867 511045 0 0 10 8 0 900 799877 511953 0 0 0 0 431538 582947 0 0 24312 67493 110124 499031 693071 300846 -181118 596040 353534 86669 25281 509371 328253 OHIO LEGAL HELP LEVERAGES TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TO IMPROVE JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL OHIOANS. OUR WORK REMOVES BARRIERS TO THE LAW SO THAT ALL OHIOANS CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR LEGAL OPTIONS, MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND CONNECT TO LEGAL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES. 0 0 605322 92 PERCENT OF CIVIL LEGAL PROBLEMS REPORTED BY LOW-INCOME AMERICANS RECEIVE INADEQUATE OR NO LEGAL HELP. PEOPLE WHO NEED LEGAL HELP THE MOST ARE OFTEN THE ONES WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT. IT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE CALLED THE JUSTICE GAP, AND IT REFERS TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CIVIL LEGAL NEEDS OF LOW-INCOME AND VULNERABLE AMERICANS AND THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. OHIO LEGAL HELP WAS CREATED TO BRIDGE AND CLOSE THIS JUSTICE GAP IN OHIO. AS A STATEWIDE, SECURE MOBILE-FIRST HUB OF LEGAL INFORMATION, FORMS AND RESOURCES, OHIO LEGAL HELP BRIDGES THE JUSTICE GAP FOR UNDERSERVED, VULNERABLE AND LOW-INCOME OHIOANS BY CONNECTING THEM TO CRITICAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR LIVES.(PROGRAM DESCRIPTION CONTINUED IN SCHEDULE O) 605322 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 X X SUSAN A CHOE 6142856875 88 E BROAD STREET SUITE 720 COLUMBUS OH 43215 DAVID KUTIK PRESIDENT 2.00 X X 0 0 0 SALLY BLOOMFIELD VICE PRESIDENT 2.00 X X 0 0 0 JOHN PINNEY TREASURER/SECRETARY 2.00 X X 0 0 0 CHERYL BROOKS SULLIVAN DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 JOHN HOLT DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 JOSE BAUTISTA DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 JUDGE CHRISTOPHER WAGNER DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 MARK NYLANDER DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 UKEME AWAKESSIEN JETER DIRECTOR 0.50 X 0 0 0 SUSAN CHOE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40.00 X 134279 0 35060 134279 0 35060 1 0 1 0 0 53541 457504 511045 8 8 MISCELLANEOUS 900099 900 900 900 511953 0 0 908 169339 150061 12504 6774 344161 304980 25415 13766 8580 7603 634 343 28790 25512 2126 1152 32077 28422 2372 1283 16498 16498 2508 2257 251 2716 2104 476 136 49768 48783 788 197 3859 3290 327 242 1684 1432 84 168 30878 30878 1780 1780 DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS 388 388 BANK SERVICE CHARGES 45 45 693071 605322 63437 24312 295867 104964 164181 50000 15286 10135 254430 65995 120706 188435 596040 353534 33128 25281 53541 0 86669 25281 X 136871 203609 372500 124644 509371 328253 596040 353534 -181118 0 X X 0 1 X 1 0 X 96812 534526 799867 511045 1942250 96812 534526 799867 511045 1942250 14130 1928120 61 10 8 79 250 900 1150 1943479 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 254430 65995 188435 188435 573414 61461 61461 511953 0 511953 754532 61461 61461 693071 0 693071 X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SUSAN CHOE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 134279 0 0 0 0 0 6974 0 28086 0 169339 0 0 0 PART I, LINE 3 ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AT OHIO LEGAL HELP'S JUNE MEETING, THE FULL BOARD DISCUSSES THE SALARY AND COMPENSATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE SALARY AND COMPENSATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR IS THEN SET BASED UPON HER ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE SALARIES FROM COMPARABLE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN OHIO AND NATIONALLY. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4A: OHIO LEGAL HELP EMPOWERS LOW-INCOME, UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE OHIOANS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR LEGAL OPTIONS, MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND TAKE ACTION. USING TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS, WE REMOVE BARRIERS TO JUSTICE AND HELP PEOPLE IMPROVE THEIR LIVES. IN 2022, WE SERVED 740,560 FAMILIES AS WE WORKED TO FULFILL OUR MISSION OF EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND EMPOWERMENT TO TAKE ACTION TO RESOLVE LEGAL ISSUES. OUR USERS REPRESENT ALL 88 COUNTIES IN OHIO. MORE THAN HALF ARE WOMEN, AND NEARLY 75 PERCENT ARE BELOW 200 PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL. THE AVERAGE FAMILY HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF OUR USERS IS 3. WHEN OHIO LEGAL HELP WAS CREATED ONLY A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO, OUR STEERING COMMITTEE KNEW THAT CLOSING THE JUSTICE GAP MEANT WE NEEDED TO CREATE BETTER ACCESS TO THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM THROUGH EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND, ACTION-ORIENTED AND ACCURATE INFORMATION AND TOOLS. THIS PAST YEAR, OUR WORK WAS RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY AN INDEPENDENT EVALUATION CONDUCTED BY THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS IDENTIFIED OHIO LEGAL HELP AS A NATIONAL LEADER IN PROVIDING ACCESSIBLE AND HIGH-QUALITY LEGAL INFORMATION. THIS STUDY AND OUR DATA ANALYSIS TELL US THAT WE ARE HELPING OUR USERS ACCESS THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO SOLVE ISSUES IMPACTING THEIR DAILY LIVES. WHILE CREATING BETTER ACCESS TO INFORMATION, FORMS AND RESOURCES IS CRITICAL, EMPOWERING OUR USERS TO TAKE ACTION IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. THIS PAST YEAR, WE CONDUCTED A STUDY TO LEARN ABOUT BLACK OHIOANS' LEGAL NEEDS AND TRUST IN THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM. WE LEARNED THAT ALTHOUGH BLACK OHIOANS REPORTED LOW LEVELS OF TRUST IN THE SYSTEM OVERALL, THOSE WHO HAD DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM HAD MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND A HIGHER LEVEL OF TRUST. THE STUDY ALSO TOLD US THAT BLACK OHIOANS TRUST RACIAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY-IMPACT FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS THE NAACP. PARTNERING WITH TRUSTED ORGANIZATIONS IS AN ESSENTIAL STRATEGY FOR HELPING BLACK OHIOANS NAVIGATE AND GAIN TRUST IN THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM. WE HOPE THAT MEANINGFUL PARTNERSHIPS LIKE THE ONES WE HAVE DEVELOPED WILL PROVIDE MORE ACCESS TO LEGAL INFORMATION AND EMPOWER OHIOANS TO SOLVE THEIR LEGAL ISSUES. AS WE WORK TO BUILD TRUST WITH BLACK OHIOANS AND OTHER UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, WE USE DATA TO GUIDE OUR CONTENT AND ACTION PLANS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CIVIL JUSTICE STUDY FOUND THAT DEBT COLLECTION WAS THE MOST COMMON LEGAL ISSUE OUR RESPONDENTS HAD FACED. YET WHILE 52 PERCENT OF THEM REPORTED DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH DEBT COLLECTIONS, ONLY 17 PERCENT SOUGHT HELP FROM A LAWYER. THANKS TO A GENEROUS GRANT FROM THE COLUMBUS BAR FOUNDATION, OHIO LEGAL HELP WILL BE PARTNERING WITH THE FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT'S SELF HELP RESOURCE CENTER TO DEVELOP LEGAL INFORMATION, COURT FORMS AND TOOLS TO HELP FRANKLIN COUNTY RESIDENTS DEAL WITH ISSUES RELATED TO DEBT COLLECTION. EARNING THE TRUST OF BLACK OHIOANS IS A CRITICAL BRIDGE TO CLOSING THE CIVIL JUSTICE GAP. TO HAVE MEANINGFUL IMPACT, ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT MUST BE VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF EQUITY. OHIO LEGAL HELP WORKS TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM WHILE CONSIDERING THE DIVERSITY AND NEEDS OF OUR USERS. LANGUAGE SHOULD NEVER BE A BARRIER TO ACCESSING LEGAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES. IN 2022, OHIO LEGAL HELP LAUNCHED A SPANISH-LANGUAGE VERSION OF THE WEBSITE WITH OVER 203,000 WORDS TRANSLATED. PROVIDING THIS WEBSITE GIVES OUR SPANISH-SPEAKING USERS MORE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM. THE CRITICAL NATURE AND VALUE OF OUR WORK HAS ALSO BEEN RECOGNIZED AT THE STATE LEVEL, WITH MORE REQUESTS TO EXPAND OUR CONTENT AND SELF-HELP TOOLS FROM OUR JUDICIAL, CLERK OF COURTS, LEGAL AID, LOCAL BAR AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS YEAR WE LAUNCHED A YOUTH AND FOSTER LAW CONTENT MODULE THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OHIO YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD. NOW, FOSTER YOUTH CAN COME TO OHIO LEGAL HELP TO SEE WHAT LEGAL RIGHTS THEY HAVE AND LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMS THAT MAY BE ABLE TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES. EQUITABLE ACCESS TO JUSTICE CAN TRANSFORM LIVES. OHIO LEGAL HELP'S 2022 USER METRICS WERE AS FOLLOWS: - TOTAL USERS ASSISTED: 740,560 - TOTAL VISITS TO OHIOLEGALHELP.ORG: 928,845 - TOTAL PAGES VISITED ON OHIOLEGALHELP.ORG: 2 MILLION - TOTAL NUMBER OF REFERRALS: 206,274 O COURTS: 84,072 O LEGAL AIDS (INCLUDING PRO SENIORS): 16,949 O PRIVATE BAR ASSOCIATIONS (LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE): 8,524 O PUBLIC DEFENDERS AND COURT APPOINTED COUNSEL: 8,104 O SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: 48,743 - USER PROFILE: O VISITING ON A MOBILE PHONE (70%) O AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF 3 PEOPLE O HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS LESS THAN 200% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL (74%) O NEARLY HALF (48%) FALL INTO A SPECIAL DEMOGRAPHIC WHETHER THAT'S FACING HOMELESSNESS (53%), EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE OR ABUSE (33%), OVER THE AGE OF 60 (27%), OR A VETERAN (15%). WE ALSO MONITOR THE PAGES THAT ARE VISITED THE MOST. OUR TOP PAGES VISITED IN 2022 WERE OUR EVICTION TIMELINE, THE DIVORCE PROCESS IN OHIO, LANDLORD REPAIRS, DISSOLUTION, AND PROTECTION ORDERS. THIS INFORMATION COUPLED WITH OUR USER DEMOGRAPHICS, SHOW THAT AS CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) BENEFITS ENDED, OUR USERS TURNED TO OHIO LEGAL HELP TO SOLVE CORE LEGAL ISSUES IMPACTING THEIR DAILY LIVES. IN 2023 AND BEYOND, OHIO LEGAL HELP WILL CONTINUE TO BRIDGE THE JUSTICE GAP FOR UNDERSERVED, VULNERABLE AND LOW-INCOME OHIOANS BY CONNECTING THEM TO CRITICAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR LIVES. FORM 990, PART I, LINE 19, CURRENT YEAR: REVENUE LESS EXPENSES FOR THE CURRENT YEAR ARE NEGATIVE SOLELY DUE TO TIMING ISSUES RELATED TO GAAP REVENUE RECOGNITION RULES. OHIO LEGAL HELP RECEIVED GRANTS IN JUNE 2021 FOR PROJECTS COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 2022. THE JUNE 2021 RECEIPTS PER GAAP WERE RECOGNIZED IN THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B THE FORM 990 IS DISTRIBUTED TO THE FULL BOARD FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL PRIOR TO FILING. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C OHIO LEGAL HELP'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AND PROCEDURE EXTENDS TO ALL DIRECTORS AND TO OHIO LEGAL HELP'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. EACH DIRECTOR AND OFFICER MUST ANNUALLY COMPLETE AND SIGN THE "ANNUAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORM". DETERMINATIONS OF WHETHER AN ACTUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXISTS ARE MADE BY THE BOARD THROUGH A MAJORITY VOTE WHICH EXCLUDES THE VOTE OF A POTENTIALLY CONFLICTED DIRECTOR(S). NO DIRECTOR OR OFFICER MAY PRESIDE OVER, VOTE ON, OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY DELIBERATION OF ANY MATTER IN WHICH SUCH DIRECTOR OR OFFICER HAS A CONFLICT OR POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AT OHIO LEGAL HELP'S JUNE MEETING, THE FULL BOARD DISCUSSES THE SALARY AND COMPENSATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE SALARY AND COMPENSATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR IS THEN SET BASED UPON HER ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE SALARIES FROM COMPARABLE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN OHIO AND NATIONALLY. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 OHIO LEGAL HELP'S IRS FORM 990 FILING AND AUDIT ARE AVAILABLE VIA ITS WEBSITE. FURTHER, ANY FILES REQUESTED BY THE PUBLIC WILL GENERALLY BE MADE AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT VIA ELECTRONIC DELIVERY. FORM 990, PART XII, LINE 2C: THE PROCESS HAS NOT CHANGED FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.