IBF Grants Committee Member Lori Levin of Chicago presents an $8,000 grant to Gail Smith, CLAIM's Executive Director.
The Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce a $8,000 grant to Chicago Legal Advocacy to Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM), one of 32 grants awarded this year totaling $304,995. CLAIM provides legal and educational services to imprisoned mothers and their children's caregivers.
CLAIM's On-Site Services provide intensive individual legal advice and representation to mothers in Dwight, Lincoln, Decatur and Kankakee Correctional Centers, Fox Valley Adult Transitional Center, the Metropolitan Correctional Center and in Cook County Jail. With early legal advice, provision of short-term guardianship forms and representation for court-ordered guardianship, mothers can forge sound plans for their children and in many cases can avoid foster care placement.
In 2008, CLAIM represented 450 women, up 38 percent from 2007. A study of a sample of CLAIM's released clients showed a repeat offense rate of just 6.6 percent compared with about 40-50 percent of women released from Illinois prisons overall.
As the charitable affiliate of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation's mission is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. This past year, through the support of ISBA members, IBF distributed more than $425,000 to support these efforts.
