TOPEKA — The legal assistance that Kansas Legal Services (KLS) provided in 2023 had an astounding $74 million impact on the state’s economy, according to a first-ever analysis that the nonprofit organization released last week.
KLS offers legal assistance to Kansans who cannot afford an attorney for civil, non-criminal matters.
For every $1 invested in KLS in 2023, the state of Kansas receives an estimated $7.49 of immediate and long-term financial benefits.
The 52-page report, completed by Community Services Analysis LLC, examined the immediate impact that KLS had for the 18,013 clients it served by calculating the fair market value of its legal services along with other metrics, such as monetary awards obtained for clients.
The report also examined the longer-term impact KLS creates through these services. For example, its efforts to help clients expunge criminal records for non-violent offenses delivered the equivalent of $453,000 in legal services. But the long-term impact of those services amounted to $3.2 million generated by returning these clients back to the workforce.
Another direct economic impact KLS creates is in the area of Social Security Disability. In 2023, KLS attorneys and paralegals helped 481 Kansans receive disability benefits in the amount of $2,963,000, with a long-term economic impact of $14,453,000.
Barton County is benefitted from this advocacy.
Last year KLS attorneys in Barton County helped 35 different clients. It included handling seven divorces, four cases of paternity, representing six victims of domestic violence, one guardianship, and four cases of individuals seeking Social Security disability benefits, and five locals who wanted a will completed.
KLS has 11 offices across the state, including attorneys in Hays, Dodge City, Salina and Hutchinson. “We are hoping to add an office here in Barton County” Executive Director Matt Keenan said.
“The local attorneys here support our mission. Chuck Pike and Greg Bauer led their law firm to join the “We Are Legal Aid” campaign – meaning supporting KLS financially. Then Earl Watkins, Mark Calcara and Mark Rondeau joined the financial campaign. Allan Glendening and I were classmates at KU way back when, and he always welcomes me when I come to town asking for support” Keenan said.
“We still turn away over half the clients who need our services” Keenan added. “We just don’t have the staff we need. But with the support we have in Great Bend, it’s my hope that will change” Keenan said. “This new study is a compelling picture that when we help the working poor clear away old legal problems, they can get better jobs and give back to the communities where they live, like here in Great Bend.”
