| | | | | | Frontline Justice Exchange - Spring 2026 Empowering a new category of legal helper — the community justice worker. | | | | | | | | | |
Dear Frontline Justice Friends,
I just love spring! All of it. Increased daylight, new buds sprouting on old trees, delicate cherry blossoms, and colorful tulips popping up like magic – bursting energy and new life everywhere. | | I’ve spent much of this last winter working with communities on the East Coast, where the community justice worker movement is gaining ground. While here, I’ve been staying in New York City. Such a change from my usual home base in Anchorage, Alaska. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been so happy to see the daffodils breaking through the soil in the park across the street. They are small, bright reminders that change is happening, even when it’s taken time and persistence to get there.
That’s how this moment feels for Frontline Justice and this movement.
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I’m thrilled to share that both Washington, D.C., and Montana have now approved community justice worker rules, and Alaska’s justice worker program has just certified five new community justice workers who can now provide in-court representation in domestic violence protective order proceedings! These are important milestones that bring us closer to a future where people can get trusted, community-based help with everyday legal needs before those challenges spiral into further crises. These advances didn’t happen overnight. They are the result of steady, committed work by so many of you—our Task Force and National Leadership Council, pilot partners, advocates and so many more who are helping shape what this field can and should become.
Because of that collective effort, we’re entering a new season of growth and delivery!
In the coming months, we will be ready to roll out localized justice worker training modules designed to meet urgent, real-world needs. We’re starting with SNAP and Medicaid work requirements. Both are areas where too many people lose access to food and healthcare, not because they’re ineligible, but because the systems are complex and unforgiving. Community justice workers can change that. With the right training and tools, they can help people navigate these requirements, maintain their benefits, and keep food on the table and access to health care. We envision these training modules as a first step – a simple way to jump start justice worker programs that can be built on and grow over time into more robust programs with increased complexity and capacity to meet community need for legal help.
This is a policy change meeting practical implementation, and the seeds we’ve planted together are beginning to bloom into something tangible for communities.
Thank you for being part of this work and for helping us build a future where justice is truly within reach.
I hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming gatherings!
Take good care, Nikole | | | | Frontline Justice Receives $1M Funding from MacArthur Foundation | | On April 2, Frontline Justice was awarded a $1 million “Justice by All of Us: Activating Community Justice Workers to Support Rule of Law” grant from the MacArthur Foundation. We are deeply grateful to MacArthur for seeing our vision and believing in our mission. With this investment, we plan to continue building pathways and developing training for community justice workers to expand access to help for communities. | | | | Innovation Corner/Groundwork | | | |
With looming changes to work requirements for public benefits, we are developing SNAP and Medicaid trainings for frontline workers to help their communities exercise their legal rights to obtain and maintain their benefits.
Developed with support from the National Community Justice Worker Task Force, these trainings are self-paced and designed to fit into the busy schedules of frontline staff at food banks, school-based health centers, and other community organizations. Importantly, they focus on simple but effective ways to counter delays and denials – methods that have already recovered over $23.6M in benefits in Alaska alone.
The SNAP trainings are now being tested by justice workers (including paralegals) in Alaska, Arizona, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Coming soon: SNAP training in California, Medicaid training in an additional 5 states, and accompanying Frontline Q chatbot to support newly trained workers.
Thank you to all the piloting organizations for making this possible!
Interested in bringing these trainings to your organization? Join the waitlist here.
| | Upcoming Events and Conferences | | | | ☕ Community Café
Co-founders of Defying Legal Gravity, Craig Shepherd and Diana Imbert-Hodges, will be joining us for May’s Community Café on May 6 at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT. They will discuss Defying Legal Gravity's community justice worker model, which features legal empowerment courses for middle and high school students, collaboration with community organizations, and training high school graduates to serve as community justice workers who focus on civil legal issues.
You can register on our website here. See you all in May!
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🚀 Frontline Justice Pre-Conference
On May 13, the Frontline Justice team will be in Charlotte, NC, to host the pre-conference “Supercharging Access to Justice from the Frontlines: A Community Justice Worker Convening.”
The Frontline Justice team will be on site for a full-day convening, co-designed by community justice workers for community justice workers. The day will be packed with learning, interactive conversations, roundtable activities, resource-building, and more.
We are so excited to have Justice Anita Earls of the North Carolina Supreme Court as the keynote speaker, along with some amazing presenters, including: Irlanda Ruiz, Founder/CEO and Hispanic Advocate, Habilidadx Sarah Carver, Co-Director, Community Justice Worker Resource Center at Alaska Legal Services Corporation Joy Anderson, Co-Director, Community Justice Worker Resource Center at Alaska Legal Services Corporation Lauren Kellogg, Community Justice Worker, Alaska Legal Services Corporation Hayden Ramsey, Community Justice Worker Project Coordinator, Montana Legal Services Association Jayme Walters, Associate Professor, Social Work & Executive Director, Transforming Communities Institute (TCI) at Utah State University Antonio M. Coronado, Professor of Practice and Co-Coordinator of Community Legal Education Programs, Innovation for Justice (i4J) Hayley Cousin, Executive Director, Community Justice Advocates of Utah (CJAU) Shannon Simone Hayes, Housing Stability Certified Community Legal Advocate (CCLA), Hayes Resource Group, LLC Destiny Garcia, Executive Director, Clean Slate Utah Bethany Carson, Community Justice Worker Coordinator, Texas Immigration Law Council (TXILC) Arlee Mweyola, EJI Legal Access Fellow, St. Mary’s Law School Clinic Jasmine Vega, EJI Legal Access Fellow, Texas A&M University Law Clinic Johana Soileau, EJI Legal Access Fellow, Texas A&M University Law Clinic América Malacara, EJI Legal Access Fellow, Houston Volunteer Lawyers Medical Legal Partnership Keila Perez, Empowerment Program Associate, The Right Question Institute
Registration is open until May 4, with capacity limited to 100 participants. To register, click here.
We would also like to thank our sponsors, including Ascendium, A2J Tech, NLADA Mutual Insurance Co., and Brown & Associates, PLLC. Their support helps to make this convening memorable and impactful. If you would like to sponsor this event, click here.
We look forward to seeing you all in May.
| | | | 🌆 2026 NLADA Annual Conference
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) will host its annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri, from November 4-7 and is now accepting session proposals. The deadline to submit is May 22. You can learn more and get started here.
NLADA brings together civil legal aid programs, client community advocates, public defenders, and allied professionals and groups to learn, share, and strategize to strengthen access to justice for people and communities with limited resources.
Community justice workers are crucial and valued partners in the fight for equal access to justice, and NLADA welcomes session proposals that reflect your impactful work.
For any additional questions, drop in to a Zoom Q&A on May 6th at 3 pm ET by clicking here.
In addition, Frontline Justice will attend and host a pre-conference on November 4 for community justice workers, so save the date! Registration details to follow in a few months. | | Frontline Justice Around Town | | NCHEP Ascendium Pre-Conference | On April 8, Nikole Nelson attended Ascendium’s pre-conference, “What Legal Education Means,” ahead of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison's 15th Annual National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) in Cleveland, Ohio. The convening focused on expanding legal pathways for system-impacted individuals, from education and licensure to employment, and concluded with addressing equitable legal education and service opportunities for all. While in Cleveland, she also had the opportunity to connect with wonderful advocates at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and answer their excellent questions about community justice worker models. | | Innovations in Technology Conference | In January, the Frontline Justice team traveled to San Antonio for the Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC) 2026. In addition to giving two presentations on AI tools that help streamline community justice work, team members Rachel Royal and Celine Ta had a chance to connect with Economic Justice Initiative (EJI) fellows Arlee and Jovanna. While visiting one of the host sites, the Center for Legal and Social Justice at St. Mary's University School of Law, they learned more about the boots-on-the-ground work the fellows assist with, such as providing civil legal services to entrepreneurs, like worker classification and tax guidance. | | Josef: Legal Week
Walk & Talks | | | | Community Justice Worker Spotlight | | Meet Lori Anne Richards
Paralegal, community justice worker, changemaker. Raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i, with a deep love for community, Lori has invested in helping people since her junior year of high school. Her legal journey began by handling paperwork and court processes, but she knew helping others meant more than just understanding forms. From court clerk to paralegal, she gained opportunities that deepened her knowledge and enabled her to master legal terminology and processes, including selection for the Rural Paternity Advocate Pilot Project. | | | |
The Rural Paternity Advocate Pilot Project is an advocacy training program that provides legal support in family court and stands by clients during some of their most vulnerable moments. Through dedication, listening, and real courtroom experience, she’s helping to expand access to justice and remove barriers that leave everyday people without trusted help. Lori’s story shows that justice doesn’t have to be distant or intimidating. It can be personal, community-led, and rooted in trust.
Read Lori's full story here. | | Regulatory Reform Watch: Keeping an Eye on Justice | | D.C. Issues Order to Advance Community Justice Worker Program | One of the biggest reforms this year includes the D.C. Courts’ approval of a community justice worker program on February 5. Trained community justice workers will be able to help people navigate court processes, explain court procedures, give legal advice, assist with paperwork, and offer limited in-court support.
We appreciate the work of the Civil Regulatory Reform Task Force, which includes National Leadership Council Chair Jim Sandman.
Read the full D.C. Court order here. | |
Montana Approved Community Justice Worker Program
| On March 27, the Montana Supreme Court officially authorized a community justice worker program, certifying community justice workers to provide services in orders of protection and simple housing and consumer matters in justice and city courts.
Under the supervision of the Montana Legal Services Association, community justice workers will undergo training and receive mentorship throughout the program.
You can read the full order here. | | | | California Filings Regarding Training for Community Justice Workers |
Legal Aid Association of California, OneJustice, and Legal Link officially submitted the petition to authorize a community justice worker program on December 8. You can review the full petition here.
If approved, California legal services organizations will be authorized to train and certify qualified community justice workers to provide legal services, including legal advice and other activities that may be defined as the practice of law for clients. As of now, the California State Bar has responded; you can find the response here. In addition, the petitioners have responded to the California State Bar here.
| | Alaska Expands Community Justice Worker Practice | Alaska continues to expand the scope of what community justice workers can do. On January 23, the Alaska Bar Association approved five community justice workers to practice under Alaska Bar Rule 43.5, after they completed Domestic Violence Protective Order (DVPO) training.
The Alaska Bar Rag reported in March that these approved workers can now assist clients in DVPO proceedings, marking an important public milestone for supervised, limited, in-court representation. Learn more here.
| | | | Tennessee Supreme Court Extends Public Comment Deadline to April 30, 2026 | The deadline has been extended to April 30, 2026, to submit a public comment on increasing access to legal services and representation through alternative pathways for Tennesseans. Learn more and submit your comment. | | | | Helpful Resources: Insights on Expanding Access to Justice | |
📺 The Hill Interview: Providing Legal Help for Folks in the District A lot of community leadership and advocacy went into the authorization of a community justice worker program for D.C. Check out Task Force member Verna Williams and Executive Director of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission, Nancy Drane, as they address the critical need to expand access to civil legal help.
🎙️ Justice for All: Tackling Legal Barriers of Poverty On the first episode of the Oklahoma Justice Exchange, Rebecca Sandefur joins host, Jenna King, and Executive Director of the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation, Katie Dilks, to discuss how poverty in the U.S. impacts the gap in equal access to justice.
🚀 District of Columbia to Establish Community Justice Worker Programs After Approval from the Court of Appeals Check out this article by Pro Bono Institute (PBI) covering the recent policy change for D.C. It covers a breakdown of community justice workers, along with a mention of Frontline Justice: “Organizations, such as Frontline Justice, provide resources and networks for CJWs. Frontline Justice has also been the leader in mobilizing states to adopt CJW programs.”
🔨 i4J U.S. Justice Worker Resource: Program Implementation Toolkit Take a look at Innovation 4 Justice’s (i4J) Program Implementation Toolkit on building pathways for community justice work. This resource provides considerations and guidance for launching a community justice worker program, including defining the scope of work, tailoring training, exploring credentialing options, and more.
🤔 Why Don’t We Do More of That? Frontline Justice Co-Chair John Bridgeland provides deeper insight into how solutions can exist, including community justice work, but often the challenge is the support and alignment needed to scale. Yet, by bringing people together across sectors and committing to a shared goal, we can drive meaningful change.
📄 Research Brief: Analysis of the Social and Economic Impact of the Alaska Community Justice Worker Program (2021-2025) Led by Matthew Burnett, Rebecca Sandefur, and James Teufel, this brief provides evidence-backed research on the effectiveness of the community justice worker program in Alaska. Some groundbreaking facts include generating $25 in public benefits for every $1 invested, and in two years, increasing caseloads by 1,575%, handling 4x as many cases as volunteer lawyers.
📄 Research Brief: Analysis Of The Social and Economic Impact of Delaware Qualified Tenant Advocates (2022-2025) Another brief, cultivated by the work of James Teufel, Matthew Burnett, and Rebecca Sandefur, breaks down QTA work and its impact in Delaware, with a focus on housing-related legal issues. QTA work ranges from brief counsel to full representation in court, with evidence indicating involvement in over 78% of the 4,829 housing cases supervised by Civil Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI).
⚖️ Lawyers’ Monopoly Webinar Series 2: Lessons from the Field: On-the-Ground Efforts to Effect Positive Regulatory Innovations On April 13, Matthew Burnett and Rebecca Sandefur brought their expertise from the field on the long-standing structure of the legal system and a solution for reform through community justice workers, as the second part of this four-part series.
| | | | The Fountain of Eternal Life | This wonderful photo of the Fountain of Eternal Life statue was taken by Nikole Nelson in Cleveland, Ohio, while attending Ascendium’s NCHEP pre-conference “What Legal Education Means.” | | | | | | When planting tomatoes, plant them deeper to help them grow stronger. Burying part of the stem helps the roots grow stronger and become more resilient. | | | | | | | | Take Our Community Justice Worker Survey | | The survey is structured around regulatory reforms and initiatives that would enable community justice workers to offer legal advice and/or representation. | | | | - ✅ Has your state authorized a community justice worker program?
Complete this survey. - 📃 Is your state exploring a community justice worker proposal or does it have a working group in progress?
Share your insight. - 🤝 Do you know someone who is better positioned to respond, or would you like more information on how to take the next step forward in getting community justice worker programs authorized in your state?
You can fill this form out.
| | | | | | Frontline Justice empowers a new category of legal helper, the community justice worker, as a scalable solution to the civil access to justice crisis. Justice workers are ordinary people with the knowledge, skills, and ability to support people as they solve their civil legal problems. Justice workers are trained and empowered to help others in their community to use the law to resolve their critical life-altering civil legal needs.
An Initiative of the Office of American Possibilities Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc.
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