The Legal Services Corporation is getting mostly good marks from government auditors, two years after a pair of reports questioned the management practices at the largest funding source for civil legal aid.
In 2007, the Government Accountability Office released two reports critical of the non-profit corporation's governance. Among other things, it criticized the lack of an audit committee among the corporation’s directors and what it called inadequate review of management.
Most of the GAO’s 12 recommendations have since been implemented, although review of management could still be improved, the GAO told the House Judiciary Committee today.
“LSC’s Board of Directors and management have made progress on implementing our prior recommendations including fully implementing nine recommendations,” said Susan Ragland, director of financial management and assurance at the Government Accountability Office, in written testimony for the committee. “The improvements that LSC has made in its governance and accountability provide a good foundation for completing implementation of the elements needed for a strong program of governance and internal controls.”
Click here (PDF) for Ragland’s testimony, and here for testimony from other witnesses, including Legal Services Corporation President Helaine Barnett.
The Legal Services Corporation is looking for an infusion of funding from Congress, and some senators want to almost double its budget of $390 million. This month, the Brennan Center for Justice released a report showing a major increase in the need for civil legal aid as a result of the foreclosure crisis.
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