Legal Aid Society of
Columbus
Kate McGarvey
Deputy Director & Managing Attorney, Public Benefits Unit


Nonprofit law firm providing free civil legal
services and pro bono programming for
indigent clients in Central Ohio
Two offices:

Columbus office provides services to residents of
Franklin and Madison counties
 Located at 1108 City Park Avenue
Columbus 43206

Marion office provides services to residents of
Delaware, Marion, Morrow and Union counties
 Located at
150 Oak Street
Marion 43302

Income guidelines


Total household income must be at or below 200% of the
federal poverty line
Citizenship guidelines






Lawful Permanent Resident
Asylee
Refugee
Alien who is (1) married to US citizen (2) a parent of US
citizen or (3) has filed an application for adjustment of
status to permanent residency
Individual granted withholding or deferral of deportation
or removal
Conditional entrant

Scope of services provided



Counsel and advice
Brief service
Extensive representation
 Representation at a hearing
 Appeals to Court of Common Pleas, Court of Appeals
and Federal District Court

Referrals
Consumer
 Foreclosure, debt collection, predatory lending,
creditor harassment, scams, car repossessions
(other used car issues), wage garnishments,
bankruptcy
 Bankruptcy By-Pass

Available for elderly or disabled individuals who are
long-term “uncollectable”
 Individuals with fixed income such as Social Security,
Supplemental Security Income, or a pension who are being
harassed by creditors

Legal Aid sends out letters to the client’s creditors
telling the creditor that the client is long-term
uncollectable and to stop contacting the client under the
Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
Domestic

Divorce


Child custody






Initial custody cases, priority placed on cases involving domestic
violence or other vulnerabilities
Representation in modification proceedings when caller has already
been designated the residential parent
Child support


Priority placed on cases involving children, marriages longer than 10
years, victims/survivors of domestic violence or other vulnerabilities
Representation for obligees when part of a divorce or custody case
Representation for obligees when their child support cases are
dismissed because of a custody filing
Limited representation of obligors if asserting a disability
Spousal support
Civil Protection Orders (domestic violence)


Representation for victims/survivors by filing petitions for CPOs and
stalking protection orders
Representation of petitioners who have already filed and need
assistance at full hearing
Housing






Evictions from subsidized housing (Section 8,
HUD or public)
Lockouts (without the eviction process) or Utility
shut-offs (in landlord’s name)
General housing conditions issues
Banning visitors from rental housing
Security deposit issues
Termination of Section 8 voucher, subsidized
housing eligibility issues


Public housing application denials
Issues relating to tenants in foreclosed properties
Tax


Assistance with disputes with the IRS including
audits, tax court petitions, garnishments and
collection issues, innocent spouse issues or ID
theft
Specifically, handle calls from individuals who
have received:
Letter from IRS notifying that tax return is being
audited or examined
 Letter from the IRS notifying of a deficiency in taxes

 Notice of lien placement on property or garnishment of
wages due to past taxes



Bill received from IRS for taxes from a joint return
Letter from IRS concerning Earned Income Tax Credit
Calls regarding owing tax debt and inability to pay
Pro Bono and other
Referrals

Volunteer Resource Center
 In-house volunteers link individuals with
pro bono attorneys for handling of:
 Private eviction cases
 Consumer debt issues
 Credit card collection cases brought by debt
buyers and original creditors
 Unemployment Compensation appeals
 Rent escrow cases
Pro Bono and other
Referrals
Case Referral Projects

Chapter 7 Pro Bono Program
Individuals with income below 100% fpl may be eligible for a pro
bono bankruptcy
 Court costs for these clients are generally waived, but individual
may be responsible for costs associated with obtaining a credit
report and credit counseling classes
 Individuals who are currently collectable or dealing with an issue
that necessitates a bankruptcy (utility shut-off for example) are
prioritized




Senior referrals for Wills, Living Wills, and powers of
attorney
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
Legal Aid Reduced fee Referral Project (LARP)


Uncontested divorces
Chapter 7 Bankruptcies
 Individuals pay reduced costs to cover legal representation and filing
fees
Pro Bono and other
Referrals
Limited Assistance Clinics
 Wills
 Fresh Start Clinics


Naturalization Clinics


Expungement forms preparation, Certificate of
Qualification for Employment
Private attorneys assist lawful permanent residents with
questions and help completing naturalization application
Education Clinic

Ensuring children with disabilities receive adequate
supports
Brief Advice and Referral Clinics
 Churches, Homeless Shelters, VA
Public Benefits

Terminations, reductions or denials of eligibility
for the following programs:

Food Assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, Ohio Works First,
Prevention Retention and Contingency, Title XX child care,
Unemployment Compensation, Disability Financial
Assistance, Medicare Savings Programs
 Medicaid—includes denial, reduction or termination of home
care services




Loss or denial of Veterans benefits
Terminations or overpayments of Social Security
benefits
Medical debt issues—lawsuits and assistance
with HCAP/charity care
Seniors work including nursing home cases and
senior documents (future planning)

OWF Application denials


OWF benefit terminations


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Threatened with a sanction


Tell them to apply for a good cause or hardship extension
Denial of good cause or hardship extension application


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Loss of OWF due to time limit


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Lost or stolen benefit card
Tell them to contact their County DJFS office to report the loss; County
will provide the individual with the customer service number for the
benefit card company
 Refer the individual to Legal Aid


Adult with no children, reports disabling
conditions and no income


DFA application denial


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
DFA benefit termination


Tell them to apply for DFA (and Medicaid if no insurance)
Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Lost or stolen benefit card
Tell them to contact their County DJFS office to report the loss;
County will provide the individual with the customer service
number for the benefit card company
 Refer the individual to Legal Aid


Individual reports having been terminated from
employment


Individual reports having been denied eligibility
for UC benefits


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Individual reports having been approved for UC
benefits but the employer is appealing


Have the individual apply for UC benefits if they have not done
so already
Refer to Legal Aid
Individual reports having received a notice
concerning a UC overpayment

Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

SSI or SSDI application denials


SSI or SSDI benefit terminations


Tell them to appeal and refer to CBA Lawyer Referral Service or Legal
Aid
Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
SSI or SSDI overpayments
 Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Individual reports issues with their payee


Tell them to contact SSA immediately to report the issue and to
submit a request to change payees; refer the individual to Legal
Aid
Lost or stolen benefit card or stolen check

Tell them to contact SSA immediately to report the issue; SSA will
provide the individual with the customer service number for the benefit
card company; Refer the individual to Legal Aid

Parent fell behind in rent or utilities due to
unexpected expense


Tell them to submit a PRC application
PRC application denials
Was the parent denied eligibility because they received
PRC the previous year for the same expense?
 Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
 Did the parent already receive PRC assistance within the
past 12 months?

 Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Was the application denied because the parent owes more
for rent or utilities than what PRC will pay?
 Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Application denials


Termination of food stamp benefits—whether due
to income or not meeting the work requirements
(sanction)


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Reduction of food stamp benefits
 Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Lost or stolen benefit card

Tell them to contact their County DJFS office right away to
report the loss; the County will provide the individual with the
customer service number for the benefit card company; refer to
Legal Aid

Application processing delays


Denials of Medicaid coverage or private insurance through the
Exchange


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Individual is denied a medical service or home care through
Medicaid or Medicare


Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Termination of Medicaid coverage


Refer to Legal Aid
Refer to Legal Aid
Lost benefit card

Tell them to contact the Medicaid Consumer Hotline at 1-800-324-8680 to request
a replacement card

Tell them to contact the customer service number for their managed care
plan to request a replacement card (can get this information from the
Medicaid Consumer Hotline)

Adult with lower income reports Part B
premium is deducted from SSDI benefit each
month


Benefit delay—approved but deduction still
occurring


Tell them to apply for a Medicare Savings Program
Refer to Legal Aid
Benefit terminations

Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Working parent with low income reports
concerns with private child care expenses


Application processing delay


Refer to Legal Aid
Application denial


Tell them to apply for publicly funded child care
Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid
Child care benefit terminations

Tell them to appeal and refer to Legal Aid

Appeals are made to the Ohio Department of Job and
Family Services (ODJFS), Bureau of State Hearings


Timeframe for submitting appeal



Request in writing (mail or fax) or by telephone
 Bureau of State Hearings: 1-866-635-3748
15 days from the date of the notice for continuing benefits
90 days total
Appeal Levels



State Hearings
Administrative Appeals—must submit within 15 days of date
of state hearing decision
Common Pleas—must submit within 30 days of date of
administrative appeal decision

Levels of Appeal

Redetermination
 Must be requested within 21 days from date of initial
determination

Appeal to UC Review Commission for Hearing
 Must be requested within 21 days from the issuance of
the Redetermination decision

Request for Review by UC Review Commission
 Must be requested within 21 days from the date of
mailing of Hearing Officer’s decision

Common Pleas
 Must be requested within 30 days from the date of the
Review Commission decision

Appeal to the Social Security Administration

Levels of appeal
Reconsideration
 Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing
 Appeals Council
 Federal District Court


Time frame for submitting appeal
10 days from date received notice for continuing benefits
 60 days from date received notice of previous decision

Intake

Columbus Office

Telephone intake: (614) 241-2001, toll free 1-888-2464420
 Hours: 9:30 – 3:30 M-F

Marion Office

Telephone intake: (740) 383-2161, toll free 1-888-3012411
 Hours: 9:00 – 12:00, 1:00 – 4:30 M-F

Online intake for both offices

www.columbuslegalaid.org
Questions?
Kate McGarvey
614-737-0146
kmcgarvey@columbuslegalaid.org
www.columbuslegalaid.org