LSC Awards Grants to Two Missouri Legal Aid Programs

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

$78,200

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) will use LSC technology funding to conduct a 12-month planning and design project to develop “All Access Intake,” a blueprint for a multi-channel, AI-driven intake system that offers a “no wrong door” approach for clients seekinglegal help. The project will design an integrated technology framework that combines AI-powered triage, multilingual accessibility, mobile-responsive portals, and VoIP modernization to ensure consistent, efficient service delivery. The resulting roadmap will guide future implementation within LSEM and provide a scalable, replicable model for legal aid programs nationwide.

Mid-Missouri Legal Services

$130,495

Mid-Missouri Legal Services will use this LSC Technology Initiative Grant to develop an online platform and document engine to help self-represented consumers respond to debt collection lawsuits and wage garnishments. Building on other statewide web tools in Missouri focused on landlord/tenant law and family law, the Consumer Debt Defense platform will guide users through interviews to generate legal documents, provide a library of plain-language consumer rights information, and be accessible via the statewide legal aid website and at two new legal kiosks opened as part of this project. In collaboration with Missouri’s legal aid programs, MMLS will do outreach to ensure that people know how to access all the new self-help tools available on the statewide website.