Rampell: Cutting legal aid would hurt those most in need of help

At 2, Ledgerwood was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which left him unable to walk, stand, bathe himself, eat or use the bathroom without assistance. “My mom and dad are basically my hands and feet,” he told me by phone.

His mother cares for him full time and has done so for many years. She was able to quit her job and provide round-the-clock care as a result of a special Medicaid program designed to help people with serious disabilities avoid institutionalization. In Ledgerwood’s case, the state has consistently determined that he qualifies for 56 hours of care, the maximum.

At least, it did until last year.

That’s when the Arkansas Department of Human Services abruptly cut Ledgerwood’s weekly hours nearly in half. His mother contemplated returning to work and sending Ledgerwood to a nursing home.

“That would destroy my life,” he says. Fiscally minded voter that he is, he adds that institutionalization would also cost the state multiple times more money than family-provided home care.

Alongside six other plaintiffs with disabilities, Ledgerwood sued the state — and won. The case is currently on appeal.

Essential assistance

How was Ledgerwood able to secure legal representation? Not through a lucrative GoFundMe campaign, or lottery windfall, or some long-lost rich uncle. It was through Legal Aid of Arkansas, funded by a congressionally established nonprofit. Low-income families, whether in red-state America or blue, turn out to need a lot of legal help.

In the past year, seven in 10 low-income families experienced at least one civil legal problem, according to a recent University of Chicago survey done for the Legal Services Corporation. Such problems include foreclosures, domestic violence (getting a restraining order, for example), custody disputes, debt repayment or neglectful landlords. The elderly, rural residents and veterans — all core components of the Republican base — are especially well-represented in this population.

A Navy veteran I spoke with last weekend, 47-year-old Mario Figueroa of Daytona Beach, Fla., credited his local legal aid program with saving his life. He had fought on his own for two decades to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide medical treatment and disability benefits for his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder. He was successful only after seeking representation from Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida.

In the “skinny budget” released in March, Trump proposed eliminating the Legal Services Corporation entirely. At the time, this produced bipartisan pleas for “robust funding” for the organization. Nonetheless, last week a House appropriations subcommittee passed a bill that would slash the organization’s funding by roughly a quarter, from $385 million to $300 million. If enacted, such cuts would inevitably leave families such as Ledgerwood’s and Figueroa’s to fend for themselves.

For now, Ledgerwood still supports Trump (“He reminds me a lot of Ronald Reagan”) and remains confident that his president and his party will have his back.

But, he says, “If I lose my lawyer and my services, I may feel a little differently.”