Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request
Summary/Overview
In light of the expanding justice gap in the United States, LSC seeks $1.797 billion for FY 2025, with $1.748 billion allocated to Basic Field funding. This is the minimum amount needed to serve the tens of thousands of eligible applicants currently being turned away by LSC-funded legal aid programs for lack of resources.
LSC requests $1.797 billion for FY 2025, an increase of $216 million over LSC’s FY 2024 budget request. This recommendation considers the sustained impact of COVID-19 and the drastic increase in child poverty experienced in 2022. We know that more than 33% of unmet legal needs are directly related to COVID-19 and others have been exacerbated by the pandemic. We also know child poverty more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to more than 12.4% in 2022. Evictions continue to rise – returning to or exceeding historical averages. Debt collection and related consumer finance complaints have reached record highs. Without a significant additional investment in civil legal aid, the justice gap will only continue to grow.