This Civil Legal Outcomes Toolkit was developed by the Legal Services Corporation. It is designed to help legal aid programs with defining, collecting, and reporting on metrics that describe their effectiveness—specifically, on outcomes for clients in extended service cases.

The toolkit is separated into the following sections:

• Outcomes Toolkit
• Outcomes Catalog
• Case Studies
• eLearning
• Resources
• About

In the toolkit, you will find detailed instructions, eLearning modules, examples and additional resources for implementing an outcomes management system. It has been designed to support both legal aid programs that are new to outcomes measurement and those already on their way. With outcomes management and reporting in place, LSC and legal aid organizations can:

• Approach our work from a perspective informed by what has worked and what hasn’t
• Make the case to funders and supporters that we are worthy of their backing and support
• Share data with legal service providers to improve sector-wide outcomes
• Manage our organizations based on tested assumptions

LSC grantees may choose for themselves what outcomes measures and collection systems work best for them. As of 2016, LSC will require that its grantees track outcomes for clients in all extended service cases and report annually to LSC on how they are using the data collected in managing their programs. LSC is not mandating any particular manner of outcomes data collection, and nothing in this guide should be read as a directive from LSC. This toolkit offers options and examples for grantees to consider. Grantees are welcome to create their own outcomes measurement systems.

If you’re new to outcomes management, click on Outcomes Toolkit and use the items in the left-hand menu as a guide to developing your system.

If you are looking for particular information, then read the main section of the Outcomes Toolkit page to find relevant topics, or just browse the case studies, sample outcomes in the Outcomes Catalog, or external resources.

We hope that you find the toolkit useful and look forward to receiving your feedback.