Shriver eJustice to Offer Better Technology Leadership for the Poverty Law Community

November 17, 2005

Shriver eJustice to offer better technology leadership for the

poverty law community

(Chicago)--A new image, philosophy, and approach are shaping the Sargent Shriver National
Center on Poverty Law's eJustice. A national technology project, eJustice offers technology
information, networking, training, leadership, and other national initiatives to promote
successful technology applications for the poverty law community. eJustice became part
of the Shriver Center in April 2005 with funding from the Legal Services Corporation
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. eJustice is now fully operational with the
following
components:




Website Relaunch
The website www.ejustice.org features a new design with more relevant content at a higher quality. With
its streamlined content delivery, eJustice is now more targeted for legal services professionals and
administrators who need assistance in navigating the tech waters.


New Training Model
A new enhanced training model interweaves screenshots, video, and text for an always-available
experience.

Survey Tools
eJustice will have the resources to help legal services programs design truly effective surveys and an online
tool for programs to conduct their own surveys.

Changes in the project also reflect a new, broader perspective on the relationship between
technology and justice. eJustice does not simply approach technological issues in the poverty law
community simply from a "digital divide" perspective. Project managers will also address how
the larger legal, political, and social content of technology affects poor people.

"Because technology is outrunning our ethical and legal imagination, we are experiencing
unprecedented problems," says David Eads, the eJustice project manager. For example some
Katrina evacuees who were offered technical services and computers were still not able to access
necessary forms because the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, had locked into
a specific platform for delivering services. This illustrates that "digital divide" discussions often
miss the principles that would animate the need for better access for low-income people. "We
must ensure that all have the minimum level to access services that are being provided," says
Eads.

The Shriver Center also hopes that technology issues addressed by eJustice can be instructive for
the nonprofit organizations on diverse issues beyond legal services.

####
Taking Action to End Poverty

---