The Internal Revenue Service has announced that the application period for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grants for calendar year 2018 will run from May 1 to June 20, 2017.

The LITC program is a federal grant program administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS, led by the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina E. Olson. The LITC program awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to qualifying organizations to develop, expand or maintain an LITC.  An LITC must provide services for free or for no more than a nominal fee.

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. Executive Director Samuel W. Milkes has authored an article entitled Funding for Civil Legal Aid: Where Do We Go From Here?, that appears in the current edition of The Pennsylvania Lawyer (May-June 2017), the magazine of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

The article explores the current state of funding for civil legal assistance in Pennsylvania, the current challenges faced by the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, law school clinics, pro bono providers and all the other providers of civil legal aid in the state, and encourages lawyers to urge decision-makers to support legal aid.

THE 2017 PLAN PUBLIC BENEFITS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Due to low enrollment numbers the Conference, scheduled for May 4-5, 2017 has been cancelled. 

In the coming weeks, a series of webinars will be scheduled to cover the most pressing topics that would have been a part of the conference.  Some of these webinars will be offered with CLE credit. 

Additional topics planned for the Public Benefits Conference will be proposed as workshops at the PLAN Statewide Conference which is scheduled for September 28th and 29th. The Public Benefits Planning Committee apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, invites everyone to celebrate the first National Social Security Month in April by taking five steps toward financial security at www.socialsecurity.gov/5-steps-toward-your-financial-security. During the month, Social Security will provide educational articles and video messages on its website featuring personal finance expert Suze Orman. Each message will provide the public with practical tips for developing a sound financial plan that includes Social Security as a foundation.