Legal Services Corporation President Victor M. Fortuno spoke at the Pennsylvania Project Director Association Meeting in Harrisburg on June 7. The association is composed of the heads of the state’s civil legal aid programs, eight of which are LSC grantees.

Fortuno, who began his legal career as a legal services attorney in Pennsylvania, praised the state's legal aid community for working hard to offset recent decreases in IOLTA funding and to protect funding for civil legal aid in the state budget.

He also spoke about developments in Washington, including the Corporation’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2011 and congressional efforts to reauthorize LSC.

Fortuno concluded his remarks with a reminder of the importance of governance and accountability at LSC and its grantees, especially in the wake of recent news reports about employee embezzlement at LSC-funded programs.

“Although these events are rare and out of the ordinary, they are most unfortunate,” said Fortuno. “As we seek higher federal funding for legal services to meet the increasing demand for services, we must work together to show the public and Congress that we are always striving to be the best stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Fortuno also spoke at the board of directors meeting of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) on June 8. PLAN provides leadership and strategic coordination to ten regional legal aid programs and six specialized legal resource programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

From LSC Updates, June 11, 2010