Nuestro impacto
Creating Individual and Systemic Change
At CLASI, we transform lives and communities through high-quality individual legal representation and broader systemic advocacy for Delawareans who need it most.
At the heart of our work is representation in individual cases, helping to ensure that everyone can access justice regardless of their background or financial circumstances. Each day, we help protect our clients’ fundamental legal rights, enable families to meet their basic needs, and assure that our most vulnerable neighbors can access the services and supports they need to live healthy, stable lives.
Informed by the challenges our individual clients face, we also work for broader systemic change by leveraging our resources to help thousands more Delawareans than we otherwise could on a case-by-case basis. Our systemic work involves advocacy to change laws, policies, and practices that negatively affect our clients and their communities, and enforce the laws meant to protect them. We employ a range of strategies in this work, including impact litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and community legal education.
Individual Advocacy
El año pasado, nuestros abogados y defensores:
7,897
Gestionados 7.897 casos
18,727
Impacting 18,727 individuals and household members.
We helped:
1,159
1,159 clients stabilize
their housing
409
409 clients obtain safety from abuse
201
201 clients increase their financial stability
112
112 clients obtain legal immigration status
Top legal problem areas:
Violencia doméstica
Vivienda
Health and Income
Inmigración
Systemic Advocacy
We also have a long track record of taking on some of the biggest systemic challenges facing low-income and vulnerable Delawareans. We’ve protected the rights and improved the lives of tens of thousands of people through impact litigation in the courts, legislative and policy advocacy, and coalition building on the state and national levels.
Some of our recent systemic accomplishments include:
- Right to Representation in Evictions – Led the coalition that won passage of historic “right to representation” legislation for low-income renters facing eviction, making Delaware only the fourth U.S. state to provide this critical right
- School Funding Equity – Settled a landmark school funding lawsuit against the state, resulting in major improvements in funding for children in high-poverty schools, children with disabilities, and English language learners
- Equal Accommodations for People with Disabilities – Won a significant court appeal regarding the scope of the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law, creating momentum for new legislation that now explicitly requires places of public accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities
- Family Justice Centers – Successfully advocated for legislation creating the first statewide network of Family Justice Centers in the country, offering a centralized place where survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking can receive coordinated services, helping to improve outcomes for survivors and their children.
- Solitary Confinement Reform – Settled groundbreaking litigation against the Delaware Dept. of Correction, dramatically overhauling the solitary confinement system and increasing services for inmates with mental illness
- Debt Relief for People with Disabilities – Led on national rulemaking resulting in billions in student debt forgiveness for people with disabilities
- Manufactured Homeowner Protections – Secured important protections from excessive lot rent increases for manufactured housing homeowners who live in rental communities
- Accessible Parking Enforcement – Advocated for passage of milestone legislation that will ensure parking lots are accessible for Delawareans with disabilities, by creating an upstream intervention requiring that parking areas comply with the ADA when built or modified
- Housing Protections for People with Disabilities – Won Delaware Supreme Court case holding that renters with disabilities can request a reasonable accommodation from a landlord at any time prior to eviction under state and federal fair housing law, helping vulnerable residents stay in their homes
Annual Report
Learn more about CLASI’s clients, advocates, and the impact of our individual and systemic advocacy in our Annual Reports.
Awards and Recognition
CLASI’s staff are passionate advocates with deep expertise. We are proud that many of them have received awards and other honors from our community partners, elected officials, advocacy groups, and the wider legal community in recognition of their efforts and impact. We invite you to learn more about them and their work.
Client Stories
Read more personal stories of Delawareans whose lives have been impacted by CLASI, along with recent news stories about our team’s advocacy efforts throughout the state.
Major Cases
CLASI has a long history of achieving significant victories on behalf of Delaware residents through impact litigation. From suing to force the Wilmington Housing Authority to remove lead paint to advancing the rights of people with disabilities to access businesses and services, we have successfully litigated a range of issues affecting vulnerable Delawareans.
Recent cases include:
Kravis v. Justice of the Peace Court 17 and MHC McNicol Place, LLC – Victory on behalf of an elderly tenant with disabilities, in a collaborative effort by CLASI’s Elder Law and Fair Housing Programs. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that under state and federal fair housing laws, tenants with disabilities can request a reasonable accommodation from a landlord at any time prior to eviction.
Ray v. Delaware Human Relations Commission – Expanded the scope of the state equal accommodations law for people with disabilities.
Delawareans for Educational Opportunity and NAACP Delaware State Conference of Branches v. Carney – Created more equitable school funding for disadvantaged Delaware children, including children with disabilities, low incomes, and English language learners.
Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. v. Coupe – Ended solitary confinement in Delaware prisons.
View More Cases
Green v. Dept. Of Public Welfare – eliminated the 1-year residency requirement for public benefits
Downs v. Jacobs – prevented landlords from seizing tenants’ property without a court order
Osmond v. Spence – changed confession of judgment law
Anderson v. Redman – addressed prison conditions
Lecates v. J.P. Court 4 – established right to appeal without bond
Rollison v. Biggs – clarified eligibility for attorney’s fees in special education cases
Kruelle v. Biggs – defined schools’ obligations to provide residential programs
Wilmington Trust v. Connor – UCC Article 9 notice requirement defined
Jackson v. Pierce – removed lead paint from Wilmington Housing Authority units
Ortiz v. Eichler – required notice and a fair hearing for welfare benefits
Sand v. Martin – defined standard for placing a child with a non-parent
Robinson v. Sec. of Health & Human Services – required SSA to find improvements in condition before terminating benefits
Dunn v. Sullivan – SSI recipients can have continued benefits during temporary hospitalization for mental illness
Ryan v. Weiner – clarified consumer protections for a disabled senior citizen
Dolphon v. Nazario – Medicaid case about valuing assets when one of a married couple enters a nursing home
Malloy v. Eichler – clarified Medicaid eligibility
Deals on Wheels v. MacDonald – refined service of process by certified mail
Urban v. Spencer Apartments – Landlords must comply with federal regulations when seeking to evict tenants from subsidized housing.
Gibson v. North Delaware Realty, Stoneybrook – artificial entities must be represented in JP Court by an attorney (led to creation of Supr. Ct. Rule 57).
Clarkson v. Goldstein – Fraudulent sale of real estate is a deceptive trade practice (6 Del.C. §2532) and applied enhanced civil penalties when a victim of consumer fraud is over age 65 (6 Del.C. §2580).
Legislation
CLASI also engages in policy advocacy, working to pass laws and provide advice and technical assistance on legislation and regulations impacting the client communities we serve. Learn more about some of the major pieces of legislation we’ve been involved with:
H.B. 340 Family Justice Centers – Passed in 2024, this law creates a centralized place in each county where survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking can receive coordinated services in a family-friendly, victim-centered, and trauma-informed environments that will help improve outcomes for survivors and their children.
Rent Justification Act – This legislation has had a significant impact on manufactured homeowners throughout Delaware, ensuring that they can stay in their homes without fear of arbitrary rent increases.
S.B. 1 Right to Representation in Evictions – In 2023, Delaware became just the fourth state in the nation to pass legislation providing a right to representation for low-income tenants facing eviction, helping vulnerable families to avoid homelessness.
H.B. 311 Delaware Equal Accommodations Law – Passed in 2022 and stemming from litigation brought by CLASI, this law explicitly requires places of public accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities in Delaware.
View More Cases
Disability-based Fair Housing Code, 6 Del.C. Ch. 46
Special Education Procedural Rights, 14 Del.C. Ch. 31
Disability-based Employment Act, 19 Del.C. Ch. 7
DHSS Financial Responsibility, 19 Del.C. Ch. 79
Mental Health Bill of Rights, 16 Del.C. Ch. 51
Mental Health Code Revisions, 16 Del.C. Ch. 51
Special Education Early Intervention, 16 Del.C. Ch. 2
Education and Training for Recipients of TANF, 31 Del.C. §523
Amendment to Surrogate, Health-Care Decisions, 16 Del.C. § 2507
Amendment to Landlord-Tenant Code, 25 Del.C. §§5314 & 5141 (DV)
Amendments to Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act, 25 Del.C. §§ 7001A [ADR]; 7025 [AG enforcement]; 7021 [Rent Assistance]; 7010 [change in land use]
MANTENTE CONECTADO
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