LSC has awarded its Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) for 2006. This year, LSC awarded a total of $1,242,893 in 31 grants to 24 LSC-funded programs. In a new funding partnership with the State Justice Institute (SJI), an organization which works to improve the quality of justice in state courts nationwide, SJI provided $318,867 in matching funds for TIG projects designed to improve access to justice for low-income and pro se litigants.

This year's grants will fund innovative technology projects that:
* Develop and improve statewide legal assistance websites;
* Provide training and technical assistance to staff of LSC-funded programs;
* Enhance LSC-funded programs' intake systems;
* Help pro se litigants represent themselves in court; and
* Improve the overall technological infrastructure of LSC-funded programs.

Notable projects funded by the TIG program this year include:

* The Legal Aid and Defender Association's project to provide self help legal information and forms in Arabic on Michigan's statewide web site, www.michiganlegalaid.org. The Detroit program was awarded $52,600 for the project, which will include an online video tour of the local District Court in Arabic to familiarize pro se litigants with the court's processes and procedures.

* Legal Services Alabama's (LSA) Video Conferencing Pilot Project. The program was awarded $47,600 to fund a pilot project establishing video conferencing capacity connecting an Alabama courthouse and a mobile video conferencing unit serving the state's rural residents.