SPECIALIZED HOTLINES

Not all hotlines provide advice on a broad range of topics. Another approach is to set up specialized hotlines in the particular subject areas in which the legal services program handles cases. For instance, Hawaii operates a hotline dedicated exclusively to domestic violence; San Francisco has separate hotlines for housing matters, consumer law, and family law; Sacramento has one just for health rights; Michigan has one for kids; and there are several hotlines limited to housing issues. The Neighborhood Legal Services Program in Buffalo, N.Y. also operates specialized hotlines. For a description of how this program operates, see, Morrissey "Stop The Insanity! Intake Made Intelligible" (Appendix E). The advantage to this approach is that the hotline attorney need only be a specialist in that particular area. The downside is that it requires the caller to self-diagnose his or her legal problem.