Our Unique Role
NCLEJ's vision is a society in which low-income individuals and families have the support they need to maintain a decent standard of living and take full advantage of opportunities to better their lives.
We pursue this vision by assuring that all low-income people can gain access to all of the vital public benefits and services for which they are eligible. When current laws and program practices are not sufficient, we work diligently for effective reforms.
We work throughout the country to achieve our goals with a combination of on-the-ground litigation and policy advocacy.
2011 Highlights
About NCLEJ
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NCLEJ was founded in 1965, in the heyday of the civil rights movement. From the very start, NCLEJ staff joined with southern civil rights lawyers in landmark cases, worked with community-based organizations around the country, won ground-breaking victories in the courts, and achieved major reforms in legislation and agency policies and practices. Through these early successes, NCLEJ demonstrated that the law can be a powerful instrument for improving the lives of the most disadvantaged members of our society.
For the past 46 years, NCLEJ has led the way in advancing economic justice across the country; securing systemic reform in the delivery of income support and related human services; and safeguarding important legal and constitutional rights.
Among the many challenges confronting NCLEJ today is the sad reality that in this, the richest country in the world, tens of millions still live far below the poverty line. And millions more can barely make ends meet.
NCLEJ works to ensure that:
- Parents have access to the assistance they need to feed their families and plan for self-sufficiency;
- People can get jobs that pay enough to support themselves and their families because they have access to quality childcare and essential education and training;
- Women making the transition from welfare to work have full protection against sexual harassment and discrimination; and
- People with mental and physical disabilities, or limited language proficiency, are not discriminated against as they seek to access benefits programs or secure education and training for meaningful employment.
NCLEJ’s staff of award-winning lawyers has many years of experience. NCLEJ multiplies the impact of its staff by collaborating with major law firms, as well as civil rights, civil liberties, women's rights, immigrants' rights, and other legal advocacy organizations.
NCLEJ is a leader in working collaboratively outside of litigation, both through formal and informal arrangements. NCLEJ staff excel at forging new partnerships by educating other advocates about emerging issues and advocacy strategies, presenting at conferences, convening groups of advocates over critical issues, disseminating publications widely, and expanding the use of its national listservs and website.