Indigent California residents have more legal problems than wealthier counterparts but less access to legal professionals who could help them, a new survey released by the state bar shows.

The preliminary "technical" draft of the California Justice Gap Study includes the results from a bar-commissioned survey of 3,885 state residents conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

The findings mirror what past national studies have shown: poor residents are not finding or, in some cases, not looking for free or reduced-cost help they need with child custody, residential problems and other legal issues.

"Access to justice has been a problem in California for a long time," Alan Steinbrecher, the board of trustees' new chairman, said in a statement. "It's a nationwide and international problem. California has always been a leader on this issue, and we will continue to work on this challenge."

Among the survey's findings:

  • Low-income Californians—those in a family of four making no more than $32,188, by definition—reported twice as many legal problems as their higher-earning counterparts.
  • Of poorer Californians who reported having legal issues related to child custody or their children generally, more than two-thirds said the problem affected them "very much" or "severely." Other top legal issues with the biggest impact to respondents were tied to veterans affairs, income and government assistance and housing.
  • Of low-income Californians with civil legal troubles, 27% received legal help with at least one issue. That compares with 34% of wealthier Californians who found legal assistance.
  • Uncertainty about whether a problem constituted a legal issue and worries about cost were among the top reasons low-income Californians cited for not seeking help.
  • Poor Californians are less likely than their wealthier counterparts to say that they can turn to the courts for help and that the justice system will treat them fairly.

The survey is part of a larger study, expected to be released by the end of the year, that will also review the types of cases legal aid organizations funded by the bar are handling. Study leaders say the final report will also include a survey of law students to understand the role of education debt on their career choices and information about the recruitment and retention of legal aid attorneys.

Bar officials expect the report's findings and recommendations to bolster the work of its Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services. The group is studying ways to expand the availability of legal services, potentially through increased use of technology and fee-sharing with nonlawyers.

The state bar's legal services trust fund commission this month tentatively approved $78 million in grants for 100 nonprofits offering legal aid services. The funding comes from the state-controlled equal access fund and interest on lawyers' trust accounts.

Read the California Bar's 2019 2019 Justice Gap Study:

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Correction:  An earlier version of this report misstated the incidence of legal problems among poorer Californians. More than two-thirds of those residents who reported experiencing child custody or child-related legal issues said the problem affected them very much or severely. The report did not say that two-thirds of poorer Californians reported child custody or child-related legal issues.