LRLC Executive Director Janeen Steel quoted in October 2009 California Lawyers Magazine:

Below is an excerpt from the article “Up Against It: Caught Between Growing Demand and Diminishing Resources, Legal Non-Profits Get Creative.” Click here to read the full article.
Similarly, the Learning Rights Law Center (LRLC) in Los Angeles has also seen a huge jump in demand for its legal services in securing education for special-needs children. This is due not only to the recession’s impact on school funding, but also to a rise in diagnoses of certain health conditions, such as autism. For example, in 2000 14,039 California students were receiving special education because of autism, says Executive Director Janeen Steel. But by 2008 that figure had more than tripled, rising to 46,196.
LRLC is part of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, a network of groups that integrate legal assistance into medical settings. As such, it helps Los Angelenos with education-access difficulties, which are often linked to health problems such as autism, cancer, or deafness.
“We have a small staff and always have a [client] waiting list,” says Steel, adding that LRLC’s five lawyers began the spring with a backlog of about 150 intakes. “And now we’re seeing a doubling in requests.”
But Steel has met that challenge with a slew of ideas. To save money she has brought grant writing in-house, sending staff to free training seminars. In addition, she turned to email to send out updates about LRLC’s latest activities—such as Steel’s March testimony to Congress about education for at-risk youth—saving the $1,000 it previously spent to print and mail newsletters.
LRLC has also used inexpensive, so-called Web 2.0 technologies to raise its profile. “We’re trying to use social networks to get the information out,” says Steel. “And there is no cost to Facebook.” Plus, last year Steel hired five law-student clerks after she started teaching at UCLA School of Law.
But staff training is one thing Steel won’t scrimp on. “We are investing the same amount in professional development this year,” she says. “Everyone has been touched by the economy. But it is so important that our staff [be] supported. We need really good attorneys.”