2024 Priorities
NDALC Case Selection Criteria
- The applicant must meet the program eligibility guidelines
and the legal problems must fall within an objective or
priority for services.
- Services will be provided only to persons whose legal
problems are related to their status as an individual with a
disability, whose legal problems are susceptible to
resolution by NDALC staff, and whose claims have legal
merit.
- Services will generally only be provided to individuals
whose problems cannot be solved through self-advocacy or
by other individuals, agencies, attorneys or organizations.
- While NDALC will provide direct legal representation to
individual clients, legal issues that are systemic in nature
will receive priority.
- The demand for NDALC services exceeds the available
resources, and the agency must plan its activities in a
strategic manner to effectively utilize its limited resources.
Therefore, NDALC may decline to provide direct advocacy
assistance even in situations where a case may be within
the priorities and meet case acceptance criteria.
- NDALC resolves disputes whenever possible through non-adversarial means such as negotiation, mediation,
conciliation, and exhaustion of administrative remedies,
where appropriate, prior to initiating legal action in a
Federal or State court.