As part of a second round of grants from the Michigan State Bar Foundation's Access to Justice Fund, $20,000 has been designated for the Student Advocacy Center in Ann Arbor. The money will be used to develop, train and support a network of attorneys throughout the state who will provide free or low cost representation to poor families on education matters affecting school age children. According to Ruth Zweifler, Executive Director of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, "there is a growing, troubling number of children being put out of school and there are no services to support them." She said the attorneys would handle some of these cases. These attorneys will also help the Center identify recurring problems, which may benefit from a coordinated solution.

A total of $45,000 was awarded by the Michigan State Bar Foundation to support the unmet civil legal needs of low-income families in Michigan. These grants are made possible through contributions from lawyers, judges and others to the Access to Justice Campaign. To donate to the ATJ Fund, please visit www.atjfund.org or call 1-800-968-1442.