LAO has released data regarding the racial makeup of clients who use legal aid certificate services. In 2018, LAO began to ask clients to voluntarily indicate their racial identity, and 85% of clients were willing to do so. The LAO compiled the race-based data over the 2019-20 fiscal year in all areas of law, and has now publicized this information. For more information, see LAO’s report.
LAO has also introduced a third gender identifier of “X” on all LAO client intake systems and forms that ask for gender information. The X identifier is for people who identify outside the gender binary, or who do not wish to disclose their gender.