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Courts should review existing information and collect new information, where necessary, to understand current court practices in the following areas:
- What percentage of cases include a pro se litigant? What is the percentage of pro se litigants by casetypes (e.g., civil, criminal, family)?
- What types of assistance do pro se litigants typically request? What types of assistance does the court typically provide? Does the assistance provided to pro se litigants vary by casetype?
- Is assistance provided to pro se litigants coordinated through a primary contact(s) or special program?
- What areas do court staff see as needing attention first? Have they experienced difficulties trying to address the needs of pro se litigants? Do they have suggestions regarding ways to improve the court process for pro se litigants?
- What are the perceptions of pro se litigants regarding their experiences with the court process? What difficulties did they encounter, what help did they receive, and what suggestions do they have for improving the system for pro se litigants?
- What legal aid resources are available in the community? What are the criteria for accessing the services?
- What is the bar’s view of pro se litigants? Are there any efforts underway to unbundle legal services?
- Are there court rules, statutory parameters, or professional standards the court must consider when addressing the needs of pro se litigants?
- Are staff and judges provided any training regarding the needs of pro se litigants and effective responses?
Examples and Resources
- Evaluation Toolkit. Legal Association of California. The Legal Aid Association of California has developed a comprehensive toolkit, which is a collection of resource materials to help legal services programs evaluate their work. This toolkit includes: a client/customer satisfaction survey; client/customer follow-up interview; community/partner interview; in-court observation process; court case file review; client outcomes; focus groups; evaluating support and impact projects; evaluating technology projects; etc.
- Selfhelpsupport.org provides a host of information on survey instruments and tools to evaluate pro se programs. See specifically the Evaluation folder in the Selfhelpsupport.org library.
- Trial Court Research and Improvement Consortium Executive Program Assessment Tool: Programs to Assist Self-Represented Litigants. This survey instrument provides instructions on how to create a snapshot assessment of a local program designed to assist pro se litigants.
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 Next Step: Step 2: Determine Changes
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