Research and Substantive Publications

Research and Substantive Publications

We update this page often, so please check back soon to see what's available.

If you would like to be on our mailing list for information about our publications as they become available in print or on the Web, please email us at You can also write to us at Legal Services of New Jersey, P.O. Box 1357, Edison, New Jersey 08818-1357.

These publications are available here in Adobe PDF format. If you do not have the latest version of Adobe Reader on your computer, you can download it from Adobe's site.

The Real Cost of Living in 2008: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey
View the full report | printable report | data by family type for separate counties and for all counties (You will need the most recent version of Adobe Reader to view this file correctly.)

An updated report in the Real Cost of Living series produced by Dr. Diana Pearce, Ph.D. of the University of Washington. The report provides a detailed analysis of the cost of living in New Jersey for working families based on the true cost of basic household expenses including housing, child care, health care, and food. It also provides a comparison of the Real Cost of Living to other benchmarks of income including the federal poverty level, welfare income, and minimum wage income. Several policy implications flow from the report’s themes and the report includes information on key action the state could take to help New Jersey families meet their basic needs given the high cost of living.

Poverty Benchmarks 2008: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Addressing Problems of Inadequate Income
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The Poverty Benchmarks Project is an on-going data collection effort that aims to increase understanding of poverty in New Jersey as a foundation for more effective public response to the reality of poverty and its consequences. This report is the second in the annual series and updates key poverty trends and attendant policy implications. It also examines for the first time the state’s progress in addressing poverty by reviewing selected anti-poverty programs that address specific impacts of poverty.

Eye on the Budget 2008—A Resource Guide: How New Jersey State Expenditures Relate To Basic Human Needs
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The fiscal year 2007-2008 edition of the Eye on the Budget series, with updated need and program information and recommendations for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The report provides detailed information about recent trends in funding and performance of programs that are funded through the New Jersey State budget in the context of an analysis around eighteen areas of basic human needs to which the state budget must respond. This is the fifth report in this series, from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute Budget Analysis Project, January 2007.

Eye on the Budget 2007—A Resource Guide: How New Jersey State Expenditures Relate To Basic Human Needs
View the full report | summary (You will need the most recent version of Adobe Reader to view these PDF files correctly.)

An updated report in the Eye on the Budget series for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, including recommendations for the 2007-2008 fiscal year budget. The report provides information about funding and performance of programs in the New Jersey State Budget, as well as perspective on how well the state is addressing the basic needs of low-income and vulnerable residents. This is the fourth report in this series, from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute Budget Analysis Project, January 2007.

Poor in the Garden State: Beginning to Assess New Jersey's Progress in Addressing Poverty
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The Poverty Benchmarks Project is a new on-going data collection effort that aims to increase understanding of poverty in New Jersey as a foundation for more effective public response to the reality of poverty and its consequences. This report is the inaugural report in this project and offers the highlights of a multi-dimensional review of the data related to poverty in New Jersey. It looks at five primary areas including what is meant by the term poverty and how it is measured; the state’s growing income inequality; the characteristics of populations in poverty; places in the state with high rates of poverty; and the impacts of poverty including health care, housing, education, transportation and the need for a safety net..

Meeting the Needs of Children and Parents: Child Welfare Practices that Preserve New Jersey's Low-Income Families
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This report presents analysis and recommendations to make New Jersey's child welfare system more supportive of families in crisis. The new administration in Trenton must address critical shortcomings still existing in state child welfare policies and practices. Numerous reports and studies have highlighted these failures amply. The required remedial steps, detailed in this report, are clear and urgent and are the same, regardless of what shifts may be made in the location of responsibility for child welfare services within state government. It bears emphasis that these steps must be taken on behalf of both birth and foster families, to reduce the chance of further tragedy.

Eye on the Budget 2006—A Resource Guide: How New Jersey State Expenditures Relate To Basic Human Needs
View the full report (You will need the most recent version of Adobe Reader to view these PDF files correctly.)

An updated look at the New Jersey State Budget, including some new information and analysis. The report provides information about funding and performance of programs in the fiscal year 2005-2006 State Budget, as well as perspective on how well the state is addressing the basic needs of working and vulnerable residents and recommendations for the fiscal year 2006-2007 State Budget. This is the third report in this series, from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute Budget Analysis Project, November 2005.

People Without Lawyers: The Continuing Justice Gap in New Jersey
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The Real Cost of Living in 2005: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey
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Eye on the Budget II—A Resource Guide: How New Jersey State Expenditures Relate To Basic Human Needs
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Further analysis and perspective on New Jersey’s efforts to address basic needs of working and vulnerable residents and assist those seeking to avoid or escape poverty. This is the second report in this series, from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute Budget Analysis Project, February 2005.

Eye on the Budget—A Resource Guide: How New Jersey State Expenditures Relate To Basic Human Needs
View PDF file (You will need the most recent version of Adobe Reader to view this file correctly.)

Analysis and perspective on New Jersey’s efforts to address basic needs of working and vulnerable residents and assist those seeking to avoid or escape poverty. This is the first report in this series, from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute Budget Analysis Project, June 2004.

The Critical Shortage of Affordable Housing in New Jersey: A Brief Overview
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A report from The Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute, June 2003.

Housing New Jersey's Workforce: Instituting a New Jersey State Housing Policy
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Reorganizing New Jersey's Welfare and Work Force Readiness Systems
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This paper provides perspective on a proposed reorganization plan which would move a significant portion of Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) functions and programs from the New Jersey Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Education (DOE) to the Department of Labor (DOL).

Protecting and Preserving Families: A New Vision for
Child Welfare Services
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A Desperate and Widening Divide: The Concurrent Increase in Poverty, Income and Inequality in New Jersey
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“Despite the economic prosperity of the 1990’s, both poverty and income inequality increased during the last decade in New Jersey.” This, according to Kristin Mateo, senior researcher and policy analyst at Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ), is the central finding of a report released on January 28, 2003. A Desperate and Widening Divide: The Concurrent Increase in Poverty, Income, and Inequality in New Jersey is based on an analysis of data from the 1990 and 2000 Census. The report is one of a series of reports by The Poverty Research Institute on the extent and impact of poverty in New Jersey.

Legal Problems, Legal Needs: The Legal Assistance Gap Facing Lower Income People in New Jersey
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Lower income people must deal with a broad array of laws and legal processes that directly impact their daily lives, and for more than those with greater means, often determine their very ability to survive. The Legal Problems, Legal Needs study asks whether lower income New Jersey adults are obtaining the legal assistance they need while facing civil legal problems. Results from the study’s survey of 1,013 lower income adults finds that they are not. The study documents the legal assistance gap facing lower income people in New Jersey, outlines principal policy implications and points to areas where further exploration is needed.

Hard Times Amid Prosperity: A Current Profile of Poverty in New Jersey
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An initial report from The Poverty Research Institute of Legal Services of New Jersey.

Assessing Work First: Challenges Facing Long-Term Welfare Recipients in New Jersey
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The second report from the Assessing Work First series.

Assessing Work First: What Happens After Welfare?
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Report one from the Assessing Work First series.

How New Jersey's Public Assistance Dollars are Spent
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An initial report from Legal Services of New Jersey's Poverty Research Institute Budget and Poverty Analysis Project.

Work First Analysis
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Laws frequently change. You should always check to be sure that any laws or principles mentioned in these publications are current before relying on them. The publications give general information about the law. They do not provide specific advice about a particular legal problem that you may have, and they are not a substitute for seeing a lawyer at times when you may need one. If in doubt as to whether you need a lawyer, talk to one. If you need the advice of a lawyer and cannot afford one, you may be eligible for Legal Services. Contact the Legal Services program in your county. Each publication has a list of New Jersey programs.

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