The Bremer Foundation funds projects that promote economic and social justice. This project targeted residents of the 13 northwestern Wisconsin counties that comprise the 10th Judicial District. This large, primarily rural area is home to approximately 496,500 people, 45,766 of whom were recorded as below the federal poverty guidelines in the 2000 US Census.
The grant funded efforts to develop and implement a plan for improving access to the courts in northwestern Wisconsin. The project focused on standardizing court rules and procedures among the counties, making simplified forms and plain-English instructions available, training court staff, clerks, and judges to improve how they communicate with people representing themselves in court, and undertaking a major public outreach campaign, including training for Wisconsin public librarians and tribal court officials.
