Michigan Poverty Law Program (MPLP) was originally established in 1997 as a cooperative effort between Legal Services of South Central Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School. MPLP is the state support organization that provides training, case consultation, and advocacy support to all the civil legal aid offices in Michigan.
MPLP staff includes experts in each of the substantive areas handled by legal aid offices - family law, elder law, consumer law, housing law, foreclosures, and public benefits. MPLP also provides technology support to all legal aid programs in Michigan including support for the statewide client/case management system, program websites, and advocate list serves.
In addition to providing support and training to legal aid programs throughout Michigan, MPLP has helped launch statewide programs to meet emerging legal needs of low-income households in Michigan. The statewide programs include:
- Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Project (2008)
- Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (2008)
- Michigan Elder Justice Initiative (2011)
- Michigan Legal Help Program (2012) - a statewide website and affiliated self-help centers which provide self-help legal information resources to people representing themselves in simple civil legal matters
- Civil Victims Legal Assistance Program (2017)