The Texting for Outcomes Toolkit was created by the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland to support programs in leveraging text messaging to gather outcome data following limited scope legal services. Legal service providers, statewide websites, and court self-help centers help self-represented litigants (SRLs) address a wide range of civil legal problems, including family law, landlord/tenant disputes, debt collection, and more. These limited services—offering advice at clinics, help with forms, and guidance on enforcing rights—play a vital role in bridging the justice gap in the United States. However, the legal community knows little about the long-term impact of such services.

Cleveland Legal Aid developed a text message system, informed by two Technology Initiative Grants and five years of lessons learned, to address this gap by collecting outcome data. Other programs, such as Michigan Legal Help and Ohio Legal Help, have also adopted texting to track outcomes. This toolkit aims to encourage widespread adoption of texting systems among legal service providers to better understand and improve limited scope services. Access the full toolkit below to discover practical strategies, technology insights, and data-driven approaches to enhancing justice outcomes.