Kansas Legal Services requests modest budget increase and announces local expungement clinic

Ty Wheeler of Kansas Legal Services spoke to the commission on June 15, describing the nonprofit’s service model for rural counties and asking Chase County for a small increase to its annual support. Wheeler said the organization faces higher gas and personnel costs and requested $6,000 for the coming year — "I'm going to answer 6,000," he told commissioners.

Wheeler described the program’s recent emphasis on expungements and volunteer staffing: "We're coming over here on the 25th and doing an expungement clinic. We'll probably do anywhere between 20 and 30 expungements that day," he said, adding that volunteers and local signups make the clinic feasible and that one recent benefactor donation had enabled more services.

Why it matters: in counties with limited private‑bar capacity, Kansas Legal Services provides core civil legal aid for low‑income residents — covering family, protective orders, and limited social‑security work in the county in recent years. Commissioners thanked Wheeler and asked for supporting paperwork; commissioners did not vote on funding at the meeting but signaled the item will be considered in the budget cycle.

Wheeler also summarized staffing constraints and the value of remote hearings and regional office support, and said the program had increased expungement activity in recent years with volunteer attorneys providing courtroom or intake support.