Received 11/08/2021 Supreme Court Eastern District

Filed 11/08/2021 Supreme Court Eastern District

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COIRA

The Resource Center for Children,

Youth and Families

November 5,2021

The Honorable Max Baer, Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

c/o Office of the Prothonotary

468 City Hall

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Re: Response in Support of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Order No. 21 EM 2020

Authorization for Continuation of the Philadelphia Municipal Court Landlord-Tenant

Diversion Program

Dear Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,

On behalf of CORA Services, Inc., we write to request your ongoing support for Philadelphia's

nationally renowned use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in eviction proceedings. We appreciate

your leadership in continuing to extend authority for Philadelphia to require landlords to apply for

rental assistance and participate in Philadelphia's pre-filing Eviction Diversion Program, most

recently via your Order dated October 28, 2021, No. 21 EM 2020. We request that you continue to

extend this authority beyond November 30, 2021. We further request that you grant this authority to

other counties, so that residents there can also benefit from collaboration between the courts, rental

assistance, and other stabilizing measures. To do so, we respectftilly request that you issue a rule that

allows a local county's President Judge to issue their own local rule creating or coordinating with

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures in eviction proceedings, if they so choose.

CORA Services is a private, iiot-for-profit child/family sendee organization located in Philadelphia,

PA, which provides an array of comprehensive professional services focused on prevention,

intervention, remediadon and refen-al assistance. Our mission is to assist children, youth and families

experiencing emotional, academic and social challenges which impede their development and

productivity by providing relevant services and resource assistance.

Philadelphia's Eviction Diversion Program began on September 1, 2020 and has helped over 2,300

landlord tenant pairs in reaching an agreement or resolution with the support of housing counselors

and trained mediators in over 90% of cases. The Program has also helped an additional 7,000

landlords and tenants access rental assistance without the need for mediation.

Philadelphia has avoided the wave of evictions predicted. Eviction filings in Philadelphia are less

than a third of what they were pre-pandemic. Furthermore, Philadelphia currently leads the nation in

distribution of federally allocated rental assistance with over $212 million distributed to over 34,700

households. Undoubtedly, this program has assisted many families who receive other sei-vices

through CORA.

CORA Services, Inc. • 8540 Verree Road • Philadelphia, PA 19111-1399 • 215-342-7660

The Honorable Max Baer, Chief Justice

Page Two

Noveinber5,2021

Because of these unique programs and the collaboration among the Court, the Diversion Program and

the rental assistance program, Philadelphia has received national recognition from the Department of

Justice, the White House, the Urban Institute and major national media outlets. With your assistance,

this work can continue for so many more families.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Respectfully Submitted,

.^/l^

AnnMarie Schultz

President and CEO

CORA Services, Inc. • 8540 Verree Road • PhUadelphia, PA 19111-1399 • 215-342-7660