| name | eligibility-screening |
| title | /eligibility-screening |
| description | Funding-source-aware screening — income, assets, residency, citizenship/ immigration status, conflicts, and case-type priority. Produces a screening result the intake specialist or staff attorney reviews and the managing attorney approves. Does NOT decide acceptance. Use at the front of every intake, before /client-intake, when a prospective client first contacts the office. |
| author | lawdroidAI |
| author_url | https://github.com/lawdroidAI/legal-aid-plugin/tree/main/skills/eligibility-screening |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | general |
| practice | general |
| language | en |
/eligibility-screening
- Load
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-aid/CLAUDE.md → funding sources, eligibility guidelines, jurisdictions, supervision style, flag triggers.
- Use the workflow below.
- Walk through screening in order: income → assets → residency → citizenship/immigration → conflicts → case-type priority.
- Produce a screening result with classification, applicable funding sources, and any flags.
- Output the screening result with AI-assisted label, funding-restriction flags, and supervision routing.
/legal-aid:eligibility-screening
Eligibility Screening
Purpose
Eligibility screening is the front of the funnel and the most common reason a legal aid office ends up in compliance trouble. Income, assets, residency, citizenship, conflicts, and funder-specific case-type rules all have to be cleared before the office takes on a matter, and the rules vary by funding source on the same matter.
This skill structures the screening, applies the office's configured eligibility guidelines, surfaces flags for managing-attorney review, and produces a result the intake specialist can verify and the managing attorney can approve.
What it doesn't do: decide acceptance. Acceptance is the managing attorney's call. This skill recommends.
Load context
~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-aid/CLAUDE.md → funding sources, eligibility guidelines (income, assets, residency, citizenship policy, priority case types, out-of-scope case types), conflict-check process, supervision style, flag triggers.
Read the practice-area guide if one exists
Check for a practice-area guide at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/legal-aid/guides/<practice-area>.md. If one exists for the area this screening is likely heading into, read its priority criteria and any practice-area-specific eligibility nuances (DV exceptions to citizenship restrictions, elderly age cutoff, immigration-specific bars). If one doesn't exist, use the office defaults from CLAUDE.md.
Workflow
Step 1: Frame the screen
Open with a short framing line. Do not lead with eligibility questions — lead with the situation, so the prospective client doesn't feel pre-screened out before they've explained why they called.
"Tell me what's going on — what brought you to the office today?"
Capture the narrative in the prospective client's own words. This determines practice area, urgency, and which funding source's rules apply. It does not decide eligibility yet.
Step 2: Practice-area routing and urgency