The Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i will accept Micronesian clients, following a vote in Nashville yesterday of the Legal Services Corp., the federal agency that provides major funding to the organization.

The unanimous vote of the corporation board opens the door to free legal aid to the estimated 40,000 Micronesians living in the United States, 12,000 of whom are in Hawai'i, said Chuck Greenfield, Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i executive director.

The vote means a federal rule change will go out for public comment over the next 30 days. Greenfield expects Micronesians in Hawai'i and elsewhere in the United States to be able to seek help from Legal Aid as early as October, barring any big objections.

"I feel like this is something that should have been done years ago," he said. "This decision is vital to our program. The Legal Aid Society is about the elimination of barriers, not about the creation of barriers. (The rule) denied many deserving people legal assistance."

Legal Aid attorneys were forced to stop helping Micronesians a decade ago, after the Legal Services Corp. board made a rule change that befuddled many advocates. The board interpreted the Compact of Free Association with Micronesia as barring federal money from going to Micronesians in the United States for legal aid.

However, Micronesians in Micronesia were allowed to keep receiving help from Legal Aid Society offices there.

To get help in the United States, Micronesians would have to become naturalized, a process that many choose not to do because of the cost. Micronesians can travel freely to the United States under the Compact without a visa or passport, which is why many have moved to Hawai'i and elsewhere in search of better jobs and education.

Legal Aid of Hawai'i officials have estimated they turn away hundreds of Micronesians each year because otherwise, the private, nonprofit group would face losing federal money, one-third of its operating budget. Other states have refused aid to Micronesians.

In an interview from Nashville, Greenfield said attorneys from the Arkansas Legal Aid Society joined forces with him to get the rule changed. Arkansas has about 6,000 Micronesians, he said.

Meanwhile, advocates for Micronesians in Hawai'i are heralding the decision, saying it will help a vulnerable population. Micronesians in Hawai'i tend to be poor and are often taken advantage of because of a lack of English skills, advocates say.

"Obviously, our population of Micronesians is growing rapidly," said Jori Watland, Kokua Legal Services board of directors president.

Kokua Legal Services, one of the only places Micronesians can go to in the Islands for free legal aid, is very small and overwhelmed.

The nonprofit has one part-time attorney, and is working on at least 50 active cases. "It's been a challenge," Watland said.

Left unanswered is how Legal Aid will handle a big increase in cases from Micronesians. The nonprofit in Hawai'i already turns people away because of a lack of funds.

Greenfield said the rule change doesn't mean his office will get an increase in federal funding. But Greenfield did say the nonprofit would be applying for more grants to target the Micronesian population.

He wants to hire staff sensitive to Micronesians, and hopefully those who are bilingual and have experience in the region.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.