What is the PTLA Forms Project?
This is what we are calling our new website apps.ptla.org and the tools that live there! It isn't a new organization, or a new program we are running - but it is a new set of tools we intend to maintain and build upon going forward. These tools are often called 'guided interviews' or 'automated forms' - they ask the user a few questions at a time and use the information to fill in a form or create a document for the user. The point is to make the process easy on the user - even if the form or process is complicated or difficult to understand.
We created the PTLA Forms Project because we wanted a simple place for people to find all the work we are doing with automated forms, form letters, and other helpful tools. You will also find all the tools listed here on our main site, PTLA.org. You will find them on the 'Forms' tab of the main menu, as well as within our educational articles when that makes sense. For example, you will find the Security Deposit Return Letter in our article 'Rights of Maine Renters: How to get your security deposit back, and what to do if you don't' as well as under 'Forms' and listed on the PTLA Forms Project website. We know that most people will only need these tools once in a while, so we wanted to make it easy for them to find these tools right when they need them. But we also know many advocates, lawyers, and caseworkers may use these tools often with their clients, so wanted to create an easy page they could bookmark for all these tools.
What did you use to build these tools?
These tools are all built using Docassemble - which is "a free, open-source expert system for guided interviews and document assembly." We were able to complete this project with grant funding from the Legal Services Corporation TIG (Technology Initiative Grant) program.
In less technical terms, Docassemble gives us the foundations we need to build all these tools. It is free to use - for us to build these tools, and for you to use them. It is open-source, which means the code is available for anyone to use and build upon, and that it is in many ways a community project. It was created by a legal aid lawyer who was frustrated with how expensive tools like these can be, and it makes it easy for us to work with other legal aid organizations creating tools like these. Our code, and code from many other organizations, is available on GitHub for others to use and build upon, and we hope our work will make it easier for the next legal aid program that decides to try this!
There is a growing legal aid community around Docassemble, and you can learn more on the Docassemble website or from The Document Assembly Line, a project of the Suffolk University Law School Legal Innovation & Technology (LIT) Lab.
Some of these tools ask for a lot of personal information - is that really needed? How do you keep user data safe?
This is a great question to ask any time someone is offering a 'free' tool online! Data is money, more now than ever, and many 'free' tools make their money by collecting and selling user data in bulk. That is not what we are doing with this project!
We take user privacy and data protection very seriously. We know some of these tools ask for detailed personally identifiable information - but we have taken the right steps to keep that information safe. We encourage you to read the Terms of Use at the start of each tool. That document isn't your usual fine-print, it is meant to be read and understood by users and explains our practices in plain language. Here are some of the things we do to make sure these are tools you can trust and feel safe using and sharing with others:
- These tools were created and are owned by Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc., a non-profit legal aid organization serving the people of the State of Maine since 1967.You can learn more about us and our work under the 'About' tab of this site!
- We will never sell your data.
- These tools only ever ask for information they need. If a question is in the interview, it's because that information is needed for the form.
- We follow best practices for data security. We use the same technology that banks and online stores use to keep your information safe.:
- 256 bit encryption
- Continual monitoring
- Limited access controls
- Regular security updates
- Software firewalls