Shriver Center: News Releases

Shriver Center Provides Disaster Assistance Legal Resources

2008-03-27T15:38:59Z

Michele Latz to Address Coalition of Bankers and Advocates at Financial Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP) Awards Luncheon

2008-03-27T15:39:00Z

September 23, 2005

Michele Latz to Address Coalition of Bankers and Advocates at Financial Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP) Awards Luncheon

(Chicago) Michele Latz, director of the Division of Financial Institutions at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, will address over one hundred leaders in the financial education and asset-building movement at the Financial Links for Low-Income People, or FLLIP, coalition's fifth annual awards luncheon at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on September 28. Latz will discuss Illinois's success in combating predatory lending through financial education, consumer protection policies, and the development of lower-cost alternative financial products and services.

WHAT: 2005 FLLIP Catalyst Awards Luncheon

WHEN: Wednesday, September 28, 2005, 12:00 noon1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle St. 3rd Floor, Chicago, Illinois

WHY: Honoring this year's Catalyst Award and Beck Award recipients.

The 2005 William J. and Irene Beck Award Winners: Barbara and Sheldon Stein.

The 2005 Catalyst Award Winners: Marva Arnold, Illinois Department of Human Services; Michael Burnside, Allstate Bank; Lesley Slavitt, CHASE; Oboi Reed, Citibank; Cassandra Slade, National City Bank; Madison County Employment and Training Department; and YMCA Lake County.

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law's community investment unit coordinates FLLIP, a statewide coalition of bankers, regulators, community groups, faith-based groups, government agencies, adult educators, Individual Development Account (IDA) providers, and others dedicated to expanding financial education, asset-building opportunities, and access to mainstream financial services in Illinois. FLLIP's groundbreaking work and impressive evaluation results were featured in a recent policy brief published by the Urban Institute.

Latz leads the implementation of the Payday Loan Reform Act, a law that she supported with the Shriver Center, the Egan Campaign, and industry leaders working to end predatory lending in the state. Latz recognizes the positive results that the FLLIP program has achieved for Illinois residents. She envisions a stronger role for the State of Illinois and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in expanding financial education opportunities. At the luncheon she will join the Shriver Center in applauding the work of FLLIP and all of this year's award recipients.

The 2005 FLLIP Catalyst Awards Luncheon sponsors are the William J. and Irene Beck Foundation, LaSalle Bank, National City Bank, Charter One Bank, CHASE, Cole Taylor Bank, State Farm Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Lisle Savings Bank, MB Financial Bank, and US Bank. The Illinois Department of Human Services and the Grand Victoria Foundation provide major funding for FLLIP programs.

For more information about the Shriver Center and its community investment unit, visit the Shriver Center's website. The media are welcome.

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Violence Victims Are a Step Closer to Having Safer Homes

2008-03-27T15:39:01Z

Safe Homes Act Passes the Illinois General Assembly

Shriver eJustice to Offer Better Technology Leadership for the Poverty Law Community

2008-03-27T15:39:02Z

November 17, 2005

Shriver eJustice to offer better technology leadership for the

poverty law community

(Chicago)--A new image, philosophy, and approach are shaping the Sargent Shriver National
Center on Poverty Law's eJustice. A national technology project, eJustice offers technology
information, networking, training, leadership, and other national initiatives to promote
successful technology applications for the poverty law community. eJustice became part
of the Shriver Center in April 2005 with funding from the Legal Services Corporation
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. eJustice is now fully operational with the
following
components:

Website Relaunch
The website www.ejustice.org features a new design with more relevant content at a higher quality. With
its streamlined content delivery, eJustice is now more targeted for legal services professionals and
administrators who need assistance in navigating the tech waters.

New Training Model
A new enhanced training model interweaves screenshots, video, and text for an always-available
experience.

Survey Tools
eJustice will have the resources to help legal services programs design truly effective surveys and an online
tool for programs to conduct their own surveys.

Changes in the project also reflect a new, broader perspective on the relationship between
technology and justice. eJustice does not simply approach technological issues in the poverty law
community simply from a "digital divide" perspective. Project managers will also address how
the larger legal, political, and social content of technology affects poor people.

"Because technology is outrunning our ethical and legal imagination, we are experiencing
unprecedented problems," says David Eads, the eJustice project manager. For example some
Katrina evacuees who were offered technical services and computers were still not able to access
necessary forms because the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, had locked into
a specific platform for delivering services. This illustrates that "digital divide" discussions often
miss the principles that would animate the need for better access for low-income people. "We
must ensure that all have the minimum level to access services that are being provided," says
Eads.

The Shriver Center also hopes that technology issues addressed by eJustice can be instructive for
the nonprofit organizations on diverse issues beyond legal services.

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Taking Action to End Poverty

Latest Issue of Clearinghouse Review Focuses on Many Facets of Poverty

2008-03-27T15:39:02Z

December 21, 2005

The Many Facets of Poverty and How to Grind Them Away Is the Focus of the Latest Issue of the Shriver Center's Journal of Poverty Law and Policy

(Chicago)--Today 37 million people in the United States fall below the federal poverty line, and the number continues to rise. Poverty in the United States is the result of complex factors--not only economic issues but also unlawful discrimination, unequal enforcement of the laws meant to protect everyone, and misguided laws that violate the U.S. Constitution's mandates of equal protection, due process, privacy, and freedom of expression. So the November-December 2005 issue of CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW: JOURNAL OF POVERTY LAW AND POLICY says in analytical articles on the facets of poverty and on practical advocacy strategies to grind them away by knowledgeable practitioners in poverty law.

From an analysis of low-income people's access to the federal courts to addressing the cycle of poverty that is deepened by medical debt and a challenging new bankruptcy law, this CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW issue offers something for every antipoverty advocate. The articles in this latest issue are:

"Win Some, Lose Some: The Rehnquist Court's Final Chapter on Access to Courts" by Matthew Diller, Gill Deford, Jane Perkins, and Gary Smith
"Goodbye Medicaid, Hello Medicare: Helping Dual Eligibles Navigate the Medicare Part D Maze" by Patricia B. Nemore
"The New Bankruptcy Law: Challenge and Opportunity" by David S. Yen and Jeana Kim Reinbold
"Civil Rights Action on Combined Sewer Overflows in Indianapolis" by Thomas G. Neltner
"Reentry and Homelessness: Alternatives to Recidivism" by Maria Foscarinis and Rebecca K. Troth
"Using the Media" by Patricia Bath, Elizabeth Arledge, and Joe Surkiewicz
"Medical Debt" by Chi Chi Wu

Published by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW: JOURNAL OF POVERTY LAW AND POLICY is the nation's premier journal on poverty law and policy. Each issue of CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW features in-depth, analytical articles, written by experts in their fields, on topics of interest to poor people's and public interest lawyers. Substantive areas covered are civil rights, family law, disability, domestic violence, housing, elder law, employment, health, and welfare reform, among others. CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW also features abstracts of poverty law cases being litigated across the country.

###

If you would like to schedule an interview with a legal editor or advocate, please contact Rikeesha Cannon at 312.368.2677. For more information on how you can subscribe to CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW and other Shriver Center publications, please visit www.povertylaw.org. Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, 50 E. Washington Street, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60602 312.263.3830 Fax: 312.263.3846 www.povertylaw.org

Michelle Latz to Address Coalition of Bankers and Advocates at Financial Links for Low-Income People Awards Luncheon

2008-03-27T15:39:03Z

Shriver Center Unveils New and Improved Website

2008-03-27T15:39:03Z

Shriver Center Publishes Special Clearinghouse Review Issue on Youth in Poverty

2008-03-27T15:39:04Z

Shriver Center Unveils New and Improved Website

2008-03-27T15:39:04Z

(Chicago)—The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s website, www.povertylaw.org, is now easier to to use and more engaging for visitors. “The combination of a strong technological infrastructure, a clean and usable design, and the Shriver Center’s sophisticated content makes povertylaw.org a flagship site for the nonprofit legal aid community,” says David Eads, the system administrator.

The site is a collaboration between Enfold Systems LLC (enfoldsystems.com), ClearNoodle Design (clearnoodle.com), and Democracy In Action (democracyinaction.org). Enfold Systems helped the Shriver Center implement its Entransit publishing software, which allows Web content providers to leverage the speed and power of the Zope 3 application server for presentation and the Plone content management system for creating and editing content.

Enfold Systems, the Shriver Center, and Democracy In Action all support open source software. The first open source project released from the collaboration is a toolkit developed by Enfold Systems. The toolkit enables content management systems based on the Python programming language to integrate seamlessly with Democracy In Action’s advocacy tools (http://www.python.org/pypi/deminaction/0.2).

The site makes innovative use of RSS syndication for the legal sector. (RSS is a standard for publishing regular updates of Web-based content.) The site now offers RSS feeds for most of its content, including newsletters, substantive areas under advocacy, Clearinghouse Review, and cases in the law library. All of the case documents in the Shriver Center’s Poverty Law Library are now available for download free of charge and easily tracked via RSS. The Clearinghouse Review Web page features an improved, streamlined subscription system powered by Democracy In Action.

With the launch of its improved website, the Shriver Center continues to be at the forefront of information technology in the legal aid community. The site furthers the Shriver Center’s mission to provide leadership, training, and information services to legal aid advocates.

April 3, 2006

Shriver eJustice to Offer Better Technology Leadership for the Poverty Law Community

2008-03-27T15:39:04Z

Shriver Center Honors Jeffrey Sachs and Morgan Spurlock at Awards Ceremony

2008-03-27T15:39:05Z

Shriver Center Provides Disaster Assistance Legal Resources

2008-03-27T15:39:05Z

September 7, 2005

Shriver Center Provides Disaster Assistance Legal Resources

(Chicago)-In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many Americans are looking for ways to
help the victims in the Gulf Region. We at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
feel especially compelled to respond to this disaster as thousands of low-income families
struggle to survive. Rendered homeless and powerless, now more than ever the tragedy of
poverty is being revealed. The Shriver Center pledges to continue to take action against poverty
while finding ways to respond to this national crisis.
Like many in the legal community, we are using our influence to provide support and
legal aid for the survivors who may feel disenfranchised in the evacuation and relocation
process. To this end, we are providing a list of resources to help legal aid lawyers, victims, and
others recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The Shriver Center will continue to update this list as
more the disaster recovery develops. http://www.povertylaw.org/disaster_assistance.html.

####

The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, www.povertylaw.org, works in Illinois and
nationally to champion law and policy promoting equal opportunity and support for low-income
individuals, families, and communities so that they can escape poverty permanently.
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
50 E. Washington Street, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60602 312.263.3830 Fax: 312.263.3846 www.povertylaw.org

National Advocate to Give Keynote at Nebraska Conference on the Uninsured

2008-03-27T15:39:06Z

Contact:

Milo Mumgaard, Nebraska Appleseed, 402-438-8853

Jennifer Carter, Nebraska Appleseed, 402-438-8853, ext. 104

NATIONAL ADVOCATE TO GIVE KEYNOTE AT NEBRASKA CONFERENCE ON THE UNINSURED

[LINCOLN] John Bouman, Advocacy Director for the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law will be the keynote speaker at the Second Annual "Insuring the Good Life" Conference on the uninsured on October 6, 2005 in Lincoln. Mr. Bouman is a nationally recognized advocate and was recently instrumental in creating the FamilyCare program in Illinois to provide health insurance to up to 300,000 working poor parents of minor children.

In Nebraska, over 170,000 people are uninsured, with many more becoming uninsured everyday. This past year alone 2,000 more Nebraskans became uninsured. For a low- population, rural state, these are devastating figures, severely impacting communities, families, businesses, and health care providers.

Nebraska Appleseed has been working at the local, state, and national levels to build a common ground response to this problem. As part of that effort, it is holding the Second Annual "Insuring the Good Life" Conference on October 6, 2005 at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. Nebraska Appleseed is delighted to have Mr. Bouman as their keynote speaker. An advocate in the area of public benefits for nearly 30 years, in 2002 Mr. Bouman was named to Illinois' Governor Blagojevich's key transition team focusing on the state's budget crisis. He is also credited by many for his leadership in the design and implementation of Illinois' new welfare law in the late nineties. Mr. Bouman's work has been recognized by many national groups. He has been honored with both the John Minor Wisdom Award from the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association's Kutak-Dodds award.

The conference will also feature panel discussions which will explore policy options for expanding coverage. Conference panelists include local and national experts from such organizations as Senator Ben Nelson's office, the National Academy for State Health Policy, Pfizer Inc., Alegent Health, Bryan LGH, AARP Nebraska, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, One World Community Health Center, Hope Medical Outreach Coalition, Nebraska's Unicameral, Nebraska's Department of Insurance, and Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services. The morning panel discussions are: Hospitals & Charity Care, Insurers, Prescription Drugs, Employer- Sponsored Coverage, and Federally Qualified Health Centers. In addition, there are two plenary sessions in the afternoon: Medicaid Reform and the Politics of Health Nebraska Appleseed Center
for Law in the Public Interest
Care.
941 "O" Street, Suite 105

Lincoln, NE 68508

The deadline for registering for the conference has been extended by request to
An affiliate of
The Appleseed Foundation
October 5, 2005. Continuing education credits for social workers are available.
of Washington, D.C.

Information and registration forms are available on our website at
Phone: 402.438.8853
www.NeAppleseed.org.
Fax: 402.438.0263
Email: nac@NeAppleseed.org

Website: www.NeAppleseed.org

# # # #

Shriver Center Honors Jeffrey Sachs and Morgan Spurlock at Awards Ceremony

2008-03-27T15:39:06Z

December 5, 2005

Shriver Center Honors Jeffrey Sachs and Morgan Spurlock at Awards Ceremony:

The State of Poverty: America's Undeclared Disaster Area

(Chicago)--When Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana and Mississippi late last
August and early September, it wasn't just those two states that Katrina brought to the
nation's attention. The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law hopes to draw
attention to another state that many in the United States saw for the first time--the
nation's 51st state, the "State of Poverty."

The Shriver Center's annual awards dinner on December 1 in Chicago will address the
devastating effects of poverty in America. "From the eye of the storm, we at the Shriver
Center know the possibilities of moving from the state of poverty to the state of
prosperity," says Rita McLennon, the Shriver Center's executive director.

The economist Jeffrey Sachs, author of The End of Poverty, is expected to expound on
the state of poverty in America in a keynote address. Professor Sachs, who will receive
the Sargent Shriver Award for Equal Justice, is being honored for distinguished
achievement in promoting the alleviation of poverty.

Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker of Super Size Me fame, will also receive
the Sargent Shriver Award for Equal Justice. He is being honored for distinguished
achievement in raising awareness of the plight of minimum-wage workers in the United
States in his FX television series 30 Days.

Event organizers hope that national attention on poverty will not wane in the aftermath of
the storms and that governmental leaders will be forced to set poverty as a priority on the
national agenda. The Shriver Center is leading a national campaign to end "The State of
Poverty" by advocating laws and proposing model policies to benefit low-income
families across America.

Where: Palmer House Hilton Grand Ballroom, 17 E. Monroe St. Chicago, Illinois
Who: Jeffrey Sachs, author of the "The End of Poverty," will deliver the keynote address
When: Thursday, December 1, 2005
5:30 p.m. Reception
6:00 p.m. Cocktails and Silent Auction
7:00 p.m. Dinner Program and Awards
Contact Rikeesha Cannon, Shriver Center media coordinator,
for more information on the event and interview requests with Jeffrey Sachs or Morgan Spurlock.
Taking Action to End Poverty

Attack Foreclosure Equity-Stripping Scams Through Legal Strategies, Shriver Center Journal Says

2008-03-27T15:39:06Z