March-April 2012 Clearinghouse Review

Topics covered in this issue include advocacy to obtain coverage of medically necessary incontinence supplies in Missouri, working with the Federal Trade Commission to benefit low-income consumers, helping teens obtain civil orders of protection, protecting immigrants who are remitting money to their countries of origin, and establishing safety plans for victims of domestic violence that ensure their economic security

About This Issue
Advocacy Story: Student Allowed to Stay on Track for College and Avoid an Expulsion Hearing
Read this advocacy story online.

By Andrea DeTellis
Advocacy Story: Slow and Steady Wins the Case for a Vermont Low-Income Electric Assistance Program
Read this advocacy story online.

By Philene Taormina
Affirmative Litigation Ensures Coverage of Medically Necessary Adult Diapers
Individuals who had a variety of disabilities and lived in community settings challenged Missouri’s policy of denying, for such individuals, adult incontinence briefs necessary to avoid skin breakdowns and infections. Although the case was not brought as a class action, the court found that the policy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act’s “integration mandate” as established in Omstead v. L.C. and ordered the state to establish a policy whereby adult Medicaid recipients could obtain medically necessary incontinence briefs. The U.S. Department of Justice submitted a statement in support of plaintiffs. The court awarded attorney fees to plaintiffs’ counsel.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Jane Perkins, Responding to Medicaid Service Cutbacks: An Advocate’s Checklist (Jan.-Feb. 2012)
- Ira A. Burnim and Jennifer Mathis, The Olmstead Decision at Ten: Directions for Future Advocacy (Nov.-Dec. 2009)
By Joel Ferber
Remittances: A New Market Calls for New Protections
Immigrants in the United States remit tens of billions of dollars every year to family members in their home countries. The size of the remittance market and opportunities for new customers in a heretofore largely unbanked population have led banks and other financial institutions to offer remittance transfers. Sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act affect remittances, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued final rules to implement these sections. Provided that consumer protections are in place, remitting through banks is a way for immigrants to benefit from entry into the mainstream financial market.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Karen K. Harris and Ji Won Kim, The Next Frontier in Public Benefits: Electronic Benefit Cards (May-June 2011)
- Michael A. Frias, Immigrants’ Access to Financial Services (Sept.-Oct. 2004)
- Camille D. Holmes, Linda E. Perle, and Alan W. Houseman Race-Based Advocacy:The Role and Responsibility of LSC-Funded Programs (May-June 2002)
By Karen K. Harris
Interview Afield: Purvi Shah
Editor's Note: This interview is the second in a new feature through which we introduce a range of advocates to our readers.
Since graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2006 and until March 30, 2012, Purvi Shah was an attorney with Florida Legal Services. Read the rest of the interview here.
The Sheepherder Project: Systemic Change for Marginalized Workers
Representing sheepherders who work in the United States as part of the H-2A program is extremely challenging. Not only are sheepherders geographically isolated, but also they are exempt from many of the state and federal laws that protect workers. The Migrant Farm Worker Division of Colorado Legal Services designed its Sheepherder Project to bring about systemic change for sheepherders through litigation and a variety of advocacy strategies. Colorado Legal Services’ innovative project can serve as a model for any poverty law advocate.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Jayesh M. Rathod, A Season of Change: Reforming the H-2B Guest Worker Program (May–June 2011)
- Susan Reed and Illene J. Jacobs, Serving Farmworkers (Sept.-Oct. 2004)
- Camille D. Holmes, Linda E. Perle, and Alan W. Houseman Race-Based Advocacy:The Role and Responsibility of LSC-Funded Programs (May-June 2002)
By Jennifer J. Lee
Securing Civil Protection Orders for Teens When Laws Ignore Teens
Teen dating violence is common, but teens may have difficulty securing civil protection orders because state laws governing these orders largely ignore teens. Without clear statutory guidelines for teens, two distinct legal questions are key to their securing orders of protection: standing and legal capacity. Courts in many states have the discretion to permit minors to represent themselves without parent notification, especially when self-representation allows minors to protect their health, safety, and welfare.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Liza Siebel, Working with Teen Victims of Domestic and Dating Violence (July-Aug. 2005).
- Wendy Pollack, Aleeza Strubel, and Jennifer Lee, The Ensuring Success in School Act: Promoting School Success and Safety for Young People Who Are Parents, Expectant Parents, or Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence (March-April 2006).
- Aleeza Strubel and Wendy Pollack, Illinois Advocates Promote School Success and Safety for Young People Who Are Expectant Parents, Parents, or Victims of Domestic or Sexual Violence (July-Aug. 2005).
- Mary U. O’Brien, Mutual Restraining Orders in Domestic Violence Civil Cases (Special Issue 1996).
By Lisa Vollendorf Martin
Consumer Rights Screening Tool for Domestic Violence Advocates and Lawyers
Safety plans for domestic violence survivors should establish economic security for those survivors who have gone through economic abuse by their batterers. Together consumer advocates and domestic violence communities can recognize and understand common consumer challenges that survivors encounter. This screening tool introduces common consumer problems, suggests specific questions for engaging the survivor, and offers possible solutions.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.
Related Articles
- Andrea Kovach, Integrating Asset Building Strategies into Domestic Violence Advocacy (July-Aug. 2009)
- Deanne Loonin and Elizabeth Renualt, Less Than Six Degrees of Separation: Consumer Law Connections to Your Practice (Part 1) (Mar.-Apr 1998)
- Deanne Loonin and Elizabeth Renualt, Less Than Six Degrees of Separation: Consumer Law Connections to Your Practice (Part 2) (May-June 1998)
By Leah A. Plunkett and Erika A. Sussman
The Shriver Brief
Training Programs: Supporting Local Communities Through Community Lawyering

By Ellen Hemley
How the Federal Trade Commission and Advocates Together Can Benefit Low-Income Consumers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the government’s consumer-protection arm, formed the Legal Services Collaboration to work with legal aid attorneys to protect low-income consumers. The FTC can bring large cases and share its expertise, but it needs frontline information from legal aid attorneys to make its enforcement efforts as effective as possible. One such collaboration between the FTC’s immigration initiative and Catholic Charities of Baltimore targeted a local notario scam against immigrants and yielded a broader campaign to protect immigrant consumers nationwide.
Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.
Related Articles
- Deanne Loonin, Kathleen Michon, and David Kinnecome, Fraudulent Notarios, Document Preparers, and Other Nonattorney Service Providers: Legal Remedies for a Growing Problem (Nov.-Dec. 1997).
By Monica Vaca and Thomas B. Carter

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