January 1990

Cover

 
  • Health Care for the Poor

    In 1989, RCFA and the states began implementing Medicaid expansions mandated by the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act, Hill-Burton administrative decisions adverse to clients continued almost unabated, and several states passed or implemented initiatives to protect the medically uninsured, while courts expanded protection for indigent patients under the federal anti dumping statute.

    By The National Health Law Program

  • Elder Law Developments

    Although the bulk of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act was repealed late last year, Congress also considered other legislation affecting the elderly, including proposals for a separate administrative review system for Medicare cases, changes in the reimbursement formula for Medicare-covered services, and amendments to COBRA.

    By The National Senior Citizens Law Center

  • Federal Housing Law Developments

    Tenants achieved significant victories last year in cases challenging denials of applications for tenancy due to marital status, the definition of "income" for purposes of the Brooke Amendment, rent recertification procedures following a decrease in income, evictions, and landlords' failure to repair.

    By The National Housing Law Project

  • Child Support Enforcement in 1989

    This article highlights some of the recent major developments in child support enforcement in four key areas: establishing paternity, using guidelines in setting support awards, modifying awards, and imposing income withholding.

    By by Paula Roberts

  • Prison Law Developments

    Our prisons and jails are severely overcrowded and the consequences of this overcrowding-increased brutality, structural deterioration, intolerable living conditions-are expected to continue to escalate without relief.

    By by Ruthanne DeWolfe

  • Employment Law Developments

    During its 1988-89 Term, the Supreme Court decided several cases affecting employment law, including a series of Title VII employment discrimination cases, as well as cases involving a municipal affirmative action plan. the use of section 1981 as a means of combating employment discrimination, the range of possible defendants under section 1983, employee drug testing, and vacation benefits and ERISA.

    By Jim Williams and Elizabeth Hough

  • Welfare Law Developments

    Litigation during the past year addressed many issues in the AFDC program, including inadequate benefits, burdensome procedures, improper enforcement of child support cooperation requirements, and erroneous distribution of child support collections; in addition, the Family Support Act of 1988 made a variety of changes in welfare law.

    By The Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law

  • Recent Veterans' Law Developments

    In 1989, Congress elevated the Veterans Administration to cabinet-level status, renaming the agency the Department of Veterans Affairs; in addition, major changes in the access of veterans to federal courts and to attorneys were brought about by implementation of the Veterans' Judicial Review Act, and disbursements through the Agent Orange Payment Program were begun.

    By The National Veterans Legal Services Project

  • Youth Law Developments in 1989

    During last year, the Supreme Court held that children not in the custody of the state do not have a constitutional claim against social workers for failing to protect them from abuse; in the area of foster care, state and federal courts have increasingly begun to require protective services agencies to comply with reasonable efforts requirements of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act.

    By The National Center for Youth Law

  • Medical Treatment for the Elderly and Disabled

    Cases involving eligibility of children with disabilities for SSI benefits and a guardian's authority to withhold nutrition and hydration from a permanently disabled, but not terminally ill, ward are currently pending before the Supreme Court; state courts continue to examine the rights of competent and incompetent patients to forgo life-sustaining treatment.

    By The National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled

  • Community Economic Development at Work

    The year 1989 marked significant revisions in the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; these changes will result in access by individuals and organizations to additional information about the level of investment by financial institutions in their communities, and will improve the opportunities for nonprofit organizations to develop needed affordable housing.

    By by the National Economic Development and Law Center

  • Congressional Developments in Disability Law

    In 1988, numerous federal bills were passed that will enable deaf individuals to achieve equality and independence in the mainstream of society; the Americans with Disabilities Act, if passed, will ban discrimination against disabled persons in employment, public accommodations, public services, transportation, and telecommunications by private businesses and state and local governments.

    By Karen Peltz Strauss and Sy DuBow

  • Consumer and Energy Law Developments

    In consumer law this year, the Truth in Lending Act was expanded to provide disclosure and substantive requirements for home equity loans, and courts upheld consumer claims on hidden finance charges and insurance packing; in energy law, as oil overcharge funds declined drastically, more and more states sought ways to better target existing and to marshal additional resources toward energy assistance and weatherization efforts.

    By The National Consumer Law Center

  • Family Law Developments

    Although battered women have encountered a backlash in order of protection cases this year, state battered women's laws have continued to withstand constitutional challenge; the past year also saw significant developments in child support and child support enforcement as federal legislation began to be implemented.

    By Joan Pennington

  • Migrant Law Developments

    This article covers recent litigation brought under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as developments with respect to the use of pesticides, occupational safety and health, income transfer programs, the temporary foreign worker program, migrant education, and other issues affecting the farmworker community.

    By The Migrant Legal Action Program

  • Mental Disability Law Developments

    Two state supreme courts have recently recognized the statutory right of people with mental disabilities to community services, while litigation in federal courts continues to result in reductions in institutional populations; in addition, there has been considerable litigation concerning the validity of local health, safety, zoning, and land use regulations since the Fair Housing Amendments Act became effective.

    By The Mental Health Law Project

  • The Supreme Court and Employment Discrimination

    This article analyzes nine recent employment discrimination cases decided by the Supreme Court; the Court has eliminated several key procedural and substantive protections for plaintiffs with the result that this area of the law is no longer settled or predictable.

    By Stephen L. Spitz, James C. Gray, Jr., and Paul Holtzman