January 1993

Cover

 
  • The View from Inside the Heads of Correctional Officials: The Legacy of Resweber

    Plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of prison conditions must now establish that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to the inhumane conditions at issue; this article discusses the standard for establishing an Eighth Amendment violation announced in Wilson V. Seller and cases decided under that standard.

    By Ruthanne DeWolfe

  • Paternity Establishment: An Issue for the 1990s

    Twenty-seven percent of all children born in America are nonmarital children. With the poverty rate for children of never-married parents at 54 percent in 1989, child support enforcement is an increasingly important Issue. This article discusses reform attempts in the paternity establishment system, since paternity must be established before child support can be obtained.

    By Paula Roberts

  • Youth Law Developments

    This article reviews developments in youth law during 1992, including the impact of Artist M., liability of child welfare employees for the safety of children in state custody, implementation of changes mandated in Zebley, the rights of juveniles in institutions, and fair housing for families with children.

    By The National Center for Youth Law

  • Veterans Law Developments

    The decisions of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals have dramatically changed veterans law. This article summarizes some of CVA's major decisions in 1992, including VA's failure to follow its own rules and regulations and the inapplicability of EAJA to CVA proceedings. It also describes VA's new procedures to implement CVA's decisions. Finally, the article discusses new regulations affecting the Agent Orange class.

    By The National Veterans Legal Services Project

  • Creating Opportunities through Litigation: Community Economic Development Remedies

    Incorporating community economic development remedies into litigation can result in relief that benefits not only plaintiffs, but a broader population of low-income residents.

    By Debbie Chang and Brad Caftel

  • Food Stamp Program Developments

    The 1991 technical amendments to the 1990 Farm Bill changed several significant aspects of the Food Stamp Program, including the application process, eligibility criteria, and grievance procedures. Some of these changes were favorable to clients; some were not. This article discusses these and other legislative changes as well as recent litigation that affects food stamp applicants and recipients.

    By Carrie Lewis

  • Mental Health Developments

    This article discusses major developments in mental health law in 1992, including decisions advancing the rights of institutionalized persons with mental disabilities, improved standards for mental health systems, ADA's implications for the treatment of persons with mental disabilities, and mental health programs for children.

    By The Mental Health Law Project

  • Consumer and Energy Law Developments

    Topics discussed in this article are usury and how the definition and interpretation of certain contract terms affect "interest" foreclosure defenses and "truth in lending" rescission; bankruptcy; debt collection and the decision interpreting the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; the effect of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 on student loan defaulters; proposed revisions in U.C.C. Articles 2 and 9; the effect of escalating water and sewer rates on low-income consumers; and 1993 funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

    By The National Consumer Law Center

  • Developments in Education Law

    This article covers developments under the lndividuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act Amendments, Chapter 1, the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, and federal education reform.

    By The Center for Law and Education

  • Employment Law Developments

    This year the adoption of three Acts made significant changes in the area of employment law: the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act extended benefits beyond the 26 weeks available in most states, the Americans with Disabilities Act removed barriers to the entry of workers Into the work force, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 restored some individual and group employment rights. This article discusses these Acts and other recent developments affecting employment law.

    By The National Employment Law Project

  • Immigration Law Developments: Relief for Battered Spouses, Widows, and Abandoned Children

    This article discusses recent developments in immigration law affecting battered spouses and widows of U.S. citizens, abandoned children, and family members of legalized aliens.

    By The National Immigration Law Center

  • Farm Worker Law Developments

    Migrant farm workers won several landmark victories in the courts, as well as in state and federal legislatures, during 1992. This article describes these developments and others relating to FLSA and state wage laws, pesticides, field sanitation, the temporary foreign agricultural worker program, unemployment insurance benefits, food stamps, taxes, and migrant housing.

    By The Migrant Legal Action Program

  • Welfare Law Developments

    This article reviews welfare developments during the past year, including AFDC and GA benefit reductions, state AFDC demonstration projects with provisions designed to regulate recipients' behavior, child care for AFDC recipients in JOBS programs, electronic benefit transfer systems, and final HHS regulations involving the "minor parent" provision.

    By The Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law

  • Federal Housing Policies in 1992

    In 1992 the most significant congressional action was the severe reduction in funding for additional housing assistance for families and individuals with incomes at the poverty level; in addition, there were some favorable statutory changes and a number of positive developments in the courts.

    By The National Housing Law Project

  • Recent Developments Affecting Homeless People

    The definition of "homeless" was revised during 1992 by certain legislation, and steps were taken in some states to criminalize homelessness. Moreover, changes were made in the AFDC-EAF program, the homeless veterans programs, and in evictions and termination assistance to homeless people in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs. This article reviews various developments in 1992, in both legislation and litigation, affecting homeless people's rights.

    By The National Housing Law Project

  • Health Access: An Issue Whose Time Has Come

    This article discusses both state and federal developments that occurred during 1992 in health-care reform, Medicaid, environmental health, Hill-Burton requirements, AIDS, tuberculosis, continued COBRA coverage, and patient dumping. It gives an overview of new legislative and administrative changes and examines court rulings that will affect these various issues.

    By The National Health Law Program

  • Annual Review of Family Law

    This article discusses recent developments in family law, particularly state and federal laws and cases concerning battered women's issues, and child support and custody.

    By The National Center on Women and Family Law

  • The Law of the Elderly Poor in 1992

    This article reviews various court decisions and pieces of legislation and regulations enacted in the past year that will have an impact on the rights of the elderly poor. Topics discussed include age discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act, elderly housing, employer-sponsored pension and health benefits, home health care, Medicaid, Medicare, nursing facilities, the Older Americans Act, protective services, and social security and SSI benefits.

    By The National Senior Citizens Law Center

  • Medical Treatment Rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities: 1992 Developments (Part 1)

    This article, the first of two parts, covers legislative, administrative, and judicial developments at the federal level, and legislative developments at the state level, regarding the medical treatment rights of persons with disabilities. Part 2, to be published in the February 1993 Clearinghouse Review, will cover developments in state courts.

    By Daniel Avila

  • Overview of 1992 State Law Changes in Guardianship, Durable Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Decisions, and Home Equity Mortgages

    This article, which is being reprinted with permission from the September/October 1992 Issue of the Elder Law Forum, discusses current state legislation in guardianship, durable powers of attorney, home equity mortgages, and healthcare decisions.

    By Erica Wood, Lori A. Stiegel, Charles P. Sabatino, and Stephanie Edelstein