January 1994

Cover

 
  • Consumer and Energy Law in 1993 and Beyond

    Generally, 1993 was a year of expansion of consumer rights, particularly regarding low-income utility rates and energy conservation measures. There were also several low points including the Supreme Court's blow to debtors' efforts to save their homes through bankruptcy, and LIHEAP's funding may be in jeopardy. This article highlights consumer and energy developments this past year.

    By The National Consumer Law Center

  • Welfare in 1994: Inadequate Benefits, Time Limits, and Arbitrary Administration?

    This article discusses 1993 welfare reform developments and initiatives in 1994, especially in the areas of income adequacy; employment, mandatory work-related requirements, and benefit-receipt time limits; and improvements in the eligibility determination process.

    By The Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law

  • Annual Review of Family Law

    This article highlights recent developments in family law, particularly in the areas of battered women's issues, custody, and child support. It also covers some important issues and cases affecting parents' rights in the area of adoption and state intervention.

    By The National Center on Women and Family Law

  • Expanding Housing Strategies: The Story of One Network of Advocates

    This article describes the history of LALSHAC, a national network of legal services housing advocates and clients, explains what the network accomplished during 1993 and expects to accomplish in the immediate future, and examines some of the obstacles it must overcome to achieve its goals for effective advocacy.

    By The National Housing Law Project

  • Strategies for Taxing Times

    Advocates need to increase state tax activism on behalf of low-income people to counterbalance drastic budget cuts in federal public assistance programs. This article describes how tax policy directly and indirectly affects clients and explains why policymakers must modernize their revenue systems in order to eliminate the chronic revenue shortfalls that lead to program cuts.

    By Jim St. George, Cindy Mann, and Iris J. Lav

  • Advocacy to End Homelessness: New Initiatives for Social Equity

    New approaches to homelessness must reflect the link between homelessness and poverty and address new and complex concerns, including HIV/AIDS, resurgent tuberculosis, and epidemic drug use. This article describes developments in federal policy, right-to-shelter advocacy, permanent housing, and child welfare affecting homeless persons.

    By Mary Ellen Hombs, Steven F. Banks, Dan Manning, Barbara Sard, and David Sciarra

  • Recent Developments in the Food Stamp Program

    Passage of the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act in 1993 made many pro recipient changes in the Food Stamp Program. This article briefly describes these changes, summarizes several recent court decisions favorable to clients, and makes some predictions regarding the Food Stamp Program.

    By Carrie M. Lewis

  • Farmworker Law Developments

    This article discusses legal developments, in 1993, affecting migrant farmworkers. Areas addressed include the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Temporary Foreign Agricultural Worker Program (H-2A), the Fair Labor Standards Act, pesticide regulation and occupational health, migrant housing, and education for migrant children.

    By The Migrant Legal Action Program

  • Health Care 1993: An Unprecedented Year

    Health care developments in 1993 were dramatic, including proposed national health care reform, changes in the Medicaid program, growing incidence of AIDS and tuberculosis, increasing awareness of environmental health issues, and developments regarding patients' civil rights.

    By The National Health Law Program

  • The Law of the Elderly Poor in 1993

    This article reviews various court decisions and pieces of legislation and regulations enacted during 1993 that will have an impact on the rights of the elderly poor. Topics discussed include age discrimination, elderly housing, ERISA, the Older Americans Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Medicaid, Medicare, and social security and SSI benefits.

    By The National Senior Citizens Law Center

  • Using Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act as Part of a Legal Services Practice

    The Americans with Disabilities Act may be used to address a wide range of problems experienced by legal services clients. This article explores such possible applications.

    By Patricia DeMichele and Vicki Gottlich

  • Medical Treatment Rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities: 1992-93 Developments and Emerging Trends

    This article reviews legal developments, including case developments regarding medical decisionmaking, assisted suicide, and the impact of health care reform, concerning the medical treatment rights of older persons and persons with disabilities.

    By Daniel Avila

  • Veterans' Law Developments

    The Court of Veterans Appeals has been actively reforming how the VA decides claims for veterans' benefits. This article examines the latest case law and statutory developments in veterans' law.

    By The National Veterans Legal Services Project

  • Opportunities for Legal Services Advocacy on Jobs, Employment, Education, and Training Issues

    The lack of employment opportunities paying a livable wage is one of the major problems plaguing low-income people. This article identifies important economic developments limiting clients' employment opportunities, presents strategies for advocacy in this area, and highlights some of the initiatives advocates have undertaken to coordinate work in this area.

    By Irv Ackelsberg, Barbara Bonifas, Brad Caftel, Maurice Emsellem, Bristow Hardin, James Head, Mary Ellen Hombs, Elizabeth Imholz, Steve Savner and Paul Weckstein

  • Enterprise Zones: Not Perfect, But Full of Potential

    Enterprise zones are essentially geographically defined areas within an economically depressed community in which incentives are offered to businesses to stimulate the local economy. This article examines how enterprise zone programs can be designed to address the concern of poor residents from the perspective of community economic development.

    By The National Economic Development and Law Center

  • Youth Law Developments in 1993

    Developments in youth law in 1993 include passage of new federal child welfare legislation, continued litigation on child welfare issues, and increased opportunities for successful administrative advocacy for families with children.

    By The National Center for Youth Law