September - October 1999

Cover

Issue includes public benefits for battered and immigrant women and children, state Children's Health Insurance Programs, connecting low-income people with decent jobs, barriers to public benefits litigation, Medicare Set-aside Trust, guardianship proceedings and Section 1983 Law.

 
  • Enforcing Federal Rights: The Law of Section 1983 (Part 1)

    One of the most important tools for helping an individual client enforce federal rights against state and local governments is 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983. An overview of the principal U.S. Supreme Court decisions construing this statutory provision reveals the elements of stating a Section 1983 claim.

    By Robert P. Capistrano

  • Access to Public Benefits for Battered Immigrant Women and Children

    The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 significantly reduced access to federal public benefits for most immigrants. However, these laws also expanded access to public benefits for some battered immigrants who had been ineligible for assistance. Some immigrants, including some battered immigrants, remain eligible for certain public benefits, and the PRA grants access to some federal benefits to "qualified aliens." With certain provisos, current law makes battered immigrants eligible for public benefits.

    By Leslye E. Orloff

  • The New State Children's Health Insurance Programs: How Is the Quality of Care Being Monitored?

    Advocates across the country celebrated the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which contained legislation that infused billions of dollars into the health care coffers of states choosing to provide health insurance to children in need. Children's Health Insurance Programs (or CHIPs as they are popularly known) promise to reduce drastically the number of uninsured children in the United States. Access to health care, however, is only part of the story. The quality of care for low-income families is not often paid enough attention. The monitoring efforts of one state, California, are examined.

    By Jeanne Finberg and Jennifer Gully

  • Helping Low-Income People Get Decent Jobs: One Legal Services Program's Approach

    Community economic development is strengthening the infrastructure of low-income communities and improving residents' financial well-being. The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles has been active in building coalitions among residents, communities, and businesses, and the consequent economic improvement is notable.

    By Nona Liegeois, Francisca Baxa, and Barbara Corkrey

  • New Barriers to Public Benefits and Related Litigation

    Some recent Supreme Court and federal circuit court of appeals case law appears to impede the advocate's ability to litigate public benefits and related matters. Potential barriers affect the choice of forum, the issues that may be raised, who can be named as a defendant, and the relief that may be requested.

    By Vicki Gottlich, Gerald McIntyre, Herbert Semmel, and Ethel Zelenske

  • Protecting the Disabled Individual with the Medicare Set-Aside Trust

    When a worker receives a lump-sum payment to settle a workers' compensation claim that includes money for future medical expenses, a battle often ensues about whether private insurance will cover medical expenses after the settlement. The Medicare Set-Aside Trust may help preserve future Medicare benefits after the workers' compensation case is settled.

    By Susan G. Haines

  • Right to Counsel in Guardianship Proceedings

    The right to counsel in a judicial proceeding where a person may be deprived of one or more liberty interests is basic to the American system of jurisprudence. Although a petition for guardianship is an obvious threat to the rights and liberties of the individual in question, some debate remains about the extent to which procedural safeguards are needed. The resulting lack of uniformity among state guardianship laws highlights the conflicting theories that continue to surround guardianship and issues of incapacity.

    By Elizabeth R. Calhoun and Suzanna L. Basinger

  • Models of Collaboration: Renewing Old Alliances Between the Public Bar and the Private Elder Law Bar

    Different working models of collaboration between the public bar and the private elder law bar may well serve the needs of poor older Americans.

    By A. Frank Johns

  • Case Reports

  • Case Table

  • Specialized Litigation and Support Centers