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July-August 2011 Clearinghouse Review

Article topics in this issue cover the racial wealth gap, child labor, adoption assistance, pro bono, medical-legal partnerships, social security disability for individuals with substance abuse problems, and more.

Child Labor in America: History's Horror, Today's Tragedy
The exploitation of child labor has not been eradicated. Federal and state laws and regulations fail to protect our youths because current statutes do not consider the serious physical, educational, emotional, and socioeconomic impact of work on children. Federal and state labor departments cannot enforce even inadequate child labor laws because insufficient resources are appropriated for inspections, and violators are not prosecuted. But lawyers can be activists and help initiate personal and communitywide efforts to end the tragedy of American youths in the workplace.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

By Seymour H. Moskowitz
Letter from the Editor
Advocacy Stories: The Campaign to Pass the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act

By Deborah Axt, Amy Carroll, and Andrew Friedman
Advocacy Stories: Fighting for Environmental Justice Takes Long-Lasting Coalitions

By Helen Kang
Adoption Assistance: An Introduction
Adoption assistance programs can provide parents with the crucial support they need to make their dreams of adopting a special-needs child a reality. However, such federal and state programs can be difficult for both parents and their advocates to navigate. Adoption advocates need to familiarize themselves with the eligibility guidelines and assistance rules of these programs to make sure that their clients’ adoptions are successful.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Angie Schwartz and Amy Lemley, Child Welfare Financing Reform: The Importance of Maintaining the Entitlement to Foster Care Funding (March-April 2011)
- Catherine M. Callery, Linda Landry, Louise M. Tarantino, & Thomas Yates, Social Security Rulings--Guiding Hand in SSI Childhood Disability Evaluations (July-Aug. 2010)
- Abigail English & Madelyn DeWoody Freundlich, Medicaid: A Key to Health Care for Foster Children and Adopted Children with Special Needs (July-Aug. 1997)
By Alice Bussiere
Thoughts on Better Practices for Pro Bono Legal Services for Clients of Legal Services Organizations
Legal services organizations and their clients benefit from having robust pro bono programs. Legal services offices can get private-firm lawyers to volunteer by understanding and meeting their motivations for volunteering; offering volunteers the best clients and matters; and supporting volunteers with relevant materials, training, and mentoring. Marketing pro bono programs can be handled internally or with the help of local bar organizations or judges. Legal services organizations themselves are best suited to match particular clients with volunteers. pro bono programs should quickly resolve any complaints from either volunteers or their clients.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Claire L. Parins, Presence and Partnerships: Delivering Pro Bono Legal Services in Rural Communities, March-April 2002
- David E. Robbins, Community Economic Development Programs -- an Opportunity for Lawyers to Reclaim Their Own Independence, July-Aug. 2003
By Theodore O. Fillette III
Civil Right to Counsel's Relationship to Antipoverty Advocacy--Further Reflections
Gary F. Smith suggests in the May-June issue of Clearinghouse Review that, inspired by the life of Sargent Shriver, the legal aid community should reclaim the original mission of legal services to challenge the conditions that cause poverty rather than promoting “equal access” to justice and the legal system. But these goals are not contradictory. To the contrary, adopting a civil right to counsel in cases affecting basic human needs, with the nature of the right shaped by local communities and advocates, would help achieve Shriver’s vision for legal services.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Kevin G. Baker & Julia R. Wilson, Stepping Across the Threshold: Assembly Bill 590 Boosts Legislative Strategies for Expanding Access to Civil Counsel (March-April 2010)
- John Pollock, Lassiter Notwithstanding: The Right to Counsel in Foreclosure Actions and Going Public: The State Action Requirement of Due Process in Foreclosure Litigation (Jan.-Feb. 2010)
- Paul Marvy, Advocacy for a Civil Right to Counsel: An Update (March-April 2008)
- A Right to a Lawyer? Momentum Grows (Special Issue, July-Aug. 2006)
By Debra Gardner and John Pollock
Eliminating the Racial Wealth Gap: The Asset Perspective
The racial wealth gap in the United States persists after centuries of government policies advantaging wealth accumulation by white Americans. Although legal discrimination has ended, many current government policies have the effect of promoting further wealth building by those who already possess significant assets. The government should instead work to reverse years of discrimination by adopting policies that directly encourage asset building by minority and low-income populations. Promoting savings, increasing access to mainstream credit, and improving and increasing financial education can close the racial wealth gap.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Karen K. Harris & Susan Ritacca, Alternative Credit Data: To Report or Not to Report, That Is the Question, Nov.-Dec. 2010
- Dory Rand & Stephanie Holmes, Children’s Development Accounts Promote Inclusive Prosperity, Nov.-Dec. 2007
- Dory Rand & Brian Clappier, Getting By or Getting Ahead? Public Policies to Help the Poor Build and Protect Assets, Nov.-Dec. 2008
- Reid Cramer, Public Policy and Asset Building: Promising Account-Based Systems and the Rationale for Inclusion, May-June 2006
By Karen K. Harris and Kathleen Rubenstein
i Information Interaction Interchange
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Disability Cases Involving Alcohol or Drug Use: Developments in the Last Decade
Fifteen years after Congress prohibited receiving social security disability benefits where drug or alcohol abuse is a “material factor” in the disability, the Social Security Administration has yet to promulgate regulations implementing the prohibition. Instead the agency relies on subregulatory instructions and policy statements. Advocates should become familiar with the intracacies of these statements and instructions.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Thomas Yates, Preparing for and Handling Social Security Adult Disability Hearings (May-June 2004)
- Linda Landry, Handling Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Disability Cases Involving Alcohol or Drug Use: An Update (March-April 1999)
By Linda Landry
Medical-Legal Partnership: Evolution or Revolution?
A growing number of medical-legal partnerships are devoting their resources to preventive legal care, with the goal of reducing health and legal disparities. The legal and the medical professions are rooted in service to the public. Both are committed to serving those in need, and the effect of that commitment is intensified when many lawyers, in particular ones associated with legal aid, law schools, the private bar, and hospital general counsel, collaborate with health care providers in medical-legal partnerships to protect and improve the lives of vulnerable populations. All medical-legal partnerships provide legal assistance in the health care setting. They seek to transform health and legal institutions and practices and to influence policy making to improve the well-being of vulnerable populations. The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership offers expert advice in planning and implementing sustainable medical-legal partnerships.

Copies of this article are available for individual purchase online for $15 apiece.

By Pamela C. Tames, Colleen M. Cotter, Suzette M. Melendez, Steve Scudder, and Jeffrey Colvin

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