Topics for CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW 2008 Special Issues Announced

The Shriver Center will publish two special issues of CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW: JOURNAL OF POVERTY LAW AND POLICY in 2008. The September–October issue will highlight various legal and policy issues affecting low-income people as they age, and the November–December issue will feature the Shriver Center’s 12-point agenda for ending poverty. In its 41st year of publication and published six times a year (in print and online), CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW serves as the forum for sharing ideas, strategies, and best practices for using the law to offer solutions to poverty and sets the agenda for advocates seeking to end poverty in the United States.

The Special Issue on Aging and the Law
As the number of people in the age group commonly referred to as “seniors” continues to increase dramatically, the number of legal aid clients in this age group will increase as will the range and complexity of issues that they and their advocates confront. Traditional substantive law areas such as housing, health care, disability, and social security present legal challenges to seniors and their advocates, but newer issues are emerging as well—for example, the risk of continuing waves of privatization, especially among health care agencies; legal rights of grandparents raising grandkids; and the increase in consumer and banking issues and other elder financial abuse tactics.

Using CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW as a tool with which to increase awareness of and give information on many of these issues, the Shriver Center encourages advocates from across the nation to discuss legal issues affecting the aging low-income population. At the 2007 National Aging and Law Conference in October, the Shriver Center led a roundtable discussion at which advocates helped start the planning of this special issue by contributing feedback and suggestions on which strategies, advocacy initiatives, and legal issues might be covered. Planning will continue through January 2008. For more information or to contribute ideas or suggestions, contact Shriver Center staff attorney–legal editor Catherine Dorn Schreiber at 909.793.2578.

The Special Issue on Antipoverty
The release of the November–December issue will coincide roughly with the 2008 presidential election. How should the new president deal with poverty? What immediate steps might the president take to have the greatest impact on reducing the number of U.S. residents who are poor? Hope springs eternal at CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW, and so the Shriver Center will be devoting the entire November-December 2008 issue to these questions by using the Shriver Center’s 12-point antipoverty agenda to frame and narrow the questions.

The Shriver Center invites advocates around the country to recommend antipoverty strategies that they have found successful, and the special issue will highlight an effective initiative in each area. The Shriver Center’s 12 points:

1. Strengthen the Legal Foundation for Civil Rights and Racial Justice
2. Establish Affordable Quality Health Care for All
3. Guarantee Economic Safety for People with Employment Challenges
4. Invest in the Public Good Through Fair Budget and Tax Policies
5. Expand Low-Income Housing in Economically Diverse Communities
6. Create Redemptive Opportunities for People with Criminal Records
7.  Increase Economic Mobility Through Lifelong Education
8.  Link Economic Development to Workforce Development Opportunities
9.  Advance Low-Wage Workers by Making Work Pay
10. Build and Protect Assets for Financial Stability and Growth
11. Protect Access to the American Dream for Immigrants and Refugees
12. Ensure Economic Opportunity and Safety for Women and Girls

For more information about these points, see "12 Ways to Lead the Change."

What antipoverty strategies would you recommend in any of these areas? The Shriver Center is seeking advocates who want to share ideas and help shape this issue. For more information or to offer ideas, contact Shriver Center senior attorney–senior editor Marcia Henry at 510.531.9142.

Click here to see CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW subscription information.