Reentry and Disability Topics to Be Covered in Two Special Issues of Clearinghouse Review in 2007

The Shriver Center is scheduled to publish two special issues of CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW in 2007: the July–August issue will explore the implications for civil poverty law practice of low-income clients’ involvement in the criminal justice system, and the September–October issue will feature information on helping low-income clients with disabilities. For over 40 years, CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW has been the country’s primary communication and research vehicle to enable a nationally coordinated movement among lawyers to fight poverty through law and policy. As the REVIEW enters its fifth decade, these two special issues will be central to the Shriver Center’s ongoing promotion of a national agenda for ending poverty.

The July-August special issue will focus on the widening net that the criminal justice system casts in low-income communities, particularly communities of color, and the interplay of civil and criminal law issues. On the front end of the system, poverty can place people on a slippery slope into criminal charges. People who are homeless are often subject to charges of trespassing or "sleeping in public," and for clients who receive benefits from programs with complex eligibility requirements, whether excess payment leads to charges of fraud or mere overpayment is often an arbitrary decision. At the back end of the system, multiple barriers—such as exclusion from benefits programs, public housing, and many job categories—limit clients’ ability to re-enter the community.

Legal aid lawyers who are aware that their clients (or their clients’ family members) may also be involved in the criminal justice system are positioned to offer better and more effective representation. Articles in this special issue will examine the phenomenon of the criminalization of poverty, how civil legal aid programs should take the phenomenon into account, and implications for particular parts of the client community (e.g., homeless people, youth, and domestic violence survivors) and substantive issues (e.g., employment, public benefits, and housing). For more information, contact Marcia Henry at 510-531-9142 or marciahenry@povertylaw.org.

The topic of disability was selected for the September–October special issue because people with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to live in poverty, be unemployed or underemployed, be excluded from school, be without needed housing, or be denied access to health care, schools, transportation, courts, or voting. Because of the many barriers they face, people with disabilities are likely to need legal assistance. Whether advocates practice "government benefits law" or "housing law" or "health law" or "employment law" or assist seniors, youth, or immigrants, they are likely to meet or have clients who have disabilities.

This special issue aims to help advocates, regardless of their practice area, identify issues and help their clients. Issues to be covered tentatively include housing, health, social security, employment, youth, special education, technology, ethics, and legal aid organizations’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more information, contact Catherine Dorn Schreiber at 909-793-2578 or cschreiber@povertylaw.org.

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