Poverty Law News

Attorneys/Legal Services

State Equal Justice Act
In 2004, the California Commission on Access to Justice established a task force to prepare a generic state statute expanding the right to counsel in civil cases. In brief, the task force's mission was to think through the numerous questions involved in implementing a comprehensive right to counsel in civil cases, including the scope of the right, exclusion of certain cases or types of cases, eligibility issues, service delivery system, and administration of the new right. This draft represents the group's resolution of these issues and is intended as a starting point for use in any state considering implementation of expansion of a statutory right to counsel.

Consumer

Consumer Rights for Domestic Violence Survivors
This manual, published by the National Consumer Law Center, assists domestic violence survivors with practical and precise advice on such diverse topics as which debts to pay first; how to stop debt collection harassment; credit reporting and the effect of the abuser's credit history, identity theft by the abuser, using civil protection orders for economic redress, and more.

Disability

Federal Court Orders Treasury Department to Make
Currency Accessible to Blind Persons
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted in part plaintiff's motion for summary judgment in this action challenging the Treasury Department's failure to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to blind and visually impaired people. The American Council for the Blind alleged that defendant's failure to make paper currency accessible violates section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Disaster Relief

Court Orders FEMA to Restore
Short-Term Housing Benefits to Hurricane Evacuees
The district court has granted plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in ACORN v. FEMA , which challenges the Federal Emergency Management Agency's failure to provide hurricane evacuees long-term housing benefits, in violation of section 408 of the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, by failing to provide them explanations that were sufficiently detailed to enable them to file a meaningful appeal. The court found it "unfortunate, if not incredible, that FEMA and its counsel could not devise a sufficient notice system to spare these beleaguered evacuees the added burden of federal litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights."

Health

A Quick and Easy Method of Screening for
Medicaid Eligibility Under the Pickle Amendment
Gordon Bonnyman of the Tennessee Justice Center offers a quick and easy method of screening for Medicaid eligibility under the Pickle Amendment, which requires that an individual bee deemed an SSI recipient under certain circumstances.

Medicaid Pharmacy Survey
The National Association of State Medicaid Directors has published a new report, State Perspectives on Emerging Medicaid Pharmacy Policies and Practices. Among other things, the report finds that several states have implemented policies to supplement Medicare Part D coverage for certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and states use a variety of mechanisms to manage both cost and use of prescription drugs. Moreover, although states are still waiting for guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, more than two-thirds of states do not expect the DRA to reduce their spending on pharmacy benefits significantly.

Housing

Court Orders City to Notify Legal Aid Prior to
Evicting Homeless Persons from Shelter
The New York Supreme Court has ordered the City of New York to provide copies of shelter termination notices to the Legal Aid Society of New York prior to evicting homeless individuals from shelter. The order, entered pursuant to a consent decree in Callahan v. Carey, found that, while the city has taken "many commendable steps to try to ensure that no one who is entitled to shelter is wrongly deprived of it, human error is inevitable and the risk of harm is too great to ignore this population which contains many vulnerable individuals."

Social Security/SSI

Medical Criteria for Evaluating Visual Disorders
The Social Security Administration has published final rules revising the criteria it uses for evaluating visual disorders for purposes of title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act.