Poverty Law News

Attorneys/Legal Services

Low Compensation Affects Retention of Legal Aid Attorneys in Illinois
Almost half of Illinois legal aid attorneys plan to leave their positions in the next three years according to a new study of legal aid attorney recruitment and retention. The Chicago Bar Foundation and the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice have released Investing in Justice: A Framework for Effective Recruitment and Retention of Legal Aid Attorneys. Currently in Illinois, there is only one legal aid lawyer for every 4,752 legal problems faced by low-income Illinoisans. The study offers recommendations for how legal aid organizations, funders, law schools, the legal profession, and federal and state governments can all help to address this problem.

Civil Procedure/Administrative Law

Bankruptcy Filings Decline in 2006
According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, bankruptcy filings for fiscal year 2006 fell 37.6 percent to 1,112,542, from total filings of 1,782,643 in fiscal year 2005. The 2006 figures include most of the filings that were part of the surge in filings prompted by the October 17, 2005, implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005; filings began to rise in the late FY 2005 and peaked as over 600,000 petitions were filed in the first 16 days of October 2005.

Economic Development

Financial Literacy
The Government Accountability Office has published Financial Literacy and Education Commission: Further Progress Needed to Ensure an Effective National Strategy.

Health

Congress Confirms Plaintiffs' Interpretation of the
Medicaid Citizenship Documentation Statute
Congress undid the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' misreading of an early 2006 federal law change in Medicaid citizenship documentation requirements for foster children and children receiving adoption assistance by passing H.R. 6111 on December 9. Congress's action confirms that it always intended to exempt these children from the citizenship documentation requirements included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and that the plaintiffs in Bell v. Leavitt, a nationwide class action challenging the agency's directions to the state Medicaid programs that such children must submit specified documents establishing citizenship, were right about the law.

Medicare Handbook
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released Medicare and You: 2007. This handbook describes what is covered under the Medicare program, how to obtain benefits, and prescription drug coverage.

Mental Health

Federal Court Advances Challenge to
Illinois Policy Warehousing Residents with Mental Illnesses
The district court has granted plaintiffs class action status in this lawsuit charging that Illinois is in violation of federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, that entitle people with disabilities to choose community living. The ruling came in Williams v. Blagojevich, originally filed in August 2005 by two individuals forced into nursing homes in the Chicago area.The court's latest ruling allows the lawsuit to move forward on behalf of all people with mental illnesses who are confined in for-profit, state funded nursing homes known as "institutions for mental diseases.". More than 5,000 people are housed in such facilities in Illinois.

Welfare

Many Americans Lack Documentary Proof of Citizenship
A recent national survey sponsored by the Brennan Center for Justice reveals that millions of American citizens do not have readily available documentary proof of citizenship. The survey also showed that millions of American citizens do not have government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or passport. Finally, the survey demonstrated that certain groups--primarily poor, elderly, and minority citizens--are less likely to possess these forms of documentation than the general population.

Survey Finds Increasing Need Among the Working Poor
According to a recent survey conducted by Catholic Charities, more people, especially the working poor, need help with the basic necessities. Seventy-six percent of local Catholic Charities agencies report that it will be harder to meet the needs of those they serve this holiday season because the need is greater; the greatest needs of clients continue to be financial assistance, food, and housing.

Creating and Expanding Transitional Jobs
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 increased work participation rate requirements and narrowed definitions of allowable work activities. The Center for Law and Social Policy has published a paper, Increasing Opportunities: Creating and Expanding Transitional Jobs Programs for TANF Recipients under the Deficit Reduction Act, that describes the difficult choices states now face.