Poverty Law News

"It's About Getting Ahead: Strategies and Options for Eliminating State Asset Limits"

It takes more than a paycheck to get ahead. As a follow up to Dory Rand's article in the March-April 2007 issue of Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, learn strategies to eliminate or reform barriers to savings for public benefits recipients. Please join Dory, Dottie Rosenbaum, Senior Policy Analyst from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Beth Kowalczyk and Paul Fraunholtz from the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services for the "It's About Getting Ahead" conference call on May 23 at 12noon CDT (1-888-296-6500, code: 115217). For more information, to submit questions or to RSVP for this free event sponsored by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law - call or email Meg Dunne at (312) 263-3830 x 246.

Attorneys/Legal Services

Washington Supreme Court to Hear Appeal in King v. King
The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to hear appellant mother's appeal in this case asserting state and federal rights to counsel at public expense. The pleadings, including several amicus briefs filed on appeal with the supreme court, are available for download at the Shriver Center's website. Oral arguments are scheduled for May 31, 2007.

Disaster Assistance

Post-Katrina Baseline Survey
This house-to-house survey of people living in the New Orleans area examines the ongoing struggles of residents seeking to recover from the Hurricane Katrina disaster, including a detailed look at differences in views and experiences by race.  Designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the survey provides a portrait of the enormous needs of the population in order to inform recovery efforts and policy development on the Gulf Coast and in Washington.

Employment

Summary of State Legislation Aimed at Independent Contractor Abuses
The National Employment Law Project has published a select summary of recent state legislative activity aimed at misclassification of employees as independent contractors. A growing problem, misclassification is a top choice of employers seeking to evade responsibility for workers under labor and employment laws, including fair pay, health and safety, and collective bargaining rules.

Health

Implications of Medicaid Citizenship Documentation Requirements
The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services had published a policy brief finding that as many as 319,000 community health center patients, including more than 212,000 children, are expected to lose Medicaid coverage as a result of Medicaid documentation requirements. More than 43 percent of health centers report that patients are experiencing one or more problems, including a longer enrollment process, a longer application process, the lack of appropriate documentation, or having to pay to get necessary documents.

State Children's Health Insurance Program
The Congressional Budget Office has published a report on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which was established in 1997 to expand health insurance coverage to low-income uninsured families who are not eligible for Medicaid. The report finds that SCHIP has substantial reduced the number of uninsured children in families with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty level.

Enrolling Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries
The Government Accountability Office has published "Medicare Part D: Challenges in Enrolling New Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries."

Congressional Testimony on Medicare
The Center for Medicare Advocacy has submitted testimony on Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Part D prescription drug program in congressional hearings held in March and May of this year.

Medicaid and SCHIP Reimbursement Models for Language Services
The National Health Law Program has published an update of how states are paying for language services in Medicaid and SCHIP. As of April, 2007, 12 states plus the District of Columbia are paying for some language services for Medicaid and SCHIP enrollees.

Juveniles

A Child's Right to Counsel
First Star has released its first annual report card on legal representation for children. The report finds that only 17 states provide client-directed legal representation for child victims in dependency court and foster care proceedings.

Welfare

Income and Asset Poverty in Illinois
With the help of the Asset Policy Initiative of California and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group, the Shriver Center has published Local Asset Poverty Index (LAPI) maps that provide a view of counties and county clusters in income and asset poverty. While income poverty is a term more people are aware of, asset poverty includes those households that do not have enough in assets to meet their expenses for three months if all outside sources of income were to disappear. 

Pass-Through of Child Support Collected for Families Receiving TANF
The Center for Law and Social Policy has published a chart detailing state policy regarding pass-through and disregard of current month's child support collected on behalf of families receiving TANF-funded cash assistance.

Poverty Law News
May 11, 2007