U.S. Department of Justice Overhauls its Site

Have you heard?

The U.S. Department of Justice overhauled its website and has added a blog. They’re also online on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Justice.gov en español

The site is clean and easy to navigate. If you have a moment, take a look!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, DOJ, Department of Justice, LEP, Law, Legal, Limited English Proficiency, Right to Counsel, Rule of Law, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, disability, people with disabilities, public interest attorney , blog, Facebook, justice.gov en español, Medicare Fraud, MySpace, Twitter, US Department of Justice, US DOJ, website, YouTube

P&A Wants You(r Input)!

Every year the South Carolina protection and advocacy system, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) asks for public opinion on what they should do also known as priority work areas.

Their Board of Directors reviews the information from the public and compares it to data they have received throughout the year. Once the Board has completed this process, it sets the priority work areas for the year. The reason they’re asking for it now is that their fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30.

To get your input into setting their priority work areas, P&A asks that you complete their online survey that will close on September 10, 2009.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, AIDS/HIV, DOJ, Election, Health Care, Immigration, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Limited English Proficiency, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, constitution, disability, elderly, employment, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, legal aid, people with disabilities, poll, protection and advocacy system, public interest attorney, self-represented litigant, veterans , http://www.pandasc.org/, P&A, priority work areas, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities Inc., protection and advocacy system, South Carolina, Suggestion Box

HUD Provides Guidance re: Reporting by Victim Service Providers

An E-Alert via NLADA led me to the HUD’s online Guidance on HPRP Subgrantee Data Collection and Reporting for Victim Service Providers. This is important so as to preserve the integrity of the safety for victims of domestic violence.

 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) states that grantees receiving Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re‐Housing Program1 (HPRP) grants “shall collect data on the use of funds awarded and persons served with this assistance in HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or other comparable database.” (ARRA, p. 107) HPRP subgrantees (including organizations providing HPRP assistance under contract with a subgrantee) must also meet this requirement.

HUD has determined that HPRP subgrantees that are victim service providers as defined by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109‐162) (VAWA) should NOT enter data directly in HMIS and must use a “comparable database.” VAWA defines a victim service provider as a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization including rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other programs whose primary mission is to provide services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, DOJ, Department of Justice, Law, Legal, access to justice, access to justice blog, domestic violence, homeless, housing , ARRA, HMIS, Homeless Management Information System, Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program1, Housing and Urban Development, HPRP Subgrantee, HUD, NLADA, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, VAWA, Victim Service Providers, Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

Now for the NEWS

Earlier I listed some of the recent blog posts I enjoyed. Below are some recent newsworthy items from around the state, nation and world:

1. Out of Knoxville TN: Public meeting to discuss increasing need of legal help for poor. 
2. Out of Texas: Opinion Piece -  New OAG Service Helps Parents Address Visitation Concerns.
3. Out of Vancouver, Canada: High fees that block access to the courts block access to justice.
4. Out of Colorado: Justice for all – Salt Lake City attorney serves the homeless.
5. Out of Oregon: Hard Times for Access to Justice – Economic Downturn is Beginning to Take its Toll in Oregon.
6. Out of the UK: Judge rules CPS wrong to deny victim with mental illness right to fight for justice.
7. Out of Minneapolis/St. Paul: Court of Appeals testing new mediation process.
8. From NPR: Immigration Crackdown Overwhelms Judges.
9. Out of Washington: AGs push for mortgage modifications.
10. Out of West Virginia – State must submit plan to prevent juvenile racial injustice.
11. Out of Tulsa, OK: A lawful dosage. A medical-legal partnership fills in some gaps in child health-care issues.
12. Out of North Carolina: Legal Aid in demand and in a bind.
13. Out of New Jersey: Agency that gives legal help to poor is in financial crisis.
14. Out of Florida: Judge John Blue Receives 2009 Chief Justice’s Distinguished Judicial Service Award.
15. Out of Massachusetts: President of One Laptop Per Child to speak Feb. 10.  (yes this is past, but it’s still worth reading)
16. From Berkeley: Bringing it all back home – In her new job, Wilda White pursues a lifelong passion for social justice.
17. Out of Massachussets: Legal services needed for immigrants in Milford.
18. Also from Massachussetts: Letter From The President Of The Boston Bar Association.
19. Out of Mississippi: Miss. legal aid grows scarce as economy gets worse – Unlike in the criminal justice system, indigent in civil cases aren’t guaranteed an attorney.
20. Out of England: Let’s not be too misty eyed about legal aid, but it is at a crossroads.
21. From Chattanooga: 6 Chattanooga Law Firms Commit To Greater Legal Service For The Poor.
22. Out of Florida: Judge calls on Lawyers – Supreme Court judge would like to see equal justice.

Oh, there’s more, but I have to stop somewhere.

Besides, this list is just in case you have a few moments . . .

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Civil Gideon, Court, DOJ, Department of Justice, Health Care, IOLTA, Law, Legal, Right to Counsel, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, court innovation, divorce, domestic violence, foreclosure, foster parents, homeless, hunger, indigent, legal aid, poverty, pro bono, public interest attorney, subprime mortgage crisis , Tennessee, Washington, Texas, Minneapolis, West Virginia, Canada, Vancouver, NPR, Knoxville, TN, Oregon, Colorado, UK, United Kingdom, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota, National Public Radio, Tulsa OK, Oklahoma, North Carolina

Language Agreement increases Access to Justice in Maine

Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have reduced the language barrier in Maine. Today the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an agreement with the Maine judiciary to ensure that LEP individuals seeking services throughout the State’s court system will have access to timely and competent language assistance.

The Maine judicial branch receives federal funding which requires compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. These two acts together prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or religion by recipients of federal assistance.

For more information visit http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/September/08-crt-867.html.

-RFW

Filed under: Court, DOJ, Department of Justice, LEP, Law, Legal, Limited English Proficiency, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy , Department of Justice, discrimination, DOJ, federal assistance, judiciary, LEP, Limited English Proficiency, Maine, nondiscrimination, Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title VI, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964