Opt Out – What do you think?

There’s an article in the Free Times that features Commissioner Sue Berkowitz. It focuses on the Opt Out idea that is currently circulating in D.C. regarding the Health Care Reform Package.

Some statistics from the article:

Currently, South Carolina ranks 48th in the country in overall health, according to data from the United Health Foundation. The state ranks near the top in such categories as stroke deaths, infant mortality and percentage of uninsured children and near the bottom of such lists as access to prenatal care and percentage of healthy children.

Also, approximately one in six South Carolinians are uninsured, according to Census data, and 80 percent of the uninsured are from working families, according to Families USA.

Tell us what you think:

-RFW

Filed under: Health Care, Law, Legal, Legal Drafting, President, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, hunger, indigent, legal aid, people with disabilities, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney , Census, Families USA, Free Times, Health Care, health care reform package, insurance, opt out, SC access to justice commission, South Carolina, South Carolina health, Sue Berkowitz, uninsured, United Health Foundation

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

Guess

What do Harvest Hope and SC foreclosures have in common?

If you guessed that South Carolina has seen a marked increase in foreclosures and requests for food have markedly increased, you win!

According to the Columbia Regional Business Report (CRBR):

South Carolina’s foreclosure rate from July to August 2009 was up 1.94%, reported national real estate tracking company RealtyTrac.com. That number is more than 78% higher than it was one year ago.

According to Harvest Hope:

In the first quarter of 2009, Harvest Hope experienced a 142%  increase in the number of families needing assistance.

Earlier today I attended a fundraiser luncheon for Harvest Hope. It made me focus on how the problems faced by so many living in poverty are faces of our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones.

The “featured” speaker at the luncheon was someone who had been working – two jobs. Two good, solid jobs. Then she got ill. Which started the medical bills and absence from work. Which caused her to lose her jobs. Both jobs. The bills kept coming. When it came to paying bills, she used her money for medical bills and medication. Then she lost her home. She stopped eating so much. That made her sicker. Then she found Harvest Hope.

She was able to eat.

The doctors are still trying to figure out what is “wrong” with her. In the meantime, she can eat. Without Harvest Hope and the necessary nutrition it provides, she would be even more sick.

While these societal problems may not be legal, I guarantee that the Legal Aid Telephone Intake Service (LATIS) has been referring people to Harvest Hope.

And once people have nutrition and can think about something other than an empty belly, then they may call LATIS for assistance with a problem with their Landlord. Or maybe for help with their Medicaid benefits. Or help with a way to escape their abusive spouse.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, AIDS/HIV, Ask-A-Lawyer, Health Care, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Legal Services, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, disability, divorce, domestic violence, elderly, employment, foreclosure, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, people with disabilities, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney, subprime mortgage crisis , abusive spouse, Columbia Business Regional Report, foreclosure, Harvest Hope, hungry, Landlord, Landlord/Tenant, LATIS, Legal Aid Telephone Intake Service, Medicaid benefits, poverty, RealtyTrac.com, South Carolina, Tenant

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

Working on FAQs for Self-Represented Litigants

Clerk of Court Work Group Called to Order

I have the best job in the world. Seriously.

They say that variety is the spice of life and every day I have a new project. Today was no exception. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating just a little. We started the FAQ work a while back. But today, the Clerk of Court Work Group made some real progress.

We’re developing a resource for Frequently Asked Questions for Clerks of Court. Our intent is to make this FAQ available online and possibly in paper as well. We discussed podcasts, video and availability in other languages. And I’m going to work on making these possible.

Today we divided into two groups: one for Circuit Court Clerks and one for Family Court Clerks. We do have some general questions as well.

Stay tuned for the progress and I’ll definitely make an announcement when the FAQs are vetted.

Oh, and enjoy the photos from the Work Group! 

Discussion Begins

 

The Work Begins

Reviewing Progress

Family Court FAQs

FAQs in Plain English

Translating Legalese into Plain English

FAQs Continue

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Court, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Limited English Proficiency, Plain English, Plain Language, Readability, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Court Administration, South Carolina Courts, South Carolina Supreme Court, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, court innovation, law librarians, people with disabilities, poverty, self-represented litigant , Circuit Court Clerks, Clerks of Court Work Group, Family Court Clerks, FAQs, LEP, online, other languages, Podcasts, self-represented litigants, SRLs, video

Report from P&A about CRCFs in South Carolina

P&A Report

Press Release from Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A):

 This is to notify you that No Place to Call Home: How South Carolina has failed Residents of Community Residential Care Facilities has been published today and can be located on the P&A Website at http://www.protectionandadvocacy-sc.org.

 Due to the memory of the actual files, we have provided direct links to the press release, cover letter, report and slideshow.

No Place to Call Home Press Release

No Place to Call Home Cover Letter

No Place to Call Home Report

No Place to Call Home Picture Slideshow

 For a hard copy, please contact P&A:

• By phone 1.866.275.7273 (Voice) or 1.866.232.4525 (TTY) (Toll-free in SC)

OR

• By e-mail: info@protectionandadvocacy-sc.org

 -RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, South Carolina, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, disability, housing, people with disabilities, protection and advocacy system , Community Residential Care Facilities, CRCFs, How South Carolina has failed Residents of Community Residential Care Facilities, http://www.protectionandadvocacy-sc.org, No Place to Call Home, P&A, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Favorite Civil Justice Movie?

I just received an email about American Violet, a movie about civil justice released earlier this year.

And as I read the promo and watched the video preview, I realized that movies are powerful media. I reflected on earlier movies that had inspired me to move into a civil justice career such as Cry Freedom, Sound and Fury, A Civil Action, and Mississippi Burning to name a few.

Then I thought, if seeing the preview for American Violet has inspired me so, what other inspirational movies are out there that I’ve either forgotten or have never seen?

That’s where YOU Dear Reader come in.

Please add your favorite in the comments section of this blog.

Feel free to say why or how it inspired you too.

Plus you gain the opportunity to inspire someone else too.

Thanks!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Law Related Education, Legal, Right to Counsel, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, blog, disability, legal aid, people with disabilities, poverty, poverty guidelines, pro bono, public interest attorney , A Civil Action, American Violet, cinema, civil justice inspiration, cochlear implants, Cry Freedom, Deaf, favorite movie, film, Mississippi Burning, movies, powerful media, Sound and Fury

Dallas News: Immigrants with Mental Illness

Appropriate treatment is difficult for most who live with serious mental illness. Often treatment is relegated to the detention system instead of appropriate community or in-patient facilities.

Just take a look at recent posts out of Iowa,  Las Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale, and Lakeland.

But if you’re an immigrant in the U.S., it’s almost impossible to find appropriate treatment, at least according to an article by the Dallas News.

Excerpts:

They get limited mental-health care while in detention, advocates say – and that’s only if they’re diagnosed. They aren’t entitled to competency hearings before standing trial. And the majority of them face judges without legal counsel, and with little recourse to defend themselves from deportation.

. . .

“We are continuing to work … to improve the services and the availability of health care to those in our custody,” said Tim Counts, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But immigration court officials acknowledge there’s little guidance for how to handle mental health once these detainees come before a judge. Although judges can’t accept an admission of guilt from an “unrepresented incompetent,” there are no immigration-court proceedings to determine a person’s competency. Judges have to go with their gut – which can be tough to gauge with language barriers and the frequent use of long-distance video conferencing.

What is the solution? Is there a solution. I’d love to hear from you.

-RFW

Filed under: Court, Health Care, Immigration, LEP, Law, Legal, Limited English Proficiency, Right to Counsel, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, disability, people with disabilities, self-represented litigant , community treatment, Dallas News, Ft. Lauderdale, Immigrants with Mental Illness, Iowa, Lakeland, Las Vegas, mental illness, serious mental illness, Tim Counts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Health Care and Bankruptcy: Not a Match Made in Heaven

Health or Money: The Choice is Yours

In this week’s issue, the Free Times quotes Commissioner Sue Berkowitz speaking about health care, insurance and the effect of facing medical bills without insurance:

Forty-six million Americans, including 750,000 South Carolinians, are going uninsured,” Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, said in kicking off the forum.study, Berkowitz said that 50 percent of personal bankruptcies in the nation stem from medical bills.

Many more are underinsured, and the numbers of people in both categories have been increasing for years.

At the same time, health care costs have been spiraling out of control for just as long and exacting a crushing toll on household and business finances. Citing a

That’s a staggering figure – 50% of personal bankruptcies in the United States stem from medical bills!

Click here to read the full article.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Health Care, Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, disability, elderly, indigent, people with disabilities, poverty, public interest attorney , American Journal of Medicine, bankruptcy, Commissioner Sue Berkowitz, Free Times, Health Care, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Harriet McBryde Johnson: A Tribute

In June 1999, while I was studying for the South Carolina Bar Exam, an event occurred many miles away that would significantly impact my life. The United States Supreme Court decided Olmstead v. LC on June 22, 1999. (If you’re not familiar with this landmark decision, please read it or about it)

I know, you’re wondering “What does this have to do with Harriet?”

Read on.

My first job out of law school was at Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) as the PAIMI attorney. Most of my time was spent in mental health institutions working on civil rights for people with serious mental illness. And then in January 2000, I was asked to work to implement the Olmstead decision in South Carolina.

That’s when Harriet entered my life.

I’d heard about Harriet. Much. She was tenacious. She was a force to be reckoned with. But I’d not yet met her. Harriet was a board member at P&A and at one time had worked there. Now she was a successful attorney in Charleston. I couldn’t wait to meet this woman who struck fear in some and awe in others.

And then she came to a meeting. A small woman with a long braid in a big wheelchair. We exchanged greetings and the meeting started. We discussed the usual stuff. And then she spoke. Wow. She didn’t yell. She didn’t rant. She spoke. With feeling. With knowledge. With personal conviction. Harriet won me over.

Over the next several years, I would work with Harriet on some projects, even give joint presentations. I read her books. Her short stories. I brought her to tears once with a personal story. (I didn’t mean to do that) We lunched together. Then we no longer lunched together because of special diet restrictions.

I told her I admired her. She questioned me “why? Because I’m in a chair and I do things?” I stammered and stumbled all over my words. I wish I’d been able to answer her appropriately that I admired her simply because she inspired me to be a better person. A better attorney.

Harriet didn’t relinquish much. And she didn’t turn away from a fight. She was a great woman and a great attorney.

July 8, 2009 would have been Harriet’s 52nd birthday.

And July 8, 2009 there will be a concert in Charleston to benefit the Harriet McBryde Johnson scholarship. Details below from SCWLA:

Music will focus on Latin music and protest songs.  Leah Suarez and Lindsay Holler will be the featured performers.  The event is July 8th at 7 pm at Circular Church, 150 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina.  The suggested donation is $10.00. 

If you cannot attend, but would like to send a contribution:
Checks should be written to:  USC Educational Foundation, Memo line “Harriet M. Johnson Scholarship”  

Mailed to:   Office of Development USC, School of Law 701 S. Main Street Columbia, SC 29208   For more information, contact Susan Dunn at 830-1571, skingdunn@aol.com.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Court, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Bar, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, disability, law students, people with disabilities, protection and advocacy system, public interest attorney , benefit concert, Charleston SC, Circular Church, Harriet M. Johnson, Harriet McBryde Johnson, Inc., June 22 1999, Olmstead v. LC, P&A, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, SCWLA, South Carolina Bar Exam, United States Supreme Court