MPI Offers E Pluribus Unum Prizes for Immigrant Integration

From their website:

The E Pluribus Unum Prizes are a national awards program that provides four $50,000 prizes annually to exceptional initiatives that promote immigrant integration.

The awards are intended to recognize exceptional immigrant integration initiatives that help immigrants and their children adapt, thrive, and contribute to the United States or that bring immigrants and the native born together to build stronger, more cohesive communities.

This is exciting news for funding for some of our legal partners who work with immigrants, especially in this economy. Thank you MPI for offering us not only good empirical data on immigrants, but for offering this opportunity.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Immigration, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Limited English Proficiency, Plain English, Plain Language, Readability, Right to Counsel, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, indigent, legal aid, poverty, public interest attorney , E Pluribus Unum Prizes, Funding opportunity, Immigrant Integration, MPI, United States

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

Appleseed’s Advocate of the Year – Now Online

In case you missed the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center Advocate of the Year Award Celebration honoring this year’s recipient, Vickie L. Eslinger, Esq., fret not – information is available online.

SC Appleseed Legal Justice CenterAdvocates of the Year

Kenneth M. Suggs. Esq. – 2006
George B. Cauthen, Esq. – 2007
I.S. Leevy, Jr., Esq. – 2008
Victoria L. Eslinger, Esq – 2009

-RFW

Filed under: Law, Legal, Legal Drafting, Rule of Law, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, legal aid, poverty, pro bono, public interest attorney , SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Congratulations Vickie Eslinger!

In case you haven’t already heard, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center has named Columbia attorney Victoria L. Eslinger as their 2009 Advocate of the Year!

Advocate of the Year award is awarded each year to an advocate within the South Carolina legal community who provides a strong voice for low-income children and families.

Congratulations Ms. Eslinger!

For details on the Award Event, visit http://www.scjustice.org/advocateoftheyear.html.

-RFW

Filed under: Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, SC Bar, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Bar, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, indigent, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney , 2009 Advocate of the Year, Columbia attorney South Carolina legal community, Nexsen Pruet, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Vickie Eslinger, Victoria Eslinger

August 2009 E-Newsletter

The August 2009 E-Newsletter is now available online.

SCATJC August 2009 E-Newsletter

-RFW

Filed under: Court, Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, SC Bar, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Bar Foundation, South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program, South Carolina Court Administration, South Carolina Courts, South Carolina Legal Services, South Carolina Supreme Court, access to justice, access to justice blog, blog, court innovation, legal aid, self-represented litigant , August 2009 E-Newsletter, SC access to justice commission, SCATJC

Friday Resource: SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Friday Resource - SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

In South Carolina, when you think of poverty law and advocacy, you often think of  the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center.

What you may not know is that SC Appleseed also publishes brochures, manuals and pamphlets for South Carolinians. Like the SCATJ Commission, SC Appleseed is a fan of PLAIN LANGUAGE and has some material available in Spanish (en español).

-RFW

Filed under: 1, IOLTA, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Limited English Proficiency, Plain English, Plain Language, Readability, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, legal aid, poverty, public interest attorney , en Español, Friday Resource, Plain Language, poverty law and advocacy, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, Viernes de Recursos

Resource Friday/Viernes de recursos

Resource Friday/Viernes de Recursos

If you are a South Carolina parent under investigation by the SC Department of Social Services (SC DSS) for child abuse or neglect, it is likely that you have already received a copy of this informative booklet.

However, if you haven’t OR if you are a family member, other interested person OR law student interested in the process, then you may be interested to know that this information is available online in English AND in Spanish.

The information is written in Plain English (you know we’re a fan of that) and provides definitions, defines the investigative process including Initial Report and Investigation, Emergency Protective Custody,  The Probable Cause or 72-Hour Hearing,  Merits or Removal Hearing, Intervention Hearing, Permanency Planning Hearing, Termination of Parental Rights and offers tips for parents under investigation.

Para información en español:

• REPORTE E INVESTIGACIÓN INICIAL, 
• CUSTODIA PROTECTIVA DE EMERGENCIA, 
• LA AUDIENCIA DE CAUSA PROBABLE O LA AUDIENCIA DE 72 HORAS,
• AUDIENCIAS DE MÉRITOS O DE REMOCIÓN, 
• AUDIENCIA DE INTERVENCIÓN, 
• AUDIENCIA PARA LA PLANEACIÓN DE PERMANENCIA, y
• TERMINACIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS DE PATRIA POTESTAD.

And the information is current at least as of this writing.

Thanks to both SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center and the Children’s Law Center for pulling together this valuable information!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Court, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Limited English Proficiency, Plain English, Plain Language, Readability, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Court Administration, South Carolina Courts, USC School of Law, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, children, court innovation, law students, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney, self-represented litigant , South Carolina, English, Spanish, SC DSS, Resource Friday, Viernes de Recursos, SC Department of Social Services, child abuse, child neglect, Initial Report and Investigation, Emergency Protective Custody, The Probable Cause or 72-Hour Hearing, Merits or Removal Hearing, Intervention Hearing, Permanency Planning Hearing, Termination of Parental Rights, Carolina Del Sur, Report E Investigacion Inicial, Custodia Protectiva de Emergencia, La Audiencia de Causa Probable O La Audiencia de 72 Horas, Audiencias de Meritos O de Remocion, Audiencia de Intervencion, Audiencia Para La Planeacion de Permanencia, Terminacion de Los Derechos de Patria Potestad, Children's Law Center, http://childlaw.sc.edu/

Tune In TONIGHT and Tomorrow Morning

The Big Picture is once again featuring a topic of interest to South Carolinians in the civil justice community. This week’s topic is The Working Poor.

For the program, Mark Quinn, the host of The Big Picture, interviewed prestigious guests such as Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Sue Berkowitz of SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center and Dr. Adolphus Belk of Winthrop University.

TV Air Date: TONIGHT: Thursday – August 06, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Every Friday morning “The Big Picture on the Radio” airs on ETV Radio. Discussion focuses the television topic of the week amongst other timely subjects. Be sure to check ‘The Big Picture’ homepage each Friday afternoon to tune in live starting at 1:00 p.m.

TV repeats of Thursdays broadcast will air each Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, SCETV, South Carolina, South Carolina Educational Television, The Big Picture, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, blog, employment, homeless, hunger, indigent, labor, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney, state employment security commission, subprime mortgage crisis , SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Sue Berkowitz, The Big Picture, Mark Quinn, The Working Poor, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Dr. Adolphus Belk, Winthrop University, TONIGHT, August 6 2009, ETV Radio

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

SC Appleseed in the NEWS!

Another SC Access to Justice Commissioner has news or should I say is IN the news today. Sue Berkowitz, the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center Executive Director, was quoted in the prestigious Wall Street Journal.

The story? Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase. Excerpt from the story:

Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation’s total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.

South Carolina is one of the “leading” states – in which welfare cases have increased from +10% to +30% over last year’s rates. Other states with sharp increases include California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington.

~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, we noted that the SC Appleseed Legal Justice website has a new look too. And we like it!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, employment, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, poverty, public interest attorney, subprime mortgage crisis , South Carolina, SC access to justice commission, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Maryland, Washington, Sue Berkowitz, Ohio, California, Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Commissioner, Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com, Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase