Home Contact FAQs Search

National Center for Law and Economic Justice Inc
Skip to Content About NCLEJ NCLEJ Advocacy Key Issues In the Courts Support Our Work News from NCLEJ Jobs & Internships

Policy Advocacy

NCLEJ uses its expertise to identify and promote the adoption and proper implementation of creative and effective policies and programs to support individuals and families in their efforts to move out of poverty.

Recent efforts include:

  • Working with Arizona, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and other states to modify state policies affecting public benefits for persons with disabilities. While the Americans with Disabilities Act requires a wide range of reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, most public benefits programs around the country fall short. An example of the improvements we have made can be found in New Jersey’s ADA policy – county welfare agencies must review a client’s records and take other measures before closing a case or sanctioning benefits, to ensure that the agency is not taking action against a client with a disability who needed an accommodation that was not provided.
  • Assuring that youth aging out of foster care in New York City are assured continuation of health care and other benefits required for them to safely transition into independent living – a result achieved after several years of advocacy. Work to improve access to housing and other benefits is underway.
  • Assuring that mothers needing child care subsidies for employment will no longer have to take days off work in futile efforts in court to collect child support payments, by achieving a change in New York law enacted in 2009 after years of advocacy by many organizations.

 

NCLEJ Releases 2010 Edition of ADA-TANF Manual

NCLEJ has just released the 2010 edition of Using the Americans with Disabilities Act to Protect the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities in TANF Programs: A Manual for Non-Litigation Advocacy, authored by Cary LaCheen, a national expert on the application of federal disability rights laws to public benefits programs. The manual has been updated to address developments that have occurred since the manual was first issued in 2004, including:

  • The ADA Amendments Act, enacted in 2008,
  • Reauthorization of the TANF program in 2005 and issuance of final regulations implementing those changes,
  • Issuance of a Frequently Asked Questions piece by HHS in 2007 reiterating the obligation to comply with the ADA and Section 504 in TANF programs, and
  • Adoption by a number of state welfare agencies of comprehensive ADA policies applicable to their welfare programs.

The 2010 edition also includes an expanded discussion of the obligation of welfare agencies to provide effective communication with individuals with disabilities and the obligation of welfare agencies to have web sites that are accessible to individuals with disabilities. The 2010 edition of the manual contains the following chapters which were not in the 2004 edition:

  • Chapter 5: A closer look at TANF work requirements and the ADA
  • Chapter 8: Welfare agencies’ obligation to communicate effectively with individuals with disabilities
  • Chapter 9: Accessibility of welfare agency web sites
  • Chapter 14: Summaries of selected state welfare agency ADA policies

The 2010 edition is currently available free of charge


Highlights of NCLEJ Advocacy:

 

Disability Rights

Improving Remote Communication Between Public Benefits Agencies and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals by Cary LaCheen, 43 Clearinghouse Review 431 (Jan. - Feb. 2010) (pdf)

NCLEJ Helps More States Develop Disability Rights Compliance Policies for their Benefits Programs (2009) (pdf)

NCLEJ Testimony on Issues on New York City WeCARE Program for Public Assistance Applicants with Disabilities (October 2007) (pdf)

New Provisions of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program: Implications for Clients with Disabilities and Advocacy Opportunities by Cary LaCheen, 40 Clearinghouse Rev. 490 (Jan. - Feb. 2007) (pdf)

NCLEJ Addresses FEMA on Serious Barriers Faced By Many Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals (January 2007) (pdf)

NCLEJ Letter to New York State Welfare Agency on Local District Self Evaluations of ADA Compliance (September 2006) (pdf)

NCLEJ Secures Comprehensive Policy Reforms in Virginia and New Jersey (2004-2005)

NCLEJ Addresses New York City Contracts for Welfare-to-Work (education and training) and WeCARE (for persons with disabilities) (2004)

NCLEJ Report Exposes New York City Welfare Agency's Failure to Provide Home Visits to Individuals with Disabilities (June 2004)

 

Privatization and Modernization

NCLEJ and Maximus:  Modernizing Public Benefits Programs:  What the Law Says State Agencies Must do to Serve People with Disabilities (August 2010) (pdf)

NCLEJ Checklist for Advocates: Privatization Issues in Public Benefits Programs (June 2007) (pdf)

NCLEJ and Colleagues Seek Improvements in Texas Call Center Initiative (2006)

NCLEJ Comments on EBT Systems for Disaster Relief (August 2006) (pdf)

 

Health Care

NCLEJ Report on Barriers Childless Adults Face in Accessing Public Health Insurance (April 2010) (pdf)

Issue Brief on New York Medicaid Spenddown Excess Income Program (June 2009) (pdf)

Testimony - Needs of Youth Aging Out of Foster Care (October 2007) (pdf)

 

Supporting Employment

NCLEJ Influences New York City Mayor Bloomberg's Low-Income Child Care Proposals (October 2005)

Testimony Regarding the Role of Education in Helping Low-Income Families Become Economically Self-Sufficient (July 2005) (pdf)

Testimony Regarding Child Support Requirements in New York State's Proposed Child Care Development Fund Plan (May 2005)

NCLEJ and Colleagues Protect Medicaid for Working Parents in Texas (April, 2005)

NCLEJ Promoted Child Care for Working Parents (2005)

NCLEJ and Colleagues Supported Access to Education and Training in New York City (2003)