Author: pricelessmisc

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Education

RALEIGH, N.C., December 9, 2014 – Out-of-school suspensions in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) dropped 45 percent in the last five years, according to data released by the district yesterday. Although these numbers represent a positive shift to keep students in the classroom and out of the school-to-prison pipeline, they also demonstrate the persistence of huge racial and disability disparities in suspensions rates in the district and the need for more work to be done.

Since Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Advocates for Children’s Services (ACS) began its work five years ago to reduce suspensions and end the school-to-prison pipeline in Wake County, the total number of out-of-school suspensions in WCPSS has fallen from 20,244 in the 2009-10 school year to 11,205 in 2013-14—even as student enrollment rose over that period by 9.4 percent. The number of individual students suspended declined by 35 percent over the same five-year period. WCPSS made the announcement about the declining suspension rates in a press release at the Student Achievement Committee of the Board of Education meeting on Monday.

“We are thrilled by the decline in out-of-school suspensions and commend the district for its ongoing efforts to reduce the number of students being pushed out of school,” said Jennifer Story, an attorney for ACS. “However, we remain extremely concerned about the ongoing disparate push-out impact of district policies and practices on African-American students and students with disabilities, as well as the quality of some of the alternative settings in which students who would otherwise be suspended are placed.”

African-American students represent one-quarter of WCPSS students, but last year received over 60 percent of all suspensions. Similarly, students with disabilities represent about 13 percent of the WCPSS population, but were one-third of suspended students. ACS has also long raised concerns about the quality of Alternative Learning Programs such as the Second Chance Online Recovery for Education (SCORE) and other programs intended to decrease out-of-school suspension rates.

“These data make clear that much work remains to be done to remedy the discriminatory impacts of Wake County’s school discipline policies,” said Jason Langberg, supervising attorney at ACS. “The persistence of student and parent advocates that we have seen over the last five years will continue to be critical moving forward.”

Since 2009, Legal Aid of North Carolina has provided high-quality legal advice and representation for hundreds of Wake County families and trained thousands of students, parents, service providers and advocates. ACS has filed multiple state special education complaints and federal civil rights complaints on behalf of clients against WCPSS. In the past two years, ACS published a comprehensive report and produced a documentary detailing the school-to-prison pipeline in WCPSS.

“We’ve made wonderful progress, but still have a long way to go,” said Story. “To increase student achievement and equity, we must continue to be diligent about reducing suspensions, eliminating discipline disparities and ensuring the availability of high-quality alternatives. The district is heading in a very positive direction, and we are hopeful that that it will continue to work collaboratively with parents, students, and advocates to meaningfully end the school-to-prison pipeline in Wake County.”

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Advocates for Children’s Services is a statewide project that works for education justice and an end to the school-to-prison pipeline through legal advocacy, community education, and collaboration.

Media Contact

Jennifer Story, Advocates for Children’s Services, 919-226-5921, jenr@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Healthcare Access

RALEIGH, June 29, 2015 – The nearly half-million North Carolinians who are receiving health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act will continue to do so following Thursday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court’s ruling in the case of King v. Burwell rejected a challenge to the health care law that sought to eliminate subsidies for residents of certain states, including North Carolina, which did not set up their own state-based “exchange” – an online marketplace for insurance plans – and instead relied on the federal exchange at www.HealthCare.gov.

“We want everyone to know that nothing has changed, and that we are here to provide free, expert help if people have questions about the Marketplace,” said Jennifer Simmons, an attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina in Raleigh, who heads up the North Carolina Navigator Consortium, a coalition of Affordable Care Act navigators that helps consumers enroll in health insurance plans.

“If you’ve been getting subsidies, you will continue to get them, and you should continue to pay your premiums just as you’ve been doing,” Simmons said. “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court upheld the status quo – nothing will change for you.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina and the other organizations of the NC Navigator Consortium have received federal funding since 2013 to train and deploy a corps of health care navigators who work one-on-one with consumers to help them understand the financial help that is available and enroll in affordable health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.

“Health insurance can be complicated, especially for people who’ve never had it,” Simmons said. “In North Carolina, consumers can get free, expert help by calling 1-855-733-3711, so they can make the best decision about health coverage for themselves and their families.”

More information about the Supreme Court’s decision is available at www.healthcare.gov/decision.

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. To learn more, visit www.legalaidnc.org or find us on Facebook and Twitter.

The North Carolina Navigator Consortium is a coalition of 15 organizations providing free, in-person expert help to North Carolina consumers seeking to enroll in affordable health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act.

Media Contacts

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Consumer Issues

RALEIGH, June 2, 2017 – Immigration attorney Kate Woomer-Deters is asking immigrants, immigration attorneys and other service providers to be on the lookout for notarios (notaries) who sell powers of attorney to immigrants worried about deportation.

“These notarios sell powers of attorney that are often one paragraph long and completely useless to anyone trying to plan for a family emergency,” said Woomer-Deters, an attorney with the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project at the North Carolina Justice Center.

Deportations can separate families, leaving minor children stranded in the U.S. without a legal guardian. Powers of attorney allow immigrants who fear deportation to empower someone to act in their name to manage their finances and provide some care for their children.

“But,” Woomer-Deters warns, “the documents have to be prepared correctly and clients need to be provided proper legal advice about what the documents can and cannot accomplish. Notaries are NOT authorized to draft legal documents of any kind. Further, law schools, non-profits and some private attorneys are providing powers of attorney for free or at low cost.”

For more information, read the Justice Center’s community advisory or download the Center’s Emergency Planning Guide for Immigrants, both of which are in English and Spanish.

If you are a volunteer attorney who would like to assist families prepare Powers of Attorney, contact the NC Pro Bono Center at staff@ncprobono.org.  Substantive training and opportunities to assist will be provided.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Healthcare Access

Only one week left before the Jan. 31 final deadline to enroll in coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace

RALEIGH, JAN. 24, 2017 – Tuesday, Jan. 31, is the final deadline for North Carolinians to enroll in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace during the open-enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. With just a week left, the clock is ticking and North Carolinians should act now to make sure they have time to shop around, consider their options, and enroll in the plan that best fits their needs and budget.

Following the election, many consumers have questions about the future of the Affordable Care Act, and their ability to enroll in quality, affordable health insurance. As of now, nothing has changed about the fourth enrollment period – not plans, not prices, and not dates. Anyone who enrolls in coverage by Jan. 31 will be able to use their coverage beginning March 1.

The North Carolina Navigator Consortium and Enroll America encourage North Carolinians to check out Affordable Care plans, which cover what they need and meet their budgets so they can have peace of mind knowing that they would be covered in the event of a medical emergency.

“Nothing has changed – North Carolinians can still enroll in Affordable Care Act plans and get financial help, but they need to act before the January 31 deadline,” said Jennifer Simmons, North Carolina Navigator Consortium Director. “The marketplace plans are affordable and meet consumers’ budgets. Over 540,000 North Carolinians have enrolled in this open-enrollment period as of January 14, but there is still time for more to get covered.”

“We have talked to some North Carolinians who have expressed concerns and asked questions about the future of the Affordable Care Act and their ability to enroll in quality, affordable health coverage through the Marketplace after the elections,” said Enroll America North Carolina State Director Sorien Schmidt. “As of now, nothing about the Affordable Care Act marketplace has changed. People can still enroll in plans.”

Everybody’s needs and financial situations are different, and plans and prices change every year, so all North Carolinians should shop the options available to them. All Marketplace health plans are required to cover the basics – from preventive care, emergency services, prescriptions, and more. And quality protection comes at an affordable price for most North Carolinians, thanks to the financial assistance available to lower the cost of plans. In fact, nearly 9 in 10 of the over 530,000 people in North Carolina who signed up by December 24 are receiving financial help.

In order to help North Carolinians explore their options, there are a variety of resources available so that consumers can be confident that they are choosing the best plan for them. Free, local in-person help is available across North Carolina through certified assisters who can sit down one-on-one and answer questions about coverage and benefits. Scheduling an appointment is easy: simply use the Get Covered Connector tool and choose a convenient time and location or call 1-855-733-3711. Enroll America also offers a free, easy-to-use digital tool called the Get Covered Plan Explorer, which helps consumers navigate the plans available to them and estimate their total health care costs for the year so they can pick the plan that best fits their needs and budget.

# # #

The NC Navigator Consortium is a group of 13 health care, social service, and legal aid organizations that helps North Carolina consumers enroll in affordable health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. The consortium is led by Legal Aid of North Carolina, a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free civil legal aid to low-income North Carolinians.

Enroll America is the nation’s leading health care enrollment coalition. An independent nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, Enroll America works with more than 6,700 partners in all 50 states to create cutting-edge tools, analyze data, inform policy, and share best practices in service of its mission: maximizing the number of Americans who enroll in and retain health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Learn more at EnrollAmerica.org.

Media Contact
Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

RALEIGH, June 5, 2017 – Legal Aid of North Carolina congratulates its 54 volunteers who were inducted into the inaugural class of the Supreme Court of North Carolina’s Pro Bono Honor Society.

The 170 members of the society each donated at least 50 hours of pro bono service in 2016, fulfilling their professional responsibility to provide public service as laid out in Rule 6.1 of the North Carolina State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct.

Of the 170 inaugural members, 54 provided pro bono services to Legal Aid last year, significantly improving our ability to provide justice for our clients (see list below).

North Carolina attorneys interested in joining our pro bono team or supporting our work can visit the Pro Bono section of our website. Attorneys interested in pro bono can also visit the NC Pro Bono Resource Center at ncprobono.org to learn more about pro bono service and find volunteer opportunities.

Legal Aid volunteers inducted into the N.C. Pro Bono Honor Society

​Georgiana Louise Yonuschot, Legal Aid Board Chair
Reid C. Adams Jr., Legal Aid Board Member

Ann-Margaret Alexander
Brian O. Beverly
Kimberly Nicole Cochran
Matthew Alan Cordell
Blinn Lawrence Cushman
Phillip R. Dixon
John Michael Durnovich
Nicholas Adam Fernez
W. Erwin Fuller Jr.
Christopher T. Graebe
Steven William Grainger
George V. Hanna III
Michael S. Harrell III
Mark P. Henriques Jr.
James Robert Jolley
Andrew D. Jones III
Alicia Dawn Jurney
M. Keith Kapp
Caroline Elizabeth So-Jin Keen
Glenn E. Ketner
Mark Watkins Kinghorn
Tara Lynn Kozlowski
Mark Ferrell Lawson
Sean Won Lew
Caroline Payseur Mackie

 ​Gregory C. Malhoit
Michael Leon Martinez
Elena Faria Mitchell
Hilary Dodd Moore
Emily A. Moseley
Elizabeth Bahati Mutisya
Ana Sofia Nunez
Helen Louise Parsonage
M. Travis Payne
Ronald Dean Payne
Matthew T. Phillips
Jackson Rehm Price
Nader Saeed Raja
Kimberly Burke Richmond
Kristin Holmquist Ruth
Karen McKeithen Schaede
Frank Eugene Schall
Bradley N. Schulz III
Kyle Reid Shannon
David Hughes Simpkins III
Edward Taylor Stukes
Ann Lee Warren
James Joseph Waters
E. Danielle Thompson Williams
Elizabeth Lager Winters
Jennifer Lynn Yeaw
Christopher Charles Ziegler

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Fair Housing

On Friday, April 15, 2016, the City of Raleigh Fair Housing Hearing Board and the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina will sponsor the 13th Annual Fair Housing Conference. The keynote speaker at the conference will be civil rights attorney John Relman, one of the nation’s foremost fair housing and civil rights attorneys and the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax.

Panels will address issues of fair housing and gentrification as well as housing discrimination against immigrant and Limited English Proficiency tenants.

The conference will take place at the McKimmon Center for Extension and Continuing Education, located at 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh, NC 27606.

Early registration will begin on February 29, 2016.​

This conference is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.​

 # # #

About the Fair Housing Project
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people in North Carolina through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. Learn more at fairhousingnc.org.

​

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Education

RALEIGH, January 5, 2017 – Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Advocates for Children’s Services project joined the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and other youth advocates to urge the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to resolve the partners’ six-year-old complaint regarding racially discriminatory discipline practices in the Wake County Public School System.

“Discriminatory discipline practices have remained virtually unchanged over the past six years. That clearly demonstrates that the problem is systemic,” said Jennifer Story, lead attorney of Advocates for Children’s Services. “Not only are we asking for action from the U.S. Department of Education, we are asking for ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance. Otherwise, we run the risk of continuing to allow discrimination and depriving kids of the fairness and opportunities they deserve.”

Read the full press release and letter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Disaster Relief

RALEIGH, Oct. 11, 2016 – ​All members of our staff are safe, and none of our field offices sustained serious storm damage, but our offices in Fayetteville, Greenville and Pembroke remain closed today due to the continuing fallout from Hurricane Matthew.​

Our Central Intake Unit, which screens all new client applications via our statewide Helpline and online intake application​, is operating from a remote location in Raleigh. The storm knocked out power to the unit’s main offices.

Based on our past experiences responding to the legal needs of victims of natural disasters, we know that people’s immediate concerns are practical — shelter, utilities, property damage, etc. — and that legal issues often do not become a priority until much later.

To help people with their immediate concerns, we have collected links to ​local, state and national recovery resources for victims.

When those affected by the storm do begin to confront legal issues relating to their property, insurance, public benefits and more, they should call our statewide toll-free Helpline at 1-866-219-LANC (5262) or apply online using our guided intake interview.​​

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Raleigh Housing Authority settles lawsuit alleging housing discrimination against victims of domestic violence
MEDIA COVERAGE
A Domestic Violence Survivor Asked the RHA for an Emergency Transfer. It Evicted Her Instead, a Lawsuit Says.

Leigh Tauss, Indy Week – Oct. 29, 2019

Housing settlement includes first decree of its kind, attorneys say

Bill Cresenzo, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly – October 23, 2019

RALEIGH · October 16, 2019—Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Duke Civil Justice Clinic announced today that they recently settled a federal discrimination complaint filed against the Raleigh Housing Authority (RHA) on behalf of a public housing tenant who was a victim of domestic violence.

The settlement includes a Federal Consent Decree—believed to be the first in the country to address a landlord’s obligations under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which requires housing authorities to provide tenants who are victims of domestic violence with specific housing protections.

In the lawsuit, filed in the United States Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2018, the tenant alleged that the Raleigh Housing Authority violated the federal Fair Housing Act by denying her repeated requests for an emergency transfer to a safe location. The tenant was the victim of multiple crimes at her housing unit: violence perpetrated by an ex-boyfriend who strangled her; a home intruder who threatened her guest at gunpoint; and armed men who shot bullets into her apartment. In addition, she alleged that the Raleigh Housing Authority was in violation of VAWA. RHA has denied the allegations. 

The Federal Consent Decree requires RHA to: 

  • Provide tenants who are facing eviction with written notice of their rights under VAWA; (One of VAWA’s goals is to ensure that victims of domestic violence do not face eviction as a result of the abuse.)
  • Provide tenants who are denied admission to RHA with written notice of their rights under VAWA; (Another goal of VAWA is to ensure that victims of domestic violence—who often have a poor credit history, prior evictions, and criminal charges related to the abuse—are not denied housing as a result.)
  • Make emergency transfer request forms and the RHA’s emergency transfer plan available and accessible to all tenants;
  • Assign a current RHA employee as a point person to answer questions about VAWA’s housing protections;
  • Provide regular, mandatory training on the Fair Housing Act for all property managers and employees involved in lease intake, transfer decisions and lease termination decisions;
  • Provide regular, mandatory training on VAWA and domestic violence for all property managers and employees involved in lease intake, transfer decisions and lease termination decisions;
  • Send a letter to public housing tenants each year soliciting feedback on all aspects of the housing authority, including its employees;
  • Provide documentation to Legal Aid of North Carolina for three consecutive years demonstrating RHA’s compliance with the Consent Decree.

“The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina is committed to ensuring that women and children in public housing do not become homeless because they have been denied the protections of the Fair Housing Act or the Violence Against Women Act,” said Suzanne Chester, a managing attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina, and co-counsel on the case. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. 

“We are very pleased with the results for our client and her children, and we hope that this Consent Decree will serve to highlight to public housing authorities across the country their obligations to comply with VAWA and Fair Housing laws,” commented co-counsel, Charles Holton, Director of Duke University’s Civil Justice Clinic. 

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Our Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. Since its founding in 2011, the Project has helped obtain over $6.6 million in relief for victims of discrimination. The Project is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more at FairHousingNC.org.

North Carolinians seeking information about their rights under the federal Fair Housing Act or who believe they are a victim of housing discrimination can call the Project’s statewide toll-free helpline at 1-855-797-FAIR (3247).

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org

Author: pricelessmisc

← Back to Education

RALEIGH, July 14, 2015 – Shaw University will revise its discriminatory policies and procedures for students with disabilities following a complaint filed by Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Advocates for Children’s Services project with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on behalf of a client with cerebral palsy.

Legal Aid of North Carolina filed the complaint with OCR on behalf of its client, Almari Moore, in December. Moore was admitted to Shaw University last spring, but the university rescinded its admission offer soon after, when officials became aware of the severity of his disability.

In a June 3 resolution letter, OCR determined that Shaw University had discriminated against Moore in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that are federally funded.

OCR’s investigation found that, among other violations, Shaw University failed to engage in an interactive process to determine Moore’s needs, and that the university’s process for screening applicants with disabilities results in students who self-identify as having a disability facing a higher standard for admission.

OCR stated in the letter that “In the course of the investigation, OCR further determined that the university’s admission practices more generally, as they pertain to all students with disabilities, run contrary to the requirements of Section 504.”

Shaw University must now follow a resolution agreement with OCR which requires several revisions to the university’s policies and procedures. Among other changes, the university will address how the admissions process evaluates students with disabilities, ensure that the proper staff and administration are trained in the requirements of Section 504, and identify and review previous applicants and current students who may have been affected by the university’s discriminatory policies.

As part of OCR’s resolution agreement, Moore and his family will be reimbursed by Shaw University for expenses they incurred in preparation for attending the university. The university will also be sending Moore a letter that offers him the opportunity to reenroll at any point in the future. He plans to start as a freshman at Shaw this fall.

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity.

Advocates for Children’s Services​ is a statewide project of Legal Aid of North Carolina that focuses on education justice and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

Media Contacts

Seth Ascher, Attorney, Advocates for Children’s Services, 919-630-8622

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132