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Governor's FY 2020 Budget Proposal: MLRI's Preliminary Analysis of Selected Issues

MLRI
The Governor’s FY 2020 Budget Proposal: Preliminary Analysis of Selected Cash and Nutrition Assistance,  Child Welfare, Health Care, Homelessness Services, Housing and Legal Services Items On January 23, 2019, Governor Baker released his budget proposal for…

LANGUAGE ACCESS TRAINING MODULES ASSIST INTERPRETERS WITH THEIR LEGAL SKILLS

Pro Bono Training Institute
PBTI has created several training courses designed to assist legal aid attorneys interact with interpreters in a legal office setting. PBTI has also created language specific training modules to assist interpreters with certain legal terms.  Click Go to Website to view the training modules.

Plain Language Guide: How to Incorporate Plain Language intoCourt Forms, Websites, and Other Materials

National Association for Court Management
A comprehensive guide on how to incorporate plain language into court forms, legal information handouts, websites, and other materials to help authors and designers create content and solutions that are easily understandable by everyone. Key elements include: shorter…

A Parent Guide to Educational Choices in MA

MA DESE
A guide to the school choices in Mass, how to investigate the options and who to contact for more information.  These choices include the inter-district school choice program, charter schools, vocational technical schools, Metco, the Massachusetts Virtual Academy, and the Massachusetts…

Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership

MA Department of Higher Education
The Massachusetts Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP) provides opportunities for Massachusetts high school students to take college-level courses for free or at a discounted price and earn credit toward high school completion and their future college degrees. CDEP eases…

PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center

PACER
A website with many resources to prevent and respond to bullying.  Includes template letters, videos, links to OCR's Dear Colleague letters, information in Spanish and much more.

Violence Recovery Program (VRP)

Fenway Health
Fenway’s Violence Recovery Program (VRP) provides counseling, support groups, advocacy, and referrals to survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, hate violence, and police misconduct. Specializes in working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)…

Public Housing Tenant Bylaws

MLRI
Sample State Public Housing Tenant Organization By-Laws - Updated December 11, 2018 (Download Word Document)   By-Laws and Building Tenant Groups Presenation for Mass Union Convention Spring 2018 (Power Point)

Parental Alienation Syndrome: Articles

MLRI
Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is a theory that may be utilized to allege that a child has been manipulated by the other parent and during child custody disputes.    Below are a list of scholarly articles on the topic of PAS.  Parental…

MLRI's Comments on Proposed Public Charge Regulation

MLRI
Attached are the comments submitted by MLRI to the Department of Homeland Security in response to the proposed public charge regulation.

HUD Resources for Multifamily Assisted Housing

HUD
 -  HUD-5380 Notice of Occupancy Rights Under the Violence Against Women Act  -  HUD-5381 Model Emergency Transfer Plan for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking  -  HUD-5382 Certification of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence,…

Domestic Violence Shelters in Massachusetts

domesticshelters.org
Search by zip code to find shelters.

The Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors in Public and Subsidized Housing

ACLU
A two page handout that addresses: What sort of housing discrimination do women who have experienced domestic violence face? What protections do women who have experienced domestic violence have from discrimination in public housing? Do these rules apply to other low-income…

Race, Racism and Mental Health

Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee and Charles Hamilton Houston Institute on Race and Justice
Bibliography table of Contents from conference hosted by Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee and Charles Hamilton Houston Institute on Race and Justice.  

SNAP Outreach Materials for Low-Income Massachusetts Veterans

MLRI
Below are four fliers you can use in your SNAP outreach with low income veterans, dependents and families of military service members. SNAP is an important nutrition benefit for all low-income residents, but veterans and military service families may be reluctant to apply.  On 11/9/18, the…

Inclusive Immigrant Justice: Racial Animus and the Origins of Crime-Based Deportation

Alina Das
The merger of immigration and criminal law has transformed both systems, amplifying the flaws in each. In critiquing this merger, most scholarly accounts begin with legislative changes in the 1980s and 1990s that vastly expanded criminal grounds of deportation and eliminated many forms of…

Integrated Schools (Podcasts)

Integrated Schools
Integrated Schools is focused on behavior change for White and/or privileged parents.  Many White and/or privileged families use their privilege to access more heavily-resourced schools, concentrating privilege and isolating their children from learning and growing with classmates who have…

Summary of bill extending certain housing rights protections to victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and stalking

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Greater Boston Legal Services, Jane Doe Inc. and Victim Rights Law Center
On January 3, 2013 Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill extending certain housing rights and protections to victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and stalking (Chapter 402 of the Acts of 2012), which amends G.L. c. 186 to add seven new sections (G.L. c. 186, §§…

Open Enrollment 2019

MLRI & others
Open enrollment in Mass. this year is Nov. 1, 2018 to Jan. 23, 2019. This is the time of year when people can buy individual (non-group) insurance on their own or change their non-group coverage for 2019. For people who were eligible for ConnectorCare but missed enrollment deadlines for 2018…

Family Law Matters for Same Sex Couples

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization based in Boston that serves residents of the New England states. GLAD works to end discrimination based on sexual origenation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization…

Pro Se 30A Form

Sample Pro Se Complaint for Judical Review of EA decision

Eviction Process Online Course for Housing Court Lawyer For the Day Volunteers

MLRI
A number of housing courts in Massachusetts have Lawyer for the Day programs where lawyers provide unrepresented tenants and landlords with assistance.  Volunteer lawyers help parties fill out forms and understand basic legal information. Often the Lawyer for the Day will be the only…

Information for LGBTQ Veterans and Servicemembers

Lynn Girton, Veterans Legal Services
Many LGBTQ individuals have served in the military and have encountered discrimination based on their LGBTQ status. Indeed, in the period between the end of WWII and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), approximately 114,000 servicemembers were involuntarily discharged based on…

Stateside Legal - National website for military members, veterans and their families

Stateside Legal
A national website for military members, veterans and their families, with the goal of helping them to to find their own solutions to common legal problems, and to find someone to help, if legal advice is needed. 

MassVetsAdvisor

MassVetsAdvisor
This webiste gives Massachusetts veterans and their families the ability to search through 230 benefits programs based on their service branch, time period and family needs. The website is regularly updated.

Housing Law and the Impact on Domestic Violence Survivors

Network for Public Health Law
Many municipalities in the U.S. have enacted nuisance property ordinances, which can have harmful effects on victims of domestic violence. Although state fair housing laws, landlord-tenant statutes and other legal provisions may protect the housing rights of some survivors of domestic violence,…

OLGT 2018-61: TAFDC – Clothing Allowance, September 2018

DTA
The Department will issue a nonrecurring clothing allowance to eligible TAFDC clients under the age of 19 for September 2018. This year the Legislature raised the amount of this benefit to $350 per eligible TAFDC client.  A payment of $350 (separate from the semi-monthly payment) will be…

DTA Monthly Caseload by Community Report

DTA
DTA began posting monthly caseload information broken down by zip code for SNAP, TAFDC and EAEDC in December 2016. We will post each month's  excel spreadsheet on this page. See notes from DTA in the excel spreadsheet for more information on the month the data represents. Generally, the SNAP…

Family Abduction Resources

MRLI
  Polly Klass Foundation Web site with reports and resources on the topic of family abduction prepared by the Polly Klass Foundation in California.   Massachusetts AMBER Alert Plan   Information about using Massachusetts' AMBER Alert Plan to find…

Links to Mass. Congressional Delegation Contact Info

Link to contact information for Senators Markey and Warren: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=MA   Link to contact information for Mass. members of U.S. House: http://www.house.gov/representatives

The Racial Justice Institute: Bringing a Race Equity Lens to Legal Services Advocacy

Janerick Holmes, Kimberly Merchant and Ellen Hemley, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Recognizing the critical link between race and poverty, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (Shriver Center), with support from a dedicated and talented national Advisory Committee, launched the Racial Justice Institute (RJI) in 2014. RJI is a cutting-edge national leadership program,…

2018 DTA Performance Scorecards

DTA
DTA monthly scorecards for 2018, which include performance measures such as SNAP, EAEDC, and TAFDC caseloads, average waiting times, and accuracy rates. January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 Once…

A TOOLKIT FOR CENTERING RACIAL EQUITY WITHIN DATA INTEGRATION

Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
With trust in government and experts (e.g., researchers) at historic lows,1 efforts that rely exclusively on these institutions to “use data to solve social problems” are unlikely to succeed. Too often government organizations and their research partners fail to identify and address…

Resource for Individual Hurricane Maria Evacuees (Households without members under 18)

State of Massachusetts
Resource Guide for Individual Hurricane Maria Evacuees distributed by the state of Massachusetts in June 2018.  This guide is for households with no family members under age 18.

Massachusetts Hurricane Recovery Resources for Evacuees Living in Hotels

State of Massachusetts
Massachusetts Hurricane Recovery Resources for Evacuees distributed by the state in June 2018.   This communication is only for evacuee families with a FEMA number who are living in a Red Cross or FEMA funded hotel or motel as of 6/30/18.

Massachusetts Family Law & the ACA

MLRI
What Massachusetts Family Law Practitioners Should Know about the ACA Family law cases routinely involve decisions regarding custody, health care coverage, tax dependency exemptions, whether to file joint tax returns and what tax filing status might be most beneficial to the…

New MRCP Rules 8.1 and 55.1 (Effectvie 1/1/19)

SJC
Attached is the Supreme Judicial Court's order adding rules 8.1 and 55.1 concerning the collection of credit card debt to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure.  Also attached below are the Reporter's Notes on these changes.  The additions are effectvie on January 1, 2019.

Your Money, Your Goals

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Your Money, Your Goals is a set of financial empowerment materials for organizations that help people meet their financial goals by increasing their knowledge, skills, and resources.  Click "Go to Website" to visit.

Consumer Law -- Top 10 Things to Know

MLRI
1) M.G.L. c. 93A is the Massachusetts consumer protection law to fight against unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trade or commerce. The Attorney General's office has promulgated regulations that give specific examples and explanations of unfair acts and practices. 2)…

Shifting the Narrative: What it Takes the Reframe the Debate for Social Justice in the US

Alan Jenkins

House Ways and Means FY 19 Budget Proposal: MLRI's Preliminary Analysis of Selected Issues

MLRI
On April 11, 2018, the House Committee on Ways and Means released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2019 (FY 19), House 4400.  MLRI offers this preliminary analysis of selected budget topics affecting low-income residents of the Commonwealth. Download the document below.

Inclusive Legal Spaces: The Importance of Diverse Mentoring

Faith Deredge
Creating inclusive spaces and developing a diverse team is critical to any industry. However, diversity and inclusion are particularly important in the legal profession to ensure that judges, prosecutors, and lawyers are just as diverse as the millions of Americans they serve. Lawyers of color are…

Continuity of Care in MassHealth Managed Care after March 1, 2018

Office of Medicaid and Others
March 1, 2018 over 1 million members will be moving to new kinds of health plans. This affects individual under age 65 with MassHealth as their only coverage. Individuals should have received notice of the change from MassHealth and their new plans. There are protections in place to try to avoid…

National Center for Law and Elder Rights -- Trainings

NCLE
The National Center for Law and Elder rights has a number of recorded trainings about elder law topics, including: Elder abuse and financial exploitation Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits and health issues Consumer and foreclosures and more. Click the "Download" link…

How to Make & Test Videos (with Limited Time & Money)

Northwest Justice Project
If you create print publications to inform your communities about their legal rights and responsibilities, videos can amplify your educational outreach efforts. Below, you can download a copy of a 10-page Guide called, "How to Make & Test Videos (with Limited Time &…

How to Write for Clients

Legal Services Corporation
Useful round up of resources to help write in plain langauge.

2018 ConnectorCare enrollment options after Jan 23

Health Care for All
People purchasing individual coverage including ConnectorCare can only do so during "open enrollment" or if they have experienced a "qualifying event." Open enrollment for 2018 ended in MA on Jan 23, 2018.  However, it is not too late for people to obtain ConnectorCare…

Comments on House 2 MassHealth Amendments Relating to the Pharmacy Program

CHLPI/MLRI
Comments on House 2 MassHealth Amendments Relating to the Pharmacy Program On behalf of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) of Harvard Law School, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), and the undersigned organizations, we are grateful for the opportunity to provide…

Resources for Locating Someone who is being Detained or is Incarcerated

Karen Breda, Boston College Law School
Useful information on how to locate someone in immigration detention, federal prisons, and state prisons.  Click the "go to website" link below.

Inside Game: The Key Players Behind Washington’s Biggest Foster Care Reform in Decades

Daniel Heimpel