OPLC Update January-February 2010
OPLC Update
January/February 2010
In this Update:
Education Law
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization
The ESEA, the main federal education law, which was reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act, is up for reauthorization in Congress this year. Sarah Biehl is working with the Dignity in Schools Campaign and a broad coalition of advocates across the country to advocate for an overhaul of the ESEA that will promote a shift toward positive disciplinary practices like Positive Behavior Supports and away from zero tolerance and exclusionary discipline practices. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education is also working on its recommendations to Congress on overhauling the law.
Ending the School to Prison Pipeline in Ohio
Sarah continues to work closely with Policy Matters Ohio, the ACLU of Ohio, and Vanessa Coterel at LAS Columbus to develop a statewide plan for ending the school to prison pipeline in Ohio. The group is compiling and analyzing data on the state’s suspension and expulsion rates, juvenile court filings against students, and the economic impact of school pushout, and plans to release the data in a report by this summer.
Employment Law
Wages and Hours Bureau Funding
Mike Smalz has worked with Ernie Davis of the Department of Commerce, Zach Schiller of Policy Matters Ohio, and attorneys Katie Laskey-Donovan and Julie Clutter of LAS Cleveland to restore funding for enforcement of Ohio’s minimum wage and overtime laws by the Wages and Hours Bureau. Ernie Davis informed Mike that the Department of Commerce plans to submit a funding reallocation proposal to the State Controlling Board for approval in the near future. If approved, this funding reallocation would fund minimum wage and overtime enforcement in Ohio beginning July 1, 2010, when funding (and enforcement activity) would otherwise expire under the current state budget.
Family Law
Child Support Arrearage Waiver and Compromise Rules
After considerable prodding by Mike and other advocates, the ODJFS Office of Child Support finally published a January 2010 Clearance proposing JFS rules and forms with guidelines for CSEA consideration and approval of obligor requests for a waiver or compromise (reduction) of arrearages owed to the State of Ohio. Mike submitted comments on the Clearance, and Melissa Lindsay, OPLC's Equal Justice Works Fellow, will also submit comments.
Domestic Violence Anti-discrimination Bill
Mike and Sarah met with our partners at the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to discuss and plan legislative strategy and tactics for getting HB 167 moving through the Senate. It will be an uphill battle, but Senate Judiciary Committee chair Bill Seitz has promised to hold hearings and take testimony on HB 167. Mike, Sarah, Joe Maskovyak, and ODVN will be contacting local legal aid programs, domestic violence shelters, and other constituents of potential “swing vote” Republican senators to encourage people to communicate their support to the targeted senators and to recruit possible proponent witnesses.
Child in Need of Protective Services/ Child Welfare Reform Bill
Mike has been invited to participate in a February 23, 2010 stakeholder meeting with the sponsor of HB 371 to discuss concerns and possible changes to the bill, which would comprehensively reform child welfare. Among other things, the bill would remove the terms “abuse,” “neglect,” and “dependency” from Ohio law and create one new category, “child in need of protective services.”
Domestic Violence Reform Legislation
Mike and other members of the Statutes and Rules Committee of the Office of Criminal Justice Services Family Violence Prevention Center Advisory Council have provided substantial input to Rep. Marian Harris (D) concerning the substantive provisions, statutory language, and possible amendments to her newly introduced comprehensive domestic violence reform legislation, HB 429.
Supreme Court DV Forms
Mike, Alexandria Ruden of LAS Cleveland, and other members of the Forms Subcommittee of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence recently reviewed public comments on the proposed new Supreme Court standard protection order forms that were published in OBAR and on the Supreme Court’s web site. The Subcommittee made a number of additional changes to the forms, including changes to the new domestic violence CPO modification/termination forms and streamlining the new CPO contempt forms.
Foreclosure
Foreclosure Mediation Bills
Linda Cook and Joe continue to work on both the Senate and House versions of foreclosure mediation bills, HB 306 and SB 197. Linda and Joe met several times with Rep. Matt Dolan (R), the sponsor of the House bill, but Dolan resigned from the legislature before any changes were made pursuant to the last meetings, it is not clear who, if anyone, will replace him as sponsor for HB 306.
SB 197, which is sponsored by Sen. Shannon Jones (R), has become the vehicle in the Senate to move all foreclosure related legislation. This includes HB 3, the foreclosure moratorium bill, and HB 9, the bill intended to protect tenants in foreclosure by notice provisions and converting leases to month to month tenancies following the foreclosure sale. Linda and Joe have worked with COHHIO and a statewide coalition of advocates to organize testimony before the committee on all three bills. It now appears that the committee may recess and convene interested party discussions to create something akin to an omnibus foreclosure bill containing elements of all the aforementioned bills, as well as HB 323 (see below).
Toxic Title/Bank Walk Away Bill
HB 323 is a convoluted and complicated bill aimed at attacking the problem of vacant and abandoned buildings associated with foreclosures. Linda and Joe have been attending interested party meetings with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Murray (D), which have attracted a large number of advocates. The latest version of the bill (the 10th iteration) was recently reported out of committee on party lines and awaits a floor vote in the House. Linda and Joe will continue to work with the sponsor and the chair of the committee, Rep. Mike Foley (D), since the latest version, released just prior to the committee vote, had new provisions harmful to homeowners in some situations.
Health Law
Medicaid Rx Carve Out
The state has changed the way that it pays for prescriptions under Medicaid managed care. Bob Bonthius (LAS Cleveland) and Gene King have negotiated several improvements in the process for this change which was effective on February 1. Newborns will be able to access prescriptions using their mother’s Medicaid card. This change will also trigger additional co-payments for some, but not all, Medicaid recipients. If you have clients who lose services or have trouble accessing prescriptions because of co-payments, let Gene know.
Candy Street Gets Fired
Anne Rubin (SEOLS Athens) and Gene discovered that the CareSource MCP prior authorization notices were signed by “Candy Street, RN”, a fictitious name. CareSource told us that they used that name on notices to protect its staff from unwanted direct contact. When Gene raised due process issues and the question of whether the State Nursing Board would approve of such a fictitious RN, CareSource quickly agreed to change their process so that all notices will now be signed by the actual PA office supervisor.
Medical Care Advisory Committee Priorities
The state Medical Care Advisory Committee (MCAC) has identified substantive priority areas for 2010. They are: implementation of CHIPRA; improving public process in rule making; implementation of federal health reform; and, improvements to the MITS program. Along with Mary Applegate, MD, Gene is the co-chair of this group, which advises ODJFS on Medicaid and other health policy issues.
Prisoner Re-Entry
Statewide Resource on PHA Admission Policies for Applicants with Felony Records
Melissa Lindsay is compiling the admissions policies of all Ohio Public Housing Authorities as they pertain to applicants with felony records. The completed product will be available on the statewide website, www.ohiolegalservices.org, for use by advocates and ex-offenders seeking public housing.
OPLC and Partners to Host Employer Awareness Workshop
Melissa, the United Way, and the Columbus Urban League have formed a partnership to host an Employer Awareness Workshop (EAW), which will be held in April. The EAW will educate Central Ohio employers about hiring ex-offenders through a panel discussion, Q&A session, and written materials.
Public Benefits
Medicaid Policy Clarifications from 2009 (JFS Secret Rules)
The Medicaid Policy Clarification database has been updated with questions and answers from the 4th quarter. Chris Barley has now indexed 4,783 JFS Medicaid policy clarifications from 2009. The database can be searched and can generate reports based on specific criteria. Two sample reports are posted on the Ohio Legal Services Advocate website.
Eventually OPLC plans to make the database available on the internet so anyone can run their own search, but until then, please contact Chris, who will gladly generate any report of interest to you.
Utilities
Telephone Deregulation (SB 162/HB 276)
Mike and Joe met with House Public Utilities Committee Chair Rep. Timothy DeGeeter (D) and Rep. Allan Sayre (D), the sponsor of HB 276, to discuss needed amendments to the bill. They, OCC, Ellis Jacobs of ABLE, and other advocates proposed and advocated for improved consumer protections, a broadband infrastructure investment mandate, and funding for low-income measures including Lifeline outreach and promotion, community computer centers, and/or Community Voicemail.
AEP Collaborative
Joe and Mike continue to work with the one year old AEP collaborative, a group comprised of a wide range of stakeholders to help plan how American Electric Power will deliver energy efficiency programs to its customers. This group was formed to meet the mandates set forth in SB 221 and in response to recent rate cases (one of which was litigated by Joe and Mike) to reach statutorily prescribed reductions in the need for power by providing green power and/or programs to reduce the use of electricity. Mike and Joe, like other legal services attorneys in their collaboratives, ensure that low income consumers have a voice at the table, especially when it comes to designing programs that low income customers can effectively use.
OPLC Attorneys Now Registered Lobbyists
In light of OPLC’s renewed focus on legislative advocacy, in January all seven OPLC attorneys registered as lobbyists with the State’s Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
Doug Rogers Wins National ABA Pro Bono Award
Doug Rogers, former partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, & Pease who has been working full-time at OSLSA as a volunteer, has been awarded the 2010 ABA Business Law Section National Public Service Award. Congratulations to Doug on this huge honor!
Prisoner Re-Entry Task Force
The OPLC Prisoner Re-entry Task Force will hold its first meeting on March 31, 2010. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please contact Melissa Lindsay.
Preforeclosure Grant Extended
As 2009 came to an end, Linda worked frantically with Stephanie Spruill of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to submit billable work to NeighborWorks under the preforeclosure grant to make sure Ohio received an automatic extension of the grant through June 30, 2010. Thanks to all grant participants who submitted reports, Ohio has the extension to continue working under the grant until June 30, 2010.
January was NASTY
OPLC presented its annual three day training, New Advocates Substantive Training – Yearly (NASTY), January 6-8, 2010. We had 43 participants representing nearly all of the legal aid programs in Ohio and 15 trainers representing six Ohio legal aid programs. In addition to an introduction to 16 substantive areas of poverty law, participants received extensive reference materials for use in their daily practice.
Advanced Foreclosure Strategies Training
Linda, with organizational help from Joe, planned the February 4, 2010 advanced seminar, “Strategies to Increase Borrower Leverage in Foreclosure Actions,” and moderated the first panel discussion on current strategies to defeat summary judgment and pressure settlement negotiations. The seminar was well attended, with representatives from all programs raising issues and exchanging ideas.
Subsidized Housing Training
In January, Joe was a presenter for a fair housing training sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing. The training was targeted at owners and managers of subsidized and public housing.
Management Information Exchange – Legal Work Supervision Training
Gene was the lead trainer for the MIE Legal Work Supervision Training in San Antonio, Texas February 7-10, 2010. This training had participants from more than 15 states. CORT and MIE will present this training in Columbus, September 27 – 29, 2010. Stay tuned for registration details.
OSBA Convention Seminar on Public Benefits
Regina Campbell (LAS Greater Cincinnati), Chris, and Gene are developing a training on “What Private Lawyers Need to Know About Public Benefits” for the OSBA Annual Convention. This seminar will be presented on behalf of the Access to Justice Committee on Friday, May 7, 2010.
Litigation Directors, February 24, 2010
CORT Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals, March 4-5, 2010, Ann Arbor, MI
Consumer Task Force, March 16, 2010 - CANCELLED
Education Task Force, March 17, 2010
Health Task Force, March 18, 2010 – RESCHEDULED to a conference call on March 16, 2010
Family Law Task Force, March 24, 2010
Housing Task Force, March 25, 2010
CORT Litigation Planning, April 6, 2010
We hope this information about our work is interesting and helpful. Let us know if you have questions, comments, or suggestions. If you would like to receive the OPLC Update via email, please email info@ohiopovertylaw.org.
- Advocacy News
- OPLC News
- Upcoming Trainings and Task Force Meetings
- OPLC Staff Contact Info
Advocacy News
Education Law
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization
The ESEA, the main federal education law, which was reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act, is up for reauthorization in Congress this year. Sarah Biehl is working with the Dignity in Schools Campaign and a broad coalition of advocates across the country to advocate for an overhaul of the ESEA that will promote a shift toward positive disciplinary practices like Positive Behavior Supports and away from zero tolerance and exclusionary discipline practices. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education is also working on its recommendations to Congress on overhauling the law.
Ending the School to Prison Pipeline in Ohio
Sarah continues to work closely with Policy Matters Ohio, the ACLU of Ohio, and Vanessa Coterel at LAS Columbus to develop a statewide plan for ending the school to prison pipeline in Ohio. The group is compiling and analyzing data on the state’s suspension and expulsion rates, juvenile court filings against students, and the economic impact of school pushout, and plans to release the data in a report by this summer.
Employment Law
Wages and Hours Bureau Funding
Mike Smalz has worked with Ernie Davis of the Department of Commerce, Zach Schiller of Policy Matters Ohio, and attorneys Katie Laskey-Donovan and Julie Clutter of LAS Cleveland to restore funding for enforcement of Ohio’s minimum wage and overtime laws by the Wages and Hours Bureau. Ernie Davis informed Mike that the Department of Commerce plans to submit a funding reallocation proposal to the State Controlling Board for approval in the near future. If approved, this funding reallocation would fund minimum wage and overtime enforcement in Ohio beginning July 1, 2010, when funding (and enforcement activity) would otherwise expire under the current state budget.
Family Law
Child Support Arrearage Waiver and Compromise Rules
After considerable prodding by Mike and other advocates, the ODJFS Office of Child Support finally published a January 2010 Clearance proposing JFS rules and forms with guidelines for CSEA consideration and approval of obligor requests for a waiver or compromise (reduction) of arrearages owed to the State of Ohio. Mike submitted comments on the Clearance, and Melissa Lindsay, OPLC's Equal Justice Works Fellow, will also submit comments.
Domestic Violence Anti-discrimination Bill
Mike and Sarah met with our partners at the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to discuss and plan legislative strategy and tactics for getting HB 167 moving through the Senate. It will be an uphill battle, but Senate Judiciary Committee chair Bill Seitz has promised to hold hearings and take testimony on HB 167. Mike, Sarah, Joe Maskovyak, and ODVN will be contacting local legal aid programs, domestic violence shelters, and other constituents of potential “swing vote” Republican senators to encourage people to communicate their support to the targeted senators and to recruit possible proponent witnesses.
Child in Need of Protective Services/ Child Welfare Reform Bill
Mike has been invited to participate in a February 23, 2010 stakeholder meeting with the sponsor of HB 371 to discuss concerns and possible changes to the bill, which would comprehensively reform child welfare. Among other things, the bill would remove the terms “abuse,” “neglect,” and “dependency” from Ohio law and create one new category, “child in need of protective services.”
Domestic Violence Reform Legislation
Mike and other members of the Statutes and Rules Committee of the Office of Criminal Justice Services Family Violence Prevention Center Advisory Council have provided substantial input to Rep. Marian Harris (D) concerning the substantive provisions, statutory language, and possible amendments to her newly introduced comprehensive domestic violence reform legislation, HB 429.
Supreme Court DV Forms
Mike, Alexandria Ruden of LAS Cleveland, and other members of the Forms Subcommittee of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence recently reviewed public comments on the proposed new Supreme Court standard protection order forms that were published in OBAR and on the Supreme Court’s web site. The Subcommittee made a number of additional changes to the forms, including changes to the new domestic violence CPO modification/termination forms and streamlining the new CPO contempt forms.
Foreclosure
Foreclosure Mediation Bills
Linda Cook and Joe continue to work on both the Senate and House versions of foreclosure mediation bills, HB 306 and SB 197. Linda and Joe met several times with Rep. Matt Dolan (R), the sponsor of the House bill, but Dolan resigned from the legislature before any changes were made pursuant to the last meetings, it is not clear who, if anyone, will replace him as sponsor for HB 306.
SB 197, which is sponsored by Sen. Shannon Jones (R), has become the vehicle in the Senate to move all foreclosure related legislation. This includes HB 3, the foreclosure moratorium bill, and HB 9, the bill intended to protect tenants in foreclosure by notice provisions and converting leases to month to month tenancies following the foreclosure sale. Linda and Joe have worked with COHHIO and a statewide coalition of advocates to organize testimony before the committee on all three bills. It now appears that the committee may recess and convene interested party discussions to create something akin to an omnibus foreclosure bill containing elements of all the aforementioned bills, as well as HB 323 (see below).
Toxic Title/Bank Walk Away Bill
HB 323 is a convoluted and complicated bill aimed at attacking the problem of vacant and abandoned buildings associated with foreclosures. Linda and Joe have been attending interested party meetings with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Murray (D), which have attracted a large number of advocates. The latest version of the bill (the 10th iteration) was recently reported out of committee on party lines and awaits a floor vote in the House. Linda and Joe will continue to work with the sponsor and the chair of the committee, Rep. Mike Foley (D), since the latest version, released just prior to the committee vote, had new provisions harmful to homeowners in some situations.
Health Law
Medicaid Rx Carve Out
The state has changed the way that it pays for prescriptions under Medicaid managed care. Bob Bonthius (LAS Cleveland) and Gene King have negotiated several improvements in the process for this change which was effective on February 1. Newborns will be able to access prescriptions using their mother’s Medicaid card. This change will also trigger additional co-payments for some, but not all, Medicaid recipients. If you have clients who lose services or have trouble accessing prescriptions because of co-payments, let Gene know.
Candy Street Gets Fired
Anne Rubin (SEOLS Athens) and Gene discovered that the CareSource MCP prior authorization notices were signed by “Candy Street, RN”, a fictitious name. CareSource told us that they used that name on notices to protect its staff from unwanted direct contact. When Gene raised due process issues and the question of whether the State Nursing Board would approve of such a fictitious RN, CareSource quickly agreed to change their process so that all notices will now be signed by the actual PA office supervisor.
Medical Care Advisory Committee Priorities
The state Medical Care Advisory Committee (MCAC) has identified substantive priority areas for 2010. They are: implementation of CHIPRA; improving public process in rule making; implementation of federal health reform; and, improvements to the MITS program. Along with Mary Applegate, MD, Gene is the co-chair of this group, which advises ODJFS on Medicaid and other health policy issues.
Prisoner Re-Entry
Statewide Resource on PHA Admission Policies for Applicants with Felony Records
Melissa Lindsay is compiling the admissions policies of all Ohio Public Housing Authorities as they pertain to applicants with felony records. The completed product will be available on the statewide website, www.ohiolegalservices.org, for use by advocates and ex-offenders seeking public housing.
OPLC and Partners to Host Employer Awareness Workshop
Melissa, the United Way, and the Columbus Urban League have formed a partnership to host an Employer Awareness Workshop (EAW), which will be held in April. The EAW will educate Central Ohio employers about hiring ex-offenders through a panel discussion, Q&A session, and written materials.
Public Benefits
Medicaid Policy Clarifications from 2009 (JFS Secret Rules)
The Medicaid Policy Clarification database has been updated with questions and answers from the 4th quarter. Chris Barley has now indexed 4,783 JFS Medicaid policy clarifications from 2009. The database can be searched and can generate reports based on specific criteria. Two sample reports are posted on the Ohio Legal Services Advocate website.
Eventually OPLC plans to make the database available on the internet so anyone can run their own search, but until then, please contact Chris, who will gladly generate any report of interest to you.
Utilities
Telephone Deregulation (SB 162/HB 276)
Mike and Joe met with House Public Utilities Committee Chair Rep. Timothy DeGeeter (D) and Rep. Allan Sayre (D), the sponsor of HB 276, to discuss needed amendments to the bill. They, OCC, Ellis Jacobs of ABLE, and other advocates proposed and advocated for improved consumer protections, a broadband infrastructure investment mandate, and funding for low-income measures including Lifeline outreach and promotion, community computer centers, and/or Community Voicemail.
AEP Collaborative
Joe and Mike continue to work with the one year old AEP collaborative, a group comprised of a wide range of stakeholders to help plan how American Electric Power will deliver energy efficiency programs to its customers. This group was formed to meet the mandates set forth in SB 221 and in response to recent rate cases (one of which was litigated by Joe and Mike) to reach statutorily prescribed reductions in the need for power by providing green power and/or programs to reduce the use of electricity. Mike and Joe, like other legal services attorneys in their collaboratives, ensure that low income consumers have a voice at the table, especially when it comes to designing programs that low income customers can effectively use.
OPLC News
OPLC Attorneys Now Registered Lobbyists
In light of OPLC’s renewed focus on legislative advocacy, in January all seven OPLC attorneys registered as lobbyists with the State’s Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
Doug Rogers Wins National ABA Pro Bono Award
Doug Rogers, former partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, & Pease who has been working full-time at OSLSA as a volunteer, has been awarded the 2010 ABA Business Law Section National Public Service Award. Congratulations to Doug on this huge honor!
Prisoner Re-Entry Task Force
The OPLC Prisoner Re-entry Task Force will hold its first meeting on March 31, 2010. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please contact Melissa Lindsay.
Preforeclosure Grant Extended
As 2009 came to an end, Linda worked frantically with Stephanie Spruill of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to submit billable work to NeighborWorks under the preforeclosure grant to make sure Ohio received an automatic extension of the grant through June 30, 2010. Thanks to all grant participants who submitted reports, Ohio has the extension to continue working under the grant until June 30, 2010.
January was NASTY
OPLC presented its annual three day training, New Advocates Substantive Training – Yearly (NASTY), January 6-8, 2010. We had 43 participants representing nearly all of the legal aid programs in Ohio and 15 trainers representing six Ohio legal aid programs. In addition to an introduction to 16 substantive areas of poverty law, participants received extensive reference materials for use in their daily practice.
Advanced Foreclosure Strategies Training
Linda, with organizational help from Joe, planned the February 4, 2010 advanced seminar, “Strategies to Increase Borrower Leverage in Foreclosure Actions,” and moderated the first panel discussion on current strategies to defeat summary judgment and pressure settlement negotiations. The seminar was well attended, with representatives from all programs raising issues and exchanging ideas.
Subsidized Housing Training
In January, Joe was a presenter for a fair housing training sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing. The training was targeted at owners and managers of subsidized and public housing.
Management Information Exchange – Legal Work Supervision Training
Gene was the lead trainer for the MIE Legal Work Supervision Training in San Antonio, Texas February 7-10, 2010. This training had participants from more than 15 states. CORT and MIE will present this training in Columbus, September 27 – 29, 2010. Stay tuned for registration details.
OSBA Convention Seminar on Public Benefits
Regina Campbell (LAS Greater Cincinnati), Chris, and Gene are developing a training on “What Private Lawyers Need to Know About Public Benefits” for the OSBA Annual Convention. This seminar will be presented on behalf of the Access to Justice Committee on Friday, May 7, 2010.
Upcoming Trainings and Task Force Meetings
Litigation Directors, February 24, 2010
CORT Legal Research and Writing for Paralegals, March 4-5, 2010, Ann Arbor, MI
Consumer Task Force, March 16, 2010 - CANCELLED
Education Task Force, March 17, 2010
Health Task Force, March 18, 2010 – RESCHEDULED to a conference call on March 16, 2010
Family Law Task Force, March 24, 2010
Housing Task Force, March 25, 2010
CORT Litigation Planning, April 6, 2010
We hope this information about our work is interesting and helpful. Let us know if you have questions, comments, or suggestions. If you would like to receive the OPLC Update via email, please email info@ohiopovertylaw.org.
