2006 P&A / CAP Annual Meeting
Workshop Descriptions

Page last updated: 5/10/06

Institutes | Complex Legal | Community Living | Advocacy Strategies | Promoting Employment | Abuse & Neglect | Transforming Juvenile Justice and Criminal Justice | Children's Issues

INSTITUTES

Communications
Julia Freeman-Woolpert, Outreach Advocacy Specialist, Disabilities Rights Center (New Hampshire P&A)
Tom Masseau, Director of Public Policy, Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service, Inc.
Kaaryn Sanon, Communications Manager, NDRN

It’s been said that P&As and CAPs are one of the best-kept secrets... If you’re interested in changing that by letting people know about the great work of the Network and doing effective outreach to consumers, join us for this day-long Communications institute. Sessions will focus on various aspects of strategic communications, from organizational newsletters and websites to the publicizing of investigation reports and effective media outreach. Bring your communications successes and challenges to share with your colleagues and use in this interactive, hands-on institute.

Effecting Systemic Change in VR
Cheryl Bates-Harris, Senior Disability Advocacy Specialist, NDRN
David Hutt, Disability Advocacy Specialist, NDRN

Obtaining an employment outcome for an individual with a disability can often involve a complex set of programs, laws, and regulations. This institute will provide for discussion of several of the common issues involved in navigating the “return to work” system. Issues to be discussed include 1) advocating for eligibility for public vocational rehabilitation services; 2) working under an order of selection; 3) helping to assess and determine an appropriate employment goal; 4) determining whether there is tension between the ADA and publicly provided vocational rehabilitation services; and 5) working collaboratively with various components of the “return to work” system. This institute will center around facilitated discussions to generate ideas, “best practices,” and future discussion for working with and changing the “return to work” system.

Non-Litigation Strategies for Preserving Medicaid
Elizabeth Priaulx, Senior Disability Legal Specialist, NDRN
Jeff Crowley, Project Director, Georgetown University Institute for Health Care Research and Policy
Judy Solomon, Senior Fellow, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
Kathy McGinley, Deputy Executive Director of Public Policy, NDRN
Cathy Surace, Managing Attorney, Maryland Disability Law Center (Maryland P&A)
Sarah Somers, Staff Attorney, National Health Law Project
Linda Landry, Attorney, Disability Law Center

The main goal of the day is for participants to leave with new ideas for policy and administrative changes that will preserve Medicaid coverage for individuals with disabilities, even as the federal government gives the state "flexibility" to cut back these supports. Areas of discussion will include: 1) Federal Medicaid changes and how they are likely to impact your state’s Medicaid program; 2) using Medicaid fair hearings and legislative briefings; 3) challenging the bad and supporting the good in 1115 Waivers; 4) pursing administrative change in the midst of ongoing litigation; 5) advocating through Medicaid Advisory Committees; 6) Providing advance input on Medicaid state plan amendments; and 7) working effectively with state legislators and administrators. Each topics covered will include a presentation by a speaker, followed by 30 minutes for idea sharing and suggestions on how similar policy initiatives could be achieved in states with different political realities.

School-Based Mental Health Services
Dr. Steven Evans, Director, Alvin V. Baird Attention & Learning Disabilities Center James Madison University
Ira Burnim, Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Sarah Somers, Staff Attorney, National Health Law Project
Allison McConomy, Executive Policy Specialist, PA Department of Public Welfare
Janet Stotland, Co-Director, Education Law Center
Amy Maisterra, Director, Behavioral Health, School District of Philadelphia
Linda Rhen, Director of Special Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education

One area of increasing need for students in schools is mental health services. Proper mental health care can assist students in achieving better academic success, establishing and maintaining better family and peer relations, and keeping children out of the juvenile justice system.

This institute includes an overview of national school-based mental health initiatives, legal strategies and approaches to acquiring services for students, and a panel discussion with the Pennsylvania P&A and state and local officials about their school-based mental health program.

Secondary Investigations
Dee Blakley, Quality Assurance Team Leader, Disability Rights Center (Arkansas P&A)
Paul Buckley, Staff Attorney Virginia Office of Protection and Advocacy
Richard Cohen, Executive Director, Disabilities Rights Center (New Hampshire P&A)
Robert (“Bob”) Fleischner, Assistant Director, Center for Public Representation
Jane Hudson , Senior Staff Attorney, NDRN
Aaryce Hayes, Program Specialist, Advocacy, Inc. (Texas P&A)
Mark Keegan, Director, Division of Quality Assurance and Investigations, New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy (New York P&A)
Deborah Kennedy, Director, Abuse Investigations Unit, Equip for Equality (Illinois P&A)
Joan Magagna , Deputy Executive Director for Legal Services, NDRN
Brad Pellissier, Abuse Investigations Unit,  Office of Protection & Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (Connecticut P&A)

This is an in-depth practical training covering all aspects of a secondary investigation. Experienced trainers will engage with small groups to work through each step of a hypothetical death investigation. Participants will also be able to discuss their own current investigations with trainers. Training modules include:

1. Purpose of a Secondary Investigation
2. Distinguishing Secondary Investigations from Primary Investigations
3. Pros and Cons of Secondary Investigations
4. Identification of Primary Investigation Agencies in Your State
5. Planning a Secondary Investigation
6. Investigations: Who is the Client and Resulting Obligations
7. Evaluating a Primary Investigation Report
8. Record Reviews and Use of Experts
9. Strategies for Obtaining Corrective Action
10. Effective Investigation Reports
11. Capacity Building: Handling Secondary Investigations at your P&A
12. Systemic Approaches to Secondary Investigations

Utilizing Your PAIMI Councils as a Link to the Community: Effective Outreach to Disparate Communities
Jerry Cohn, PAIMI Council Chair, Ohio Legal Rights Services (Ohio P&A)
Sara Bianco, Disability Community Organizer, Equip for Equality (Illinois P&A)
Aaryce Hayes, Program Specialist, Advocacy, Inc. (Texas P&A)
Monica Palacio, Palacio & Associates
Joyce Berry, Director, Division of State and Community Systems CMHS
Marie Danforth, Branch Chief, State Planning and Systems, CMHS
Arthur Cutler, Organizational Development Manager
Sakena McWright, Advocacy and Outreach Specialist

Focusing on the roles and responsibilities of the PAIMI Advisory Council, this Institute seeks to demonstrate how Councils - as the link to the community - can reach out to underserved populations. Through activities, presentations, and discussion, participants will have the opportunity to look at the possibilities offered by developing relationships with communities with which they may not be familiar and, through these relationships, enhance efforts to represent the full community of people with disabilities.

COMPLEX LEGAL

Supreme Court and Appellate Court Review
Samuel Bagenstos, Professor of Law, Washington University College of Law, St. Louis, MO
Seth Galanter, Morrison & Foerster, Wash., DC

Two prominent Supreme Court attorneys will provide an overview and discuss the implications of the year’s Supreme Court decisions and the most significant Courts of Appeals decisions related to disability rights.

Defending Challenges to the PAIMI Act
Samuel Bagenstos, Professor of Law, Washington University College of Law, St. Louis, MO
Susan Stefan, Senior Attorney, Center for Public Representation

The PAIMI Act – which was designed to protect the rights of individuals with mental illness – is increasingly under attack on several fronts. Over the past year, residential providers and jails have challenged the constitutionality of the Act. Schools and outpatient clinics have denied P&As access on the grounds that the Act does not apply to non-residential facilities. Others have tried to use federal privacy laws to block access. Come to this workshop to learn about these recent access authority cases and strategies for dealing with them.

Ethics: Clients with Challenging Behaviors
Lisa Lerman, Professor. Catholic University Columbus School of Law

A group discussion focusing on ethical and client counseling issues involved in dealing with individuals who present challenging behaviors of various kinds – calling staff constantly; going from one staff person or one office to another if not satisfied; filing numerous grievances or complaining to federal partners; making threats to staff; or threatening to commit suicide.

Obtaining Home-based Services under EPSDT
Steven Schwartz, Executive Director, Center for Public Representation

Focusing heavily on the landmark Massachusetts District Court decision in Rosie D v Romney, participants will learn how EPSDT could be required to provide various mental health services, including comprehensive assessments, case management and clinical oversight, and in-home behavioral supports that are comprised of behavior specialists, crisis services, and other related medical services necessary to maintain a child in the home and community.

Systemic ADA Enforcement Campaigns
Jonathan Martinis, Managing Attorney, Virginia Office of Protection & Advocacy
Alison Draper, Outreach & Training Advocate, Disability Law Center (Utah P&A)

Two P&As will describe approaches to systemic ADA enforcement campaigns in their states. One began its project using law students and focused largely on public accommodations under ADA Title III, while the other used program staff and focused on governmental entities largely in small towns and rural areas. Learn about what worked, what didn't, what unusual issues arose, and how the P&As responded.

Enforcing Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements
Steven Schwartz, Executive Director, Center for Public Representation
Marjorie Rifkin, Managing Attorney, University Legal Services (DC P&A)

Hear general tips for what to include in settlements to increase chances of enforcement, as well as enforceability challenges and strategies used in specific P&A cases. Among others, issues will include identifying reasonable goals, anticipating objectors, crafting a monitoring system, proving state non-compliance, and obtaining appropriate state sanctions and P&A attorneys’ fees.

Negotiating Attorneys Fees
Mark Murphy, Executive Director, Disabilities Law Project (Pennsylvania P&A)
Tim Fox, Fox & Robertson, P.C. (Denver, CO)

Fee waiver demands, the effect of Buckhannon, and general issues of negotiating entitlement to attorneys fees when negotiating a settlement on the merits in litigation under the ADA, Section 504, the Fair Housing Act, and other civil rights laws is discussed from a P&A perspective and from the perspective of a prominent disability rights attorney in private practice.

Olmstead Cases
Sarah Somers, Staff Attorney, National Health Law Project

A review of federal Olmstead cases since last summer, this session will point out possible dangers of filing certain claims in certain courts and highlight potential new areas for Olmstead litigation in the future.

COMMUNITY LIVING

Reasonable Accommodations in Housing
Michael Allen, Attorney, Relman & Associates, Wash., DC
Susan Silverstein, Senior Attorney, AARP Foundation Litigation (Wash., DC)

The Rehabilitation Act requires housing providers receiving federal financial assistance to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, and procedures to enable people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to enjoy their housing accommodations. The Fair Housing Act imposed similar requirements on most private housing providers. Learn what are reasonable accommodations in housing, when they can be requested, what is required for a request, and some of the more contentious issues related to housing accommodations.

Section 1983 Pre-Emption
Sarah Somers, Staff Attorney, National Health Law Project

Federal Courts are issuing decisions on Medicaid enforceability under Section 1983 at a head-spinning rate. Come hear the latest on which Medicaid provisions are enforceable and in which courts. Also, hear whether preemption is a successful alternative to use of Section 1983.

Rules Governing Election Advocacy
Hans A. von Spakovsky, Commissioner, Federal Election Commission

P&As involved in voting work under PAVA or other P&A programs must ensure that their work complies with the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) regulations that govern various election-related activities. In this session, FEC Commissioner von Spakovsky will discuss regulations that apply to a variety of voting activities in which P&As engage, including voter education, registration, get-out-the-vote drives, and publications.

Election Protection Efforts
Jonah Goldman, Director, National Campaign for Fair Elections, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Kristin Bateman, Deputy Director, Election Protection Campaign, People for the American Way

The nonpartisan Election Protection coalition – a collaboration involving more than 100 national, state, and local public interest groups – is committed to protecting the right of all citizens to cast a ballot on Election Day. To accomplish this goal, the coalition has developed strategies that identify and respond to problems before Election Day through grassroots efforts, education, and outreach to voters and election officials. Staff from the coalition’s lead organization will share strategies on how P&As can be part of these efforts and replicate voter protection efforts for individuals with disabilities in local elections and beyond.

Transportation Beyond the ADA
Dr. Alan Abeson, Director, Easter Seals Project ACTION
Maureen McCloskey, National Advocacy Director, Paralyzed Veterans of America
Bryna Helfer, Program Manager, Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation

While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has opened doors for individuals with disabilities by providing accessible transportation, many remain unable to access transportation services necessary to take part in community and essential daily living activities. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) enacted last year provides funds to reduce barriers to transportation and provide services beyond those required ADA. Panelists will discuss these “beyond-the-ADA” SAFETEA-LU programs set to begin next fiscal year, and how P&As and other disability advocates can get involved in the SAFETEA-LU project process.

Advocating for Alternatives to Full Guardianships
Robert Dinerstein, Professor, Washington College of Law, American University, Wash., D.C.
Robert Fleischner, Assistant Director, Center for Public Representation

The choices of many individuals with disabilities are unnecessarily restricted because they are under full guardianship. Two experts on guardianship issues will teach P&A attorneys and advocates how they can increase their clients’ choices by advocating for alternatives to full guardianships. The workshop will cover concepts of guardianship, alternatives to full guardianships, limiting guardianships, the guardian’s authority, specific P&A issues with guardians, and working for and against guardians.

P&A Role in Emergency Preparedness
Delores Scott McKnight, Katrina Aid Today Project Manager, NDRN
Liz Gibson, Voluntary Agency Liaison, Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS
Juli Gallup, Katrina Aid Today Project Manager, Disability Law and Advocacy Center of Tennessee (Tennessee P&A)

Among the many lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina is the need for the P&As to work more closely with federal, state and private agencies who have traditionally been involved in disaster response. This workshop will discuss how P&As can and are bringing our subject matter expertise on disability issues into the current Katrina response efforts and in planning for future emergencies.

ADVOCACY STRATEGIES

Developing Voting Materials for Individuals with Low Literacy
Chester Finn, National Technical Assistance Center for Voting and Cognitive Access
Tia Nelis, National Technical Assistance Center for Voting and Cognitive Access
Hannah Bowen, National Technical Assistance Center for Voting and Cognitive Access

Millions of American adults demonstrate low levels of literacy. Often, these individuals are unable to fully participate in civic opportunities, such as voting, because they are constrained by their ability to access information, which is often written at a reading level that is too advanced. This session will explore how P&As can make their voting materials and other public information accessible to individuals with all-literacy levels.

Language as a Tool for Making Services Accessible
Sara Bianco, Disability Community Organizer, Equip for Equality (Illinois P&A)
Sakena McWright, Outreach Advocacy Specialist, NDRN

Learn practical steps you can take to make assistance and services accessible to individuals with limited English proficiency and the community of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Representation by Advocates at VR Admin Hearings
Linda Mastandrea, Attorney, Law Offices of Linda Mastandrea

Attorneys and advocates will learn the basics necessary to prepare a case from assignment through decision, with topics to include identifying issues; preparing clients and witnesses for direct and cross examination; making and dealing with objections; handling evidentiary issues; and creating a record.

Training Self Advocates with TBI
Jan Brown, Consultant
Deborah Delgado, TBI Program Director,Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy, Inc

Designed to raise awareness of how to make training accessible for people with traumatic brain injuries, this workshop will demonstrate through presentation and discussion how to develop a foundation for creating more effective learning experiences that promote full participation by consumers.

Advocacy: Working Effectively in Hispanic/Latino Communities
Maria Cruz, Human Services Advocate, Office of Protection & Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (Connecticut P&A)
Consuelo Puente, Manager, The Latinos with Disabilities Advocacy Project, Equip for Equality (Illinois P&A)

According to some reports 16.5 percent of the total population of people with disabilities in the United States is Hispanic/Latino. This workshop will focus on providing information, insights and ideas that can assist you in building effective advocacy services that meet the needs of these communities.

Empowering Communities
Dee Blakley, Quality Assurance Team Leader, Disability Rights Center (Arkansas P&A)
Eric Evans, Deputy Executive Director, Nebraska Advocacy Services, Inc.

This workshop will focus on two P&As that have found different paths to empower communities to support the needs of individuals with disabilities. Arkansas has used the internet to create a network for parents of students in special education. While Nebraska has taken citizen advocacy as a way to get local communities to respond to the need for protection of individuals with disabilities at risk of abuse or neglect. This workshop will provide information and ideas on what these approaches can offer to P&As and the communities they serve.

Transportation Advocacy: Effective Strategies to Increase Community Access
Kenneth Thompson, Easter Seal Project Action
Sue Clark, Easter Seal Project Action
Donna Smith, Easter Seal Project Action

According to a 2005 Department of Labor (DOL) survey, transportation was cited as the biggest obstacles standing between services, supports, and employment outcomes in the Workforce Development System. Easter Seals Project ACTION provides technical assistance to the disability community; transportation industry; government, human service agencies; and advocacy and professional organizations on the full range of issues associated with the provision of accessible transportation for people with disabilities. Learn how effective advocacy to improve and expand transportation is immensely significant for creating positive change in community mobility.

PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT

Effective Transition from School to Work
Dwayne Mayes, Career Development Specialist, John F. Kennedy Institute for Worker Education

Federal law sets forth requirements for transitioning youth from school to work, yet statistics continue to show high unemployment numbers for youth with disabilities. Did you know schools are not always to blame? Interference and family situations often get in the way of effective transition. Learn about CUNY’s Informed Parental Activism approach – one of the nations “Promising Practices,” as evidenced through an SSA Youth Transition Demo that placed 31 youth into summer employment last year!

CAP and VR Litigation
Linda Mastandrea, Attorney, Law Offices of Linda Mastandrea
David Hutt, Disability Advocacy Specialist, NDRN

Eight years ago Congress amended Title I of the Rehabilitation Act to allow for applicants and eligible recipients of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services to seek review of an administrative hearing decision in federal or state court. This session will discuss several of the major cases brought under this provision, including both due process and substantive issues, as well as a recent 11th Amendment challenge to the provision.

Ticket to Work Developments
Sue Suter, Associate Commissioner, SSA
Dan O’Brien, Special Assistant, SSA

Upon direction from Congress for SSA to study how the Ticket Program was serving beneficiaries with high support needs, the Adequacies of Incentives work group suggested changes that would synchronize the Ticket with VR and other supported employment services. Learn about a number of approaches to maximizing the value of the Ticket program, given the new proposed rules incorporating the work group's recommended changes.

Getting Services for People with Multiple Disabilities
Morris Tranen, CEO, Rise Partnership
Beth Lash, CAP Director, Maryland Department of Rehabilitation
Sharon Plump, Rehabilitation Technical Specialist, Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services

More than just basic rehab, individuals with multiple disabilities face unique challenges in their employment journey. Once eligible for vocational rehab (VR), hopes and dreams are often squashed by limited thinking about traditional service options that provide low-skill, entry-level employment rather than fulfilling imaginative self-determination plans. Learn how one state partnered to create innovative pilot projects using evidenced-based practices in supported employment and recovery to better serve individuals with multiple disabilities.

CRC Training and Counselor Ethics
Linda Shaw, Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator, University of Florida

All Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCs) must comply with the Code of Professional Ethics, published and enforced by The Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). This session briefly summarizes the content of the Code, outlines the steps in submitting a complaint, and reviews possible outcomes of the adjudication process. Resources available to consumers and their advocates through CRCC will also be discussed.

Underemployment - Who is Eligible for Services
Stephen S. Pennington, Attorney, Pennsylvania Client Assistance Program
Patricia Beattie, Consultant, National Industries for the Blind
Eric Bridges, Public Policy Specialist, National Industries for the Blind
Beth Lash, CAP Director, Maryland Department of Rehabilitation

One of the stated purposes of the Rehab Act is to empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and inclusion and integration into society. But what does it really mean and how does this apply to a person with disability seeking services? Learn how statutory language in the Rehab Act, RSA-published guidance, and JWOD requirements allow for VR services in an attempt to achieve independence and inclusion.

New PPR Reporting for PABSS
Matt Hayden, Information Systems Division Manager

Intended for both PABSS staff and those writing PABSS PPRs, this session will provide training on the use of the online data collection system that will be used to collect completed PABSS data needs on a biannual basis.

ABUSE & NEGLECT

Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint
--Part I: Experiences, Medical Risks, and Leadership [Lynn Delacy , Facility Director, Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute ]
--Part II: Core Principles, Current Definitions, and Current Assumptions [Joan Barling Gillece, Project Manager, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning]
--Part III: Neurobiological and Psychological Effects of Trauma [Joan Barling Gillece, Project Manager, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning]
--Part IV: Identifying Risk Factors; Prevention Tools [Joan Barling Gillece, Project Manager, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning]
--Part V: Legislative Strategies [Robert Fleischner, Assistant Director, Center for Public Representation; Aaryce Hayes, Program Specialist, Advocacy, Inc. (Texas P&A]
--Part VI: Law of Seclusion and Restraint; Individuals with Special Needs [Tim Geels, Training Faculty Member, David Mandt and Ass.; Jane Hudson, Senior Staff Attorney, NDRN; Susan Stefan, Senior Attorney, Center for Public Representation]

Recovery from mental illness is a real possibility. The promise of the New Freedom Initiative – a life in the community for everyone – can be achieved. In a transformed health system, consumers and family members must participate in the treatment process and be at the center of care. The use of seclusion and restraint in any setting is antithetical to consumer and family-driven care:

The use of seclusion and restraint keeps consumers at the margins; they can’t learn to manage their illnesses and their lives when they are under external control–either physical or chemical. These practices further their dependence and isolation, leading to learned helplessness and hopelessness. Worse, such practices may keep individuals from seeking needed treatment out of fear or loss of autonomy and control. (Charles Curie, SAMSHA’S Commitment to Eliminating the Use of Seclusion and Restraint, 56 Psychiatric Services 1139 (Sept. 2005), http://ps.psychiatryonline.org)

Because the use of seclusion and restraint can mean life and death for individuals with disabilities, TASC is devoting a significant part of its training to how P&As can reduce – and eventually eliminate – the use of seclusion and restraint. This is a comprehensive training with each workshop building on the training in the previous workshops. Therefore, we strongly recommend that participants attend all six workshops and the luncheon roundtable.

Interviewing Children: Developmental & Other Considerations
Giselle Peleaz, Deputy Director, Safe Shores-The D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center

P&As often conduct investigations into the abuse and neglect of children and adolescents with disabilities. The P&A’s goal is to gather as many facts as possible about the allegation of abuse in an unbiased, non-threatening, non-leading, and child-friendly manner that causes no further trauma to the child/adolescent victim and other young witnesses. To help P&A investigators accomplish this goal, an expert in conducting multi-disciplinary forensic interviews will discuss the emotional needs and developmental stages of children or adolescents with disabilities who have been abused.

TRANSFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE
AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Jail Diversion & Re-entry
Robert Kurtz, Senior Psychologist & Program Manager, Dept. of Health & Human Services, North Carolina
Mark J. Ivandick, Managing Attorney, The Legal Center (Colorado P&A)

There are high rates of people with serious mental illness in jails. They typically do not received needed services in jail and do not fair well. This session discusses models for diverting persons with disabilities from jail into a system for treatment services and supports needed to live successfully in the community.

Prisoner Re-entry - Release and Benefits Planning
Michael Allen, Attorney, Relman & Associates, Wash., DC
Todd Winstrom, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Wisconsin (Wisconsin P&A)

Meaningful release planning from prison or jail for prisoners with disabilities includes identification of services needed for re-entry into the community, as well as application for applicable federal and state benefits. This session discusses the effect of incarceration on SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid and promising practices for ensuring benefits are immediately available upon release. The Wisconsin P&A will describe their MOU with SSA, implementation challenges, and efforts to replicate a cost-effective conditional release program.

Crisis Intervention / Training Law Enforcement
Major Sam Cochran, Memphis Police Dept.
Susan Stefan, Senior Attorney, Center for Public Representation

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) provides law enforcement officers with information and skills for interacting with persons with mental or other disabilities. Properly designed and implemented, a CIT program can reduce the use of force in these encounters and divert individuals from arrest to needed mental health services. This session provides a CIT overview from one of its founders. Barriers encountered when police divert individuals to Emergency Rooms will also be discussed.

Misuse & Overuse of Juvenile Detention
Vincent N. Schiraldi, Director, DYRS (District of Columbia)
Judith G. Storandt, Senior Staff Attorney, NDRN

A disproportionate number of children with disabilities are referred to the juvenile delinquency system and often they are unnecessarily confined in detention facilities rather than released to their homes pending juvenile court proceedings. Detention can last months, disrupting education and treatment services detained youth receive in their communities. This session describes the nature and scope of the problem, the harmful effects of detention, and offers advocacy strategies to reduce the use of secure detention.

Juv Det Facilities: Standards & Assessment Tools
Dana Shoenberg, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Children's Law & Policy (Wash. DC)
Roger A. Bearden, Staff Attorney, Disability Advocates, Inc. (New York P&A)

Legal requirements, national standards, and best practices governing conditions in juvenile detention facilities will be discussed, as well as work being done to identify and remedy inhumane conditions of confinement. A site assessment tool for identifying strengths and problem areas in juvenile institutions will be described and other sources of information presented. A representative from the P&A based in Albany, will share his office's experience starting a program to assess conditions in institutions in the state of New York.

Special Education in Juvenile Justice Facilities
Peter Leone, Director, National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice (EDJJ)
Michael Wilson, Educator (Wash. DC)
Kathleen Delahaney, Director of Client Services, Hawai'i Disability Rights Center (Hawai'i P&A)

A disproportionate number of special education students are confined in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. Their educational rights are not diminished by the fact of their confinement but the reality is that special ed services in these facilities often are abysmal. This session explores barriers to special education in these facilities and strategies for overcoming them, as well as tools for monitoring special education services in juvenile facilities.

Release & School Re-entry Planning from JJ Facilities
Heather Griller-Clark, Project Director, AZ Detention Transition Project, ASU
Edna R. O'Connor, Executive Director, Oak Hill Academy

Education plays a proven role in rehabilitating confined youth and reducing recidivism upon release. This session addresses issues relating to transitioning students with special needs back into their respective school communities, including: transition legislation; research on the transition of incarcerated youth; effective transition practices; and obstacles to school re-entry and strategies for addressing. The Arizona Detention Transition Project (an OSEP Model Demonstration Project) and Oak Hill Academy (the D.C. Public School for incarcerated youth) will be highlighted.

Monitoring Juvenile Justice Facilities
Robert Fleischner, Assistant Director, Center for Public Representation
Jane Hudson, Senior Staff Attorney, NDRN
John Madsen, Advocate, Montana Advocacy Program (Montana P&A)
Beth Mitchell, Managing Attorney, Advocacy, Inc. (Texas P&A)

Juvenile detention and correctional facilities often are not safe places for the youth confined in them. The majority of confined youth have disabilities – many with co-occurring disorders – and typically do not receive needed services. Many of these facilities are not licensed, are minimally regulated, and receive little to no oversight. This session provides tools and advice for P&As interested in monitoring these facilities, whether short-term targeted monitoring or continuously monitoring on a long-term basis.

CHILDREN’S ISSUES

Systemic Approaches to LRE in Schools
Judith Gran, Director Disability Rights Project, The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
Elizabeth A. Greczek, Staff Attorney, NDRN

Ensuring students with disabilities receive educational instruction in the Least Restrictive Environment is an ongoing battle for P&As. This session will: (1) provide a brief overview of the Least Restrictive Environment Standard based on Circuit Court case law; and (2) explain how attorneys and advocates can systemically approach Least Restrictive Environment Advocacy in Schools, using the Gaskin v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania case as a guide.

How to Read Educational Reports and Records
Ron Hager, Attorney, Neighborhood Legal Services

A guide for attorneys and advocates on how to read educational reports and records, including evaluations such as the WICS-IV. This session will help lawyers and advocates become proficient in understanding educational testing results.

Discipline in Schools

Increasingly, children with disabilities are removed from their school or suspended or expelled for actions that are or may be linked to their disability. This session will provide P&A advocates and attorneys with information, strategies, and ideas on how to handle school discipline cases.

P&As Role in Advocating for Youth in Foster Care
Kathleen McNaught,Assistant Director, American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law
Ira Burnim, Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
James Tucker, Attorney, Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP), University of Alabama, (Alabama P&A)

High numbers of children in foster care have mental illness, developmental, and other disabilities. It is a natural fit for P&As to represent these children who have advocacy needs related to education/diversion, community integration, rights protection, and other issues P&As are experienced in providing. This session will outline the advocacy needs of children in foster care, related issues for adults with disabilities, and possibilities for P&A representation.

Keeping Foster Care Children in Community Settings
Janet Stocco, Staff Attorney, Education Law Center
Michael Scherz, Senior Staff Attorney/Coordinator of Training, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (New York P&A)

In order to decrease the likelihood that foster care is seen as the only option for children, this session will focus on the need for appropriate community supports to: reduce the need for foster care placements; return children to their homes as soon as possible; and ensure that children in foster care placements are kept in the community. Among the community supports discussed will be appropriate mental health and crisis supports under Medicaid and IDEA. Legal strategies will also be discussed for challenging institutional policies and practices that lead to the placement of children in institutional settings and ensuring the coordination of services among agencies charged with providing services for children with disabilities.

Mediating Special Education Disputes
Matthew Engle, Senior Attorney, Disability Law Center (Massachusetts P&A)
Art Stewart, Coordinator of Mediation, Virginia Department of Education

Strategies and approaches on how to address conflicts in IEP meetings, resolution meetings, mediations, and settlement negotiations for the Special Education Advocate and Attorney.